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Danger! Corn-on-cob Boredom Breaker

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AbiS

AbiS

Adult Guinea Pig
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About once a month I give Toby & Barney a corn-on-the-cob boredom breaker from wilkinsons. They absolutely love them and destroy them really quickly. I put one in the run on Sunday, they have permanent access to it.

Yesterday, MrS told me that Barney had got a piece of corn stuck in his mouth and he was frantically pawing at his mouth to get it out. We just sat down for dinner when he looked round at them (I cant see them from where I sit) and said Barney was doing it again. By the time I got up he had stopped.

But just now I saw Toby doing the same thing and I saw a piece of corn pierced on his bottom teeth. He was struggling, pawing at his face trying to release it but couldn't manage. I could tell that he was panicking. I grabbed him and put him on my knee so I could take it out and luckily the corn dropped off as soon as I opened his mouth.

I would like to know what other forum members think of how dangerous this is. I have removed the corn for now but do not know if it is safe to allow them access to it either under supervision or unrestricted or not at all. I also wanted other piggy parents to know what could happen.
 
Abi_nurse said:
Sorry to hear of your little ones worry and yours.

Is this the dried corn on the cob?

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It is the dried one. Haven't had this problem with any of the ones they had before - or at least not that I know of. I always get the same brand.
 
Oh dear I have on similar in their hutch. It will be coming out tonight when I get home. To be honest though they haven't paid any attention to it yet!
 
Tbag said:
Yup! My guys go nuts for it! Just takes a bit of elbow grease to cut the cob into smaller portions!
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I will try that next time I go to the supermarket. Irritating as I have just bought a new packet of the dried stuff but my piggies teeth and health is the mostest importantest of things!
 
This has happened to my boys so I don't buy them any more. I have tried a few different brands and they are all as bad as each other.

Like @Tbag I get fresh corn on the cob when I can and they love it :)
 
Tbag said:
Yup! My guys go nuts for it! Just takes a bit of elbow grease to cut the cob into smaller portions!
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theoretikos said:
This has happened to my boys so I don't buy them any more. I have tried a few different brands and they are all as bad as each other.

Like @Tbag I get fresh corn on the cob when I can and they love it :)
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I guess if I got a full cob I could cut it into wheels and string it up on their run so they can still use it for entertainment. My only concern is that will the fresh stuff be higher in sugar than the dried stuff?
 
AbiS said:
I guess if I got a full cob I could cut it into wheels and string it up on their run so they can still use it for entertainment. My only concern is that will the fresh stuff be higher in sugar than the dried stuff?
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I am unsure if it is higher in sugar. Hmm..hopefully someone else knows. I don't give them it often.
 
Nopes not if its the same plant and I cant imagine any suppliers actually to to the effort of sugar removal when drying given the same manufacturers produce chocolate drops and other dreadful junk for small pets, dried versions or any fruit/veg usually lead to higher sugar intake as more bulk can be eaten in one go vs hydrated.

I googled for some numbers these relate to human grade sweetcorn
dried: 21% sugar
fresh: 3% sugar
 
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Bekki said:
Nopes not if its the same plant and I cant imagine any suppliers actually to to the effort of sugar removal when drying given the same manufacturers produce chocolate drops and other dreadful junk for small pets, dried versions or any fruit/veg usually lead to higher sugar intake as more bulk can be eaten in one go vs hydrated.
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That's good that I can replace like for like. will try them with it next week.
 
AbiS said:
That's good that I can replace like for like. will try them with it next week.
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Just in case you didnt see my edit I googled:
Dried human grade yellow corn: 21% w/w sugar (419 kcal per 100g)
Fresh human grade uncooked yellow corn: 3% w/w sugar (230kcal per 100g)
:-)

I chuck full corn on the cobs at my animals, they all love them :D
 
Bekki said:
Just in case you didnt see my edit I googled:
Dried human grade yellow corn: 21% w/w sugar (419 kcal per 100g)
Fresh human grade uncooked yellow corn: 3% w/w sugar (230kcal per 100g)
:-)

I chuck full corn on the cobs at my animals, they all love them :D
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Oh blimey! So I actually got it all wrong! The fresh is better! My only concern is that when I give them a boredom breaker it usually takes them 24hours to show interest and then they start their attack. Obviously I can't leave a fresh one in for that length of time so it might end up being a waste of money!
 
Pleased you boys are ok @AbiS , for me though i never buy any shop bought treats unless it is something to do with hay. I always buy baby corn or on the cob for them. They can have the whole of the corn on the cob even better if they have the strings and leaves on too :)
 
They already share one baby corn every other day as part of their veg. I just thought that the dried corn on the cob would be fine because it is just dried veg. It also gave them a toy to play with. I don't buy any other shop bought treats for them. Will try them on a hooman fresh cob - I think I might have given one to them when they were little but they weren't interested. will try again though!
 
Every few weeks we buy two fresh corn on the cob, chop in half and drop the four pieces in the cage. Within minutes they have all gone into separate corners to be resolutely destroyed. It is quite funny watching a piggy lug half a corn on the cob around the cage.
 
AbiS said:
I guess if I got a full cob I could cut it into wheels and string it up on their run so they can still use it for entertainment. My only concern is that will the fresh stuff be higher in sugar than the dried stuff?
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That sounds like a great idea! Good luck getting string through it though!
 
AbiS said:
I guess if I got a full cob I could cut it into wheels and string it up on their run so they can still use it for entertainment. My only concern is that will the fresh stuff be higher in sugar than the dried stuff?
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The corn on the cob (fresh) is extremely hard to cut, unless you had a chainsaw. I suggest buying the 'mini' sized corn on the cob.
 
AbiS said:
Oh blimey! So I actually got it all wrong! The fresh is better! My only concern is that when I give them a boredom breaker it usually takes them 24hours to show interest and then they start their attack. Obviously I can't leave a fresh one in for that length of time so it might end up being a waste of money!
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They will certainly eat the fresh quickly. Not a boredom breaker then, but there are other toys on the market.
 
The same thing happened to my piggy a couple of months ago. It was awful - I'd been out for a few hours and when I got back I couldn't understand why he was getting excited about the lettuce I was offering but then wouldn't touch it. He had a dried kernel stuck on his top teeth. I pulled it off and he was fine but the what-ifs just didn't bear thinking about. Will never buy them again.
 
so glad I've come across this post as I brought loads of them for peanut but haven't put any in his hutch yet and won't be either they can go in the bin as he has a fresh corn on the cob instead which he is lovin munching :drool:
 
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