Kiwi Ate Chocolate!- Will He Be Okay?

[Joannajars]

So I don't know if anyone will have any experience with this but I'm quite worried so any information would be useful!
My boy kiwi has managed to eat chocolate! I cleaned out their cage earlier and didn't notice one of the sides wasn't fully secure. I went out for dinner to find him out of the cage as he pushed himself through the tiny gap (he is very mischievous and likes to worry me!) and I noticed he's eaten a small ammount of chocolate that was near the cage! I know they cannot have dairy and such so was wondering if he'll be okay and what to do! Should I feed him more or less or try and encourage him to drink a lot or not? He could have been out anywhere from 3 hours to 5 minutes I have no way of telling! He is still acting okay but is there anything I should look out for?
Sorry for the long post

 

[DM030819]

Just keep a close eye on him, and his poop output to see how he is.

My pigs have always been quite good at avoiding things that they're not supposed to eat so hopefully he didn't eat much.

 

[CDRVN]

There are very few studies on toxicity levels of chocolate on animals other than dogs, cats and humans. Rats, however, have been tested and their tolerance is very very high. Out of curiosity, how much chocolate? and what type: dark, milk, white etc? If we work off of a rats tolerance level, being a fellow rodent, we can take a rough estimate as to how affected his body will be. But it will be a guess!

Theobromine toxicity (the toxic part of chocolate) can result in many symptoms. Vomiting being common, but as G-Pigs cannot vomit, this is a moot point. Tachycardia (an abnormal high heart rate) can also occur, but as G-Pigs have such fast rates anyway, it would be difficult to tell. Monitor mainly for lethargy and faecal output. Plenty of water will help flush out the kidneys. We give activated charcoal to dogs in our hospital, but I don't think a piggie would take that well!

I'd just like to say, that I am not a vet, and there are emergency vets that are available to give free advice for this type of thing.

 

[CDRVN]

Just because I'm about to go off to bed...
Using the formulae from this website: Chocolate - Toxicology - Veterinary Manual
And the 'lethal dose' for a rat from this website: Theobromine poisoning - Wikipedia (sorry I know its wikipedia!)

Kiwi would need to have consumed: 79g of Bakers chocolate or 221g Dark chocolate or 550g of Milk chocolate for the lethal dose to have been reached, assuming he is at 1kg in weight. These amounts would be decreased if he is lighter, or increased if he is heavier.

I use these formulae when we get calls from owners stating what their dogs have eaten, so they are fairly accurate. Ofcourse, you can't beat actual veterinary advice!

 

[sport_billy]

He should be absolutely fine and you'd see the effects by now. Any issues as mentioned above please see a vet but I would imagine a tiny amount will have little effect on Kiwi.... They are so pesky aren't they...