What will kill guinea pigs

If you keep them, move them to a room that your guinea pig never enters. Move outdoor hutches away from plants. There should be no plants hanging over or into outdoor hutches. Make sure that the hutch is not touching any plants, so that your guinea pig cannot reach out and nibble something poisonous. Place chicken wire around dangerous plants in the garden. If you let your guinea pig into your garden, make sure it cannot eat poisonous plants. While removing the plants is ideal, you can also install a chicken wire fence around them to keep the guinea pig out.

Identify any plants before giving them to your guinea pig. If you find a tasty plant for your guinea pig, always identify it first. Take a picture or sample of the plant, and look it up online to see if it is on the list of toxic plants. It is identified by its long green leaves and small, bell-shaped white flowers.

Provide safe plants to eat instead. Not all plants are poisonous to guinea pigs. Some plants even make for tasty treats for guinea pigs. Method 3. Give your guinea pig a well-rounded, healthy diet. While guinea pigs love to chew, they may be less likely to eat something bad if they have a healthy diet.

A good diet for a guinea pig includes pellets, timothy hay, leafy vegetables, and chopped fruits. Good leafy greens include spinach, kale, and broccoli. Be sure to portion and plan when to feed leafy greens. Spinach and kale are high in calcium so should only be fed once a week. Broccoli can cause bloating if feed too often. Good fruits include apples, melons, and oranges. Avoid toxic foods.

There are a few foods that should never be given to your guinea pig. These are foods that may poison your guinea pig or cause severe stomach problems. These foods include: [10] X Research source Potato skins or potatoes that have sprouted The green part of tomatoes Chickpeas, garbanzo beans, or other legumes Onions Avocado Iceberg lettuce Chocolate.

Refrain from giving your guinea pig cooked foods. Make sure you only give it raw fruits and vegetables. Provide food and water during floor time. When you let your guinea pig out for its daily floor time, take out its food and water dish as well. This will make it less likely to munch on other objects in the room. Method 4. Identify symptoms of poisoning. The symptoms of poisoning can vary based on what caused the poison. In general, symptoms include diarrhea, salivation, skin rash, labored breathing, or a fast pulse.

Call your veterinarian. Get in touch with your vet as soon as possible. If you can, take your guinea pig directly to their office. If you leave your hutch on grass, he will either knock it over or dig underneath or through the wood to gain access. The hungrier he is, the worse it gets. He is quite adept in sliding open latches and if he fails, he will be back night after night. Rats: Rats are experts at gaining access, they can chew through wooden floors and the smallest gaps.

They often attack adult guinea pigs, sometimes killing them. They always attack and kill baby guinea pigs. Birds: We know of a lady that kept her guinea pigs in hutches in an aviary with no roof. One morning, she let them out into the aviary and popped indoors, and when she came back one was missing. It then transpired that a hawk had been around for a few days prior to the attack. Other birds with an interest are magpies and seagulls. Bladder stones are often found on radiographs being taken for a diagnosis of ileus and must be surgically removed.

Guinea pig ailments can be hard to diagnose. The best way to keep your guinea pig healthy is to keep a close watch on your pet. Make sure it is eating and defecating, wash your hands before and after handling, freeze your pet's bedding and food before use, and keep it away from drafts.

These actions will help you prevent the bulk of the most commonly seen diseases, though there are, of course, numerous other diseases that affect guinea pigs.

To rule out anything else or to look for internal issues, an annual physical examination with your exotics vet is always recommended. Ask the Vet: Questions about Exotic Pets.

Cummings School News Center. Caspari, Baden. Common Exotic Animal Emergencies. Northern Virginia Community College. Cole, Deborah et al. New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Karr-Lilienthal, Lisa and Points, Kaycee.

Spaying And Neutering Guinea Pigs. Companion Animals Extension. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Bordetella Pneumonia. Diseases of Research Animals. University of Missouri. Guinea Pig Care. Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile.