Is it Safe?: Health problems with MDF plank in cage?

[Abejorro]

As I've posted in another thread, I've just realized I put a potentially dangerous object in two of my cages.

Almost two years ago I had a father ("Vampiro") and a son ("Abejorro") in the same cage. But one day they began to fight, and I had to separate them in adjacent areas. Since Abejorro was really angry with his father, he achieved to bite his "back" (to avoid using another word) through the bars while Vampiro was sleeping. Also, Abejorro is a very good climber, and one day I found him in the females area, resulting in three more children two months later...

So I just took a thin MDF plank I had in home, and placed it between Abejorro's and Vampiro's areas, avoiding both problems. I didn't know then that kind of wood can be bad for the health of guinea pigs, and when I read about it the plank was part of the things I see everyday, so I just didn't think about it being wrong, you know.

But now that I realize it, I'm afraid it could have caused some silent health problems to both cavies, that could manifestate in the future, or even now without me spoting them. Though probably I'm being insanely exaggerated, I don't know. In any case, I've never seen anything strange with both cavies, they seem to be OK.

If all you can say me is that I'm silly asking this questions, don't hesitate to tell me!


Thanks!

[Toadies]

By MDF do you mean particle board? Have they chewed it? It does have glue in it that's not great for little guys. The off-gassing would be more likely to cause eye irritation or respiratory problems and the board itself might cause skin irritation if they slept touching it. You can use a "dry" wood like beech (low in oils) to seperate them. Or, if they can stand to see each other, you could overlap grids (like baby proofing) to discourage any infringement of space. It is not silly to be concerned about our "kids". Hope things go well for you.

[Abejorro]

Hi, Toadies, thanks for your answer.

I'm no expert on woods, but looking at Wikipedia what I used looks more like MDF (which stands for "Medium-density fibreboard"), or maybe it could be hardboard. But I suppose they may be mostly the same for this matter.

The only one that has complete access to it is the son, Abejorro, since it's in his side (there's still a grid between them); I've seen him chewing the plank, but very rarely, and he doesn't sleep touching it, so I'm more worried about the respiratory problems (I suppose the eye irritation, if any, would disappear when removing the plank, right?).

They really go/get mad when just seeing each other, so I need to put something opaque (and hard) there, but I hope to have new proper cages built soon, so that won't be a problem anymore. But, about the possibility of respiratory problems, would there be some kind of sign indicating them? Could they be silent and aggravate over time even when removing the object?

(Maybe I should put this questions in the "Medical & Veterinary" section?).

[Toadies]

GuineaLynx has a section on URIs that gives symptoms. Generally, shallow, labored, or noisy breathing, persistent cough, possibly runny, gunky eyes (although mine have never had such with a URI), runny nose, loss of appetite, and/or weight loss are some of the signs. If they are eating, running, pooping and peeing as usual, they are probably ok. Weigh weekly at least, listen and keep a close eye on them. As for the divider, if you have extra grids, you could make a cardboard sandwich with clean cardboard in the middle and grids on both sides to divide your grumpy boys. The grids should keep them from getting to the cardboard and, if the cardboard is clean and they do get to it, it won't harm them to chew on it a bit. And it's an inexpensive, temporary solution. It's a real pain when they don't get along. Kudos to you for finding a solution instead of rehoming. Charlie, Slick and I wish you the best.

[Abejorro]

The only thing I've noticed in Abejorro is the noisy breathing, but that's when I pick him up after chasing him for a while, so he's tired, nervous and angry with me, and that could be the reason. I'll have to keep an eye on him to be sure. Thanks for remembering me about GuineaLynx, I just forgot that place!

Great idea the "sandwich"! Though the problem is that with the unused grids I have Abejorro could be able to climb and end in any place (with his father or with the girls - I don't like the result of any of those options!). Anyway, I hope to have new cages finished very very soon, so, if I find Abejorro is OK, I'll leave the wood there just a little bit more.


Thanks!