Ate half the buttons on my remote...?

[Kimberly713]

Well she's done it again. Calypso has been eating things she shouldnt since I got her. This time it worries me though as she's never eaten this much of something.
She managed to eat 12 of the buttons of my tv remote, each button was about two bites. Chewed up and swallowed every bit of it.
What do i need to watch for to make sure she's fine? Should i separate her from the other to tell if shes pooing? It is possible for her to digest it right? And how long would it take to digest what she ate approximately?

[BlueButterfly]

I'd say you need to get her to a vet as soon as possible. I have a bit of personal experience (not with guinea pigs, my dog once ate the legs off a plastic lawn chair. He had to get surgery.) and one you might have been able to keep a close eye on, but twelve of those buttons in a little guinea pig could cause serious blockage.

[Onetwo]

When I was a teen I had a guinea pig for a short while. Feed it terribly, bought from a petstore, wire floored cage and everything. Shortly after Alexander ate the buttons (they were black) I found him dead at the bottom of his cage when I camge home from school. It is possible the buttons had nothing to do with it. I think I had him for a month or so but my memory of 10+ years ago is not the greatest...

[abyssinianpiggy]

I suggest you take her to a vet. How did she get to the remote?
You might want to separate herbut for a short while; she might
get lonely.

[BrendaMarie]

My last gp did this ... too familiar LOL She was fine, no problems.

[Kimberly713]

Well you guys are terrifying me now lol. I have literally NO money atm and my mom wants to "wait to see how she feels". If she gets sick i know she'll lend me money though.
It's been about an hour now. She is acting totally normal. She ate her veggies, and is now munching on hay. Her poos are small and soft but they were like that earlier before she ate the remote.

She's houdini, i dont know how she found the remote i hid it under my bed pillow... She's eaten bits of wires, cords, carpet, and plastic bags before with no problems

[Kimberly713]

Just wanted to inform everyone that Calypso is fine. I called the vet that night to find out their opinion, and they said to watch her closely. She's been totally fine, no lethargy, no lack of feces, nothing out of the ordinary. I don't know how she does it, but I'm greatful :)

[ellisa]

Glad to hear that she's ok!

[pinky]

Well you guys are terrifying me now lol. I have literally NO money atm and my mom wants to "wait to see how she feels". If she gets sick i know she'll lend me money though.
It's been about an hour now. She is acting totally normal. She ate her veggies, and is now munching on hay. Her poos are small and soft but they were like that earlier before she ate the remote.


She's houdini, i dont know how she found the remote i hid it under my bed pillow... She's eaten bits of wires, cords, carpet, and plastic bags before with no problems

How is she getting into all those things? I'd either keep her in her cage or supervise her if she's out. You've been lucky so far that she hasn't gotten ill or had a blockage.

[Kimberly713]

I'm really not as incompetent as I might sound. Each has a different story, and I agree we have been lucky. I do my best to keep her safe during her lap time and free range time, and most of the time nothing happens. But she's like having a toddler, you think you have completely piggy proofed and she finds the one thing you overlooked.

[MissJean]

Maybe after this event, you can purchase a few small animal playpens or an extra box of grids to fashion a pen from. Have *floor* time instead of free-range time. Even some toddlers need play pens when they have busy mothers.

I hope that your piggie comes out of this alive and that you do not allow these incidents to happen again.

[PigPandemonium]

When she has floor time or lap time, you have to keep watch over her the whole time to make sure that she isn't able to eat things that could really harm or kill her. If you don't have the ability to watch her the whole time she has floor time, then I think it would be better to make her a safer pen, or even just not give her as much floor time, because it would be better for her to just have a little less exercise than to eat something that can really harm or kill her. Also please try to convince your mom to start a little savings account for your pig. At some point you will have to take her to the vet for something as pigs are quite fragile creatures, and you may not have the time to "Wait an see" Recently one of my pigs died (About 2 days or so ago) Even though she had started to look better, and was starting to act more normal.

[kapplepig]

I have to keep the remote away from Cayenne or else she bites the buttons off. She doesn't eat them, just bites them off and spits them out, lol.

[cross]

i hope your guinea is okay just keep an eye on your pet

[mufasa]

I second @MissJean about making a pen out of grids, and a child's swimming pool is another cheap option. I originally used a big grid pen for my piggies' floor time but switched over to a pool because it's so easy to clean. Either way, no chance of getting into dangerous mischief. The expense of the grids or pool is much less than the potential vet cost of surgery to remove a blockage.

[CathiiPiggie]

I'm so glad your piggie is okay.
I think she will be one of those guinea pigs you just have to watch like a hawk.

I've been planning on making a playpen with grids - you might want to consider this too. Even if you don't have enough to make it a proper floor time, you can put the grids together, and push it up against something to corner off a large area.

[BingoandBrownie]

Oh dear..piggies chewing things they're not supposed to. My piggies do that too (they've eaten an inch of coroplast, chewed paint off the cage grids, and nibbled puppy training pads)

I would ask a vet or pig expert what to do, and keep an eye on your pig. Also, watch for any stool straining, or blood coming out of poop. This may mean Calypso is straining to pass the buttons. Also, watch for changes in behavior.

Hope I could help!