Jasper - Ate tape

[PrayerWarrior]

He ate five 1/2" strips of tape. What do I do???

[rshevin]

#1 Make sure he never has access to tape again. For whatever reason, cavies LOVE tape.

#2 Feed plenty of hay and watch output like a hawk. At the first some of abdominal changes or abnormal poop, take him to the vet.

I'm not sure there's too much that can be done at this juncture.

[PrayerWarrior]

I gave him extra lettuce and drenched it in water. I'll be watching, believe me.

Thanks rshevin.

[everly_dawn]

I don't know that I'd wait. By the time digestion is compromised, I'd think that would be awfully late. I'd also be worried the sticky part of the tape could be toxic. What type of tape was it?

[PrayerWarrior]

Scotch tape.

[rshevin]

The only thing is you can't induce vomiting in a guinea pig and you can't really scope them to bring up whatever they swallowed. I'm not saying this is a no danger situation, and if you'd like to visit/call the vet it's certainly not a bad idea. Perhaps you will get additional information throughout the evening.

[PrayerWarrior]

I would love to call the vet, but they're closed on weekends.

Right now, his poops are fine, and I don't know when he ate the tape. Sometime today. I'll continue watching him.

[GuineaPinny]

Oh yeah, if you're in No. CA (looking at your profile) you're still in normal vet business hours too. Isn't the digestive process of a guinea pig something ridiculous? I mean it takes a lot of hours for it to pass, much longer than you'd anticipate. It might be good to set up a plan with your vet now.

Edit: oh right, it's Sunday.

[everly_dawn]

Scotch tape probably has less chance of toxicity than say duct tape, masking tape or something like that. But, yeah, I'd watch closely tonight and call the vet to leave a message saying you'll be in early morning Monday.

[Sef]

Not that I'm saying it's an okay thing to have happen, but I've had pigs eat both scotch tape and masking tape (ripped it off the bottom of the cage, when I had joined two C&C cages together to make one large one), and they were fine. That was 2-3 years ago.

As others have said, just keep an eye on him and make sure he has plenty of hay and water.

[rshevin]

I think all of us have learned at some point that pigs have an unusual fascination with tape. It's rather uncanny how they seek it out to eat.

[Sef]

And yet they'll turn their little noses up at zucchini. Go figure.

[Christine]

I had no idea that guinea pigs like to eat tape.
I am glad to have found this out though...mental note: NO tape in GP cages.

I hope your Jasper is ok, Prayerwarrior.

[PrayerWarrior]

I've been checking on them every fifteen to twenty minutes, and so far, most the veggies from dinner are gone, and I gave them extra hay piles. Jasper hasn't pooped yet, which worries me a little, but he doesn't poop as often as the others on a regular basis. I'll continue to watch him though for sure.

*big sigh* You guys have put me at ease that they aren't going to drop over dead on me, so thank you. I'm such an idiot, and they will never be within the vicinity of tape again.

I'll let you know how things are in the morning.

[JaneDoe]

Thinking good thoughts for him.

Also, make sure he gets plenty of water. You might try squirting a little extra into his mouth just to make sure.

Do you have Critical Care? That has lots of fibre and other stuff to help him "go" and make the stuff come out better.

[Tracis]

Sending good thoughts for Jasper.

It can take up to 30 hours for things to pass through a guinea pig's system.
Gastric Transit Time:
http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html#summary

One of my girls nibbled on the thin plastic coating on an incontinence pad once. I really REALLY pushed the hay, for fiber, that day and the next. She was fine, and I never used those pads in the cage again after that.

[paulammoore]

Hopefully this helps - when my girls ate parts of a plastic garbage bag, my vet told me that by the time I had taken them in the next day, the danger had passed (they were still pooping normally) ... So hopefully if he's still going tomorrow and by the time you get him to the vet, you can be reasonably sure he's ok.

Thinking good thoughts for Jasper, PW.

[JaneDoe]

Yes, how is he today?

[Joannt]

I don't know what the sticky goo is on tape nowadays...early in its history, cellophane or Scotch tape used to use a cellulose-based adhesive, which I bet a pig would find tasty. I have no idea what they use now but it is probably some plant based gum or goo.

Probably won't hurt pig in a small taste but be really careful of the reinforced tapes - they have fiberglass or other filaments in them which I bet could wreck havoc with a piggy gut.