Guinea pig swallowed syringe stopper/plug!!

Katrina16

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:46 pm


Hello,
I feel awful.
Eden is poorly (saw the vet yesterday and will see her again tomorrow) so she is having to be hand-fed. She is living alone now (usually is with 6 other sows) but today she has been squeaking a lot and I felt bad so I let her see Misty. I was feeding Eden with the syringe when Misty took an interest. I gave some to Misty and let the syringe stopper go too far and she bit it off... and swallowed it! I am in a panic because I was told it can get stuck in her intestine. Is this likely to happen?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

maremma

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:22 pm


Oh dear I am so sorry this has happend. Did you call her vet and tell them what has happend?

If it were my girl I would be pushing A LOT of extra fluid and fiber to help her get it through her system and also give her mineral oil or liquid parifin right after a good dose of lots of fluids to help it slip through her system. Keep checking her poops and pen looking for it and of course rush her to the vet if she shows any signs of pain or blockage.

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whittibo

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:31 pm


I don't think mineral oil or paraffin would be a good option. How big is this stopper? My pigs ate a ton of a plastic lid I gave them to play with once, and I panicked, but they were fine. One of ours eats the coroplast all day. *brat*

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:18 pm


I really don't think it's wise to keep on suggesting using mineral oil orally.

Vegetable oil might be acceptable, but mineral oil isn't something I would use.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:22 pm


We've used mineral oil successfully, but only occasionally. You don't want to use a lot of it, and you don't want to use it regularly, but if it's used only occasionally (and not very much of it), it's worked moderately well for us.

Mineral oil is an inorganic substance and will coat what's in the GI tract. If you have something that needs to absorb fluid, such as vegetable matter that's not moving through properly in stasis, you *don't* want to coat it. A stopper, though, is insoluble to begin with. I don't think a very small amount of mineral oil is a bad recommendation in this case.

Don't use very much and don't use it regularly. I believe if that's done you can actually damage the mucosal lining of the intestine. (The stuff can dissolve label adhesives, so I can just imagine it could in fact dissolve mucosal tissue over time as well.) One of ours actually seemed to like it and would take it willingly (about 1/3 an eyedropperful). If you administer it via syringe, be exceptionally careful not to aspirate the patient. One vet told us mineral oil "can set up the worst kind of aspiration pneumonia" -- so if you do use it, be very careful.

Ditto Maremma. Fluids, fiber. Keep checking her droppings and see if you find it (or pieces of it). Be ready to take her to the vet immediately if you see any sign of pain or a blockage.

darkmuffet

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:43 pm


I don't have anything useful to add and I don't know about the safety of mineral oil in guinea pigs. If I am ever in doubt, I check with my vet.

Talishan, the aspiration pneumonia you are referring to is lipid or lipoid pneumonia. I have seen it in a patient during my clinicals (I am a respiratory therapy student) and the doctor said that the lungs do not fully recover from it ever. The mineral oil destroys the lung tissue and it can't be repaired. This patient was going to be on a ventilator for the rest of their life. They got it from taking mineral oil for constipation and apparently aspirated a small amount.

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whittibo

Post   » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:34 am


How freaky darkmuffet! And to think of all those pregnant women out there who take mineral oil to induce labor... and look what could happen! How hard is it to aspirate?

And what is the cat fur ball medicine made of? I was just thinking something thicker that the piggies could lick off or you could wipe on their tongues or inside their mouths might be safer then something "oily". But I haven't a clue what that cat stuff is made of?!

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rshevin

Post   » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:13 am


Hairball gels are made either of mineral oil or petroleum jelly with flavorings and minor enhancements. They're considered unhealthy and only to be used when necessary. I believe they should be treated as a medication, not a food.

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whittibo

Post   » Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:13 am


Well now that they have hairball foods, I don't have to use that stuff, but I wonder if in small amounts it would be OK to use in this instance. Are the flavorings and minor enhancements bad for pigs that swallowed syringe plugs?

PS, since I started using the hairball food for my cats, OH my, what a difference.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:40 am


Interesting. Does vegetable oil have similar laxative properties? If so, sounds like it would be safer to use-? Is there the same potential risk of aspiration pneumonia w/ vegetable oil?

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whittibo

Post   » Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:15 am


That thing should clear out of the digestive tract fairly quickly, what's the turn around time on what goes in/goes out?? I thought it was like 12 hours or something?

BUT.. with all the plastic my pigs eat/ate, I never seen it come out. :s

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:06 am


I believe my vet told me that turn-around time (including 2-pass) was 12 hours. So if she's pooping after 12 hours, I'd say the stopper didn't block anything.

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