I’ve never used this before but I just need to know about yesterday at 11 am me and my parents went outside with my piggies she was doing gardening one of my piggies fudge ate a leaf off a tomato plant at the time I had no idea untill I saw him chewing then I saw the leaf gone he only ate about half the leaf as he spat out the other half I didn’t know it was poisonous untill I posted a cute pic of them on Reddit next to the plant and people pointed it out it’s been about 24 hours now idk what to do HES not showing any bad symptoms atm and he’s drinking and eating fine and being the goof ball he usaly is his brother on the other hand tho is being treated for a URI and isn’t doing the best but He didn’t eat any as he’s not been eating that much what should I do and what should I look out for I'm pancaking af rn everything is telling me he’s gonna die and I don’t know what to do
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Please do call the vet if you are concerned as tomato leaves and stems are poisonous but it has now been quite a while since it happened so hopefully there will be no ill effects . Switch from routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily so you can be certain his appetite hasn’t been affected (you cannot gauge hay intake by eye).
As for the piggy with a URI, you say he isn’t eating properly. It’s essential you syringe feed him a recovery feed or mushed pellets. A poorly piggy will reduce hay intake and it’s essential you replace the hay intake with the syringe feeding to get him through the illness. You say he is being treated, presumably he has been given antibiotics. You can also give a probiotic to help him maintain his appetite
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Weight - Monitoring and Management
As for the piggy with a URI, you say he isn’t eating properly. It’s essential you syringe feed him a recovery feed or mushed pellets. A poorly piggy will reduce hay intake and it’s essential you replace the hay intake with the syringe feeding to get him through the illness. You say he is being treated, presumably he has been given antibiotics. You can also give a probiotic to help him maintain his appetite
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
Keep monitoring for any change in behaviour, appetite etc it's likely that after a day and a half of no bad effects that he will be fine. Hopefully because it was such a small piece.
Guinea pigs have a fast metabolism but do keep monitoring over the next day or two to be sure
Guinea pigs have a fast metabolism but do keep monitoring over the next day or two to be sure
Adelyn
Adult Guinea Pig
Adelyn
Adult Guinea Pig
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Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
I think (hope) you should be in the clear at this point...
Over the years mine have eaten things they 'shouldn't' quite a bit and taken years off my life when I realise they've been athletic enough to reach the out-of-reach things, but the one time an old girl ate something that affected her badly was a tall plant (lemon verbena) that had died and dried off. I had chopped things back and piled everything up to carry thru but returned to her eating a dropped bit. I don't know if it was actually the type of plant (which deffo isn't edible) or the fact that the old stem was now grey and a bit mouldy
By that evening she was clearly not eating and not well - by bedtime she was laying more onto one side and she absolutely didn't welcome the syringe mush I was giving her every three hours to try and push it all through. Came down at 6am fearing the worst only to find her chomping through her nugget bowl like nothing had happened!
I find tomato leaves/stems can bring my skin up in a bit of a rash so maybe there would be irritation in the mouth - I suspect the leaves taste pretty unpleasant too - and he obvs wasn't that into it or he would've scoffed the lot. I think you'v got away with it.
How's his brother's UTI doing? Is he on antibiotics and painkiller?
Over the years mine have eaten things they 'shouldn't' quite a bit and taken years off my life when I realise they've been athletic enough to reach the out-of-reach things, but the one time an old girl ate something that affected her badly was a tall plant (lemon verbena) that had died and dried off. I had chopped things back and piled everything up to carry thru but returned to her eating a dropped bit. I don't know if it was actually the type of plant (which deffo isn't edible) or the fact that the old stem was now grey and a bit mouldy
By that evening she was clearly not eating and not well - by bedtime she was laying more onto one side and she absolutely didn't welcome the syringe mush I was giving her every three hours to try and push it all through. Came down at 6am fearing the worst only to find her chomping through her nugget bowl like nothing had happened!
I find tomato leaves/stems can bring my skin up in a bit of a rash so maybe there would be irritation in the mouth - I suspect the leaves taste pretty unpleasant too - and he obvs wasn't that into it or he would've scoffed the lot. I think you'v got away with it.
How's his brother's UTI doing? Is he on antibiotics and painkiller?
Honestly I’m not that conserned as he looks ok he just popcorned and tried to jump out his cadge as I walked in the room with vegetables it’s just kinda scary because everywhere online says “he’s gonna die in seconds if you don’t take him to the vets rn” I think he’s fine Ngl I’m gonna do the thing you said and weigh him every day and about the boy with the URI yes he’s on antibiotics he is eating but I am giving him water from a saringe and he’s eating plenty hay I give him a gaint pile every day and it’s always eaten the next morning but I’m going to a pet store tomorrow to get critical care and I’m gonna give it to both of them and I’m gonna get some vit c cookies for them to eat I think I just keep to keep my eye on them and if any symptoms come I’ll I’ll call the vets asap as luckily they are 24 hour vets
Honestly Guinea pigs give you the worst scares you will ever get in your life ahah I think he’s gonna be ok honestly he’s all perky eating his vegetables so I’m just gonna watch him for the next 24 hours and about his brother he’s had the URI for 2 weeks now he’s on a antibiotic and a painkillers he keeps getting better and bad again but I’m just hoping that he gets better and can make a full recoveryI think (hope) you should be in the clear at this point...
Over the years mine have eaten things they 'shouldn't' quite a bit and taken years off my life when I realise they've been athletic enough to reach the out-of-reach things, but the one time an old girl ate something that affected her badly was a tall plant (lemon verbena) that had died and dried off. I had chopped things back and piled everything up to carry thru but returned to her eating a dropped bit. I don't know if it was actually the type of plant (which deffo isn't edible) or the fact that the old stem was now grey and a bit mouldy
By that evening she was clearly not eating and not well - by bedtime she was laying more onto one side and she absolutely didn't welcome the syringe mush I was giving her every three hours to try and push it all through. Came down at 6am fearing the worst only to find her chomping through her nugget bowl like nothing had happened!
I find tomato leaves/stems can bring my skin up in a bit of a rash so maybe there would be irritation in the mouth - I suspect the leaves taste pretty unpleasant too - and he obvs wasn't that into it or he would've scoffed the lot. I think you'v got away with it.
How's his brother's UTI doing? Is he on antibiotics and painkiller?
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
I wouldn’t give the vitamin c cookies to them. At least not the one who ate the tomato leaf. What you don’t want to do is to raise the levels of vitamin c in their bodies. Doing so and then stopping can lead to a drop in their ‘normal’ levels. The pellets are fortified with vitamin c. Bell pepper and coriander, and grass and hay are also good sources of vitamin c.
You can’t know if he’s eating enough by sight. Remember there are two piggies attacking the hay pile. So I would weigh once daily (in the morning) just to be sure that he is at least maintaining his weight - hence he is eating enough hay.
How long has he been on the antibiotics and how long is he prescribed them for? Sometimes they can be persistent. So if it returns you may sometimes need to try a different antibiotic and perhaps for longer. Hopefully this will do the trick this time.
You can’t know if he’s eating enough by sight. Remember there are two piggies attacking the hay pile. So I would weigh once daily (in the morning) just to be sure that he is at least maintaining his weight - hence he is eating enough hay.
How long has he been on the antibiotics and how long is he prescribed them for? Sometimes they can be persistent. So if it returns you may sometimes need to try a different antibiotic and perhaps for longer. Hopefully this will do the trick this time.
Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
I'm so pleased you posted about the tomato leaf because I think this guy has gotten away with it but you really need to keep a close eye on the other one.
Are they young boys or older boys? And how long have you had them... a few weeks or a few years?
Sorry I put UTI last time - that's pee infection, but you said upper respiratory infection didn't you. URI can be very serious as your vet has probably told you, and it's really important that he is monitored closely by daily weighing on kitchen scales. If he's dropping he'll need support feeding of fibre-rich food to keep his guts moving and keep him pooping. Poops run a day or two behind eating so if you think they're dropping off one day it'll be that his eating dropped off a couple days back and that is a risk. Your vet will have a stock of support food (Critical care/emeraid/Recovery) and likely also some probiotic (mine has bio-lapis powder that I just mix into syringe food) and if he's been on AB for a while a probiotic can really help. If his weight is dropping and dropping that is as much a worrying symptom as raspy breathing or running nose. It's never a 'cold' because they don't get colds. Syringe-feeding is a bit of a dark art as if you try and get too much in they can inhale it and make any chest infection a whole lot worse. I don't syringe water as one of my girls did inhale some and coughed enough to make me die on the spot - we got away with it that time but after that I just thought that if the poops are moist I'm just leaving it. Some don't see to drink much. I put the water bottles right next to the bedrooms so she didn't have to come out in the dark to drink and that worked well for her. I have more water bottles than pigs!
Are they young boys or older boys? And how long have you had them... a few weeks or a few years?
Sorry I put UTI last time - that's pee infection, but you said upper respiratory infection didn't you. URI can be very serious as your vet has probably told you, and it's really important that he is monitored closely by daily weighing on kitchen scales. If he's dropping he'll need support feeding of fibre-rich food to keep his guts moving and keep him pooping. Poops run a day or two behind eating so if you think they're dropping off one day it'll be that his eating dropped off a couple days back and that is a risk. Your vet will have a stock of support food (Critical care/emeraid/Recovery) and likely also some probiotic (mine has bio-lapis powder that I just mix into syringe food) and if he's been on AB for a while a probiotic can really help. If his weight is dropping and dropping that is as much a worrying symptom as raspy breathing or running nose. It's never a 'cold' because they don't get colds. Syringe-feeding is a bit of a dark art as if you try and get too much in they can inhale it and make any chest infection a whole lot worse. I don't syringe water as one of my girls did inhale some and coughed enough to make me die on the spot - we got away with it that time but after that I just thought that if the poops are moist I'm just leaving it. Some don't see to drink much. I put the water bottles right next to the bedrooms so she didn't have to come out in the dark to drink and that worked well for her. I have more water bottles than pigs!
Please make sure you weigh your piggy with a URI every day and step in with syringe feeding. Putting hay in and seeing it’s gone doesn’t tell you he is definitely getting enough to maintain his weight and that he is eating all of it (it could be his companion eating lots of it).
Syringing water isnt enough - he needs fibre to maintain gut function and syringe feeding a recovery feed is as important as antibiotics to get them through an illness. If they don’t eat enough, then their guts slow down and the medication just won’t be able to get on top of the infection
The piggy who age the tomato leaf doesn’t need vitamin c cookies. A healthy piggy on a healthy diet doesn’t ever need supplementing.
Your URI piggy can go on a short course of vitamin c to boost his immune system, but it is just a short course - 2-3 weeks at most.
Ok I’ll leave the cookies then and about the food they are in separate cadges the boys bond broke so now they have to live separate but next to eachother so it’s easy to tell how much one has just eaten but the boy with the URI has been on antibiotics for 2 weeks now he was off them for a couple days as he ran out and was doing better but then he started to get bad again we’re gonna finish this weeks with and go back to the vets if he’s not better and get a different one we were actually at the vets today to get the 2nd weeks worth wnd the vet thinks it might just be alergies but he has most of the symptoms of a URI
Ahah it’s ok they are 1 and 4 months they were rescues we’ve had them for about a year we got them at 3 months we didn’t know anything about Guinea pigs but my brother got them and abandoned them so I had to take them and nurse them back to health they are doing so much better the funny part of it is they were girls we got them advertised as girls it’s a long story that dosent need to be explained for this senatoro but it turns out they are boys are there bond is broken so they live in separate cadges I’m defo gonna weight both of them daily now just to monitor and I’m gonna do as you said mush pellets up and saringe feed as he was in the vets today they weighed him since the first dose and he was actually heavier than before but I will defo start to weight him and I’m actually gonna do the water bottle thing rn we have a double layer and he hates going up the ramp so he jumps up it’s honestly terrifying during the night but I’m gonna out his food and water down on the bottom layer for him
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
You still can’t gauge how much hay is eaten by sight. You need to weigh weekly (daily if they are ill) just to be sure. Have you eliminated all irritants in the room they’re in?
Sorry their bond was broken.
Sorry their bond was broken.
Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
Oh well done on helping out these little guys! Yes sometimes they do fall out and to keep them as neighbours-thru-the-bars makes them feel secure in their own space... I had to do this with my first pair of boys when one became disabled and the other wouldn't stop having a go at him! But they were fine together once they got their barrier and could eat together at the bars in peace.
The daily weight check can go up and down so some days your heart is in your mouth but overall if it's within 30 or 40g up/down and he's pooping normally and maintaining weight over the week he's doing OK. You have to think that a full or empty bladder can make a bit of a difference but if weight is dropping day on day even if only a little each time it's a red flag for you. If his weight is stable and he's eating/pooping OK you don't need to syringe
If his weight starts dropping he might be quite happy to eat the mushed pellets from a little bowl in his enclosure... if I've been syringing reluctant piggies in the past the healthy companion has always hung around to hoover up any blobs that drop to the floor!
Sometimes they can have allergies but it's not that common. And allergy pigs can also get URI of course like any other pig. But if you've had them for about a year and the symptoms are a new thing that kind of points to infection (as your vet has picked up - that's why you got the meds) and if the antibiotics caused an improvement but the symptoms came back when the course finished that also points to infection (and that's why they gave you more meds!)
Maybe the prev owner didn't know boys from girls but at least they aren't one of each - or you could have been the owner of dozens by now!
The daily weight check can go up and down so some days your heart is in your mouth but overall if it's within 30 or 40g up/down and he's pooping normally and maintaining weight over the week he's doing OK. You have to think that a full or empty bladder can make a bit of a difference but if weight is dropping day on day even if only a little each time it's a red flag for you. If his weight is stable and he's eating/pooping OK you don't need to syringe
If his weight starts dropping he might be quite happy to eat the mushed pellets from a little bowl in his enclosure... if I've been syringing reluctant piggies in the past the healthy companion has always hung around to hoover up any blobs that drop to the floor!Sometimes they can have allergies but it's not that common. And allergy pigs can also get URI of course like any other pig. But if you've had them for about a year and the symptoms are a new thing that kind of points to infection (as your vet has picked up - that's why you got the meds) and if the antibiotics caused an improvement but the symptoms came back when the course finished that also points to infection (and that's why they gave you more meds!)
Maybe the prev owner didn't know boys from girls but at least they aren't one of each - or you could have been the owner of dozens by now!