Cake
New Born Pup
Our guinea pigs were accidentally given two avocado pits (which is very dangerous as avocados contain persin, a toxin that can make guinea pigs very sick or even kill them). Avocado pits have the highest concentration of persin. We removed the pits as soon as we realized, but there were already deep bite marks in them. We panicked and called the vet, who advised us to watch for symptoms such as diarrhea, lethargy (sitting down for long periods, cold ears), increased heart rate or breathing, and loss of appetite.
Thankfully, our guinea pigs continued to behave normally, but we monitored them closely for 24 hours. According to online sources, the toxin would be out of their system within 48 hours. We also gave them activated charcoal powder mixed with water, which they drank. The vet mentioned that activated charcoal could help bind toxins and settle their stomachs, though it likely wouldn’t be effective in this case since persin is plant-based rather than chemical. Still, we decided to give them the charcoal just in case.
It’s now been 48 hours since they bit into the avocado pits, and they’re still displaying healthy behavior with no side effects. We were terrified we might lose our precious girls, and after many tears and frantic internet searches, we realized there’s very little data on guinea pig health in situations like this. I wanted to share our experience in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation.
We have three adult female guinea pigs, all mixed breeds, and just over a year old. There were two avocado pits in the enclosure, with most of the brown papery skin eaten off, and a few small scrapes taken from the pits themselves (about the size of thin cheese grater slices). There was one larger bite, about the size of a small pea, but we later found that piece had been spit out, along with several of the smaller bits. It looked like our guinea pigs had taken a few bites and then decided to spit most of it out, which was a huge relief. After cleaning the enclosure and collecting all the pieces, we determined that they had likely eaten less than two pea-sized servings of avocado pit in total. Even in the worst-case scenario, if all of that had been eaten by just one guinea pig, it would still be a small amount. Since none of them showed symptoms after 48 hours, it seems the amount they ingested was far less than a lethal dose.
This experience has been heartbreaking and incredibly stressful, but I hope sharing it gives someone else hope that their guinea pigs might be okay.
Thankfully, our guinea pigs continued to behave normally, but we monitored them closely for 24 hours. According to online sources, the toxin would be out of their system within 48 hours. We also gave them activated charcoal powder mixed with water, which they drank. The vet mentioned that activated charcoal could help bind toxins and settle their stomachs, though it likely wouldn’t be effective in this case since persin is plant-based rather than chemical. Still, we decided to give them the charcoal just in case.
It’s now been 48 hours since they bit into the avocado pits, and they’re still displaying healthy behavior with no side effects. We were terrified we might lose our precious girls, and after many tears and frantic internet searches, we realized there’s very little data on guinea pig health in situations like this. I wanted to share our experience in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation.
We have three adult female guinea pigs, all mixed breeds, and just over a year old. There were two avocado pits in the enclosure, with most of the brown papery skin eaten off, and a few small scrapes taken from the pits themselves (about the size of thin cheese grater slices). There was one larger bite, about the size of a small pea, but we later found that piece had been spit out, along with several of the smaller bits. It looked like our guinea pigs had taken a few bites and then decided to spit most of it out, which was a huge relief. After cleaning the enclosure and collecting all the pieces, we determined that they had likely eaten less than two pea-sized servings of avocado pit in total. Even in the worst-case scenario, if all of that had been eaten by just one guinea pig, it would still be a small amount. Since none of them showed symptoms after 48 hours, it seems the amount they ingested was far less than a lethal dose.
This experience has been heartbreaking and incredibly stressful, but I hope sharing it gives someone else hope that their guinea pigs might be okay.
