Pig ate some ribbon!! Help!

[Michellec]

I'm pig-sitting and I stupidly tied some balloons onto the pig's cage. I know it was dumb, I wasn't thinking, please don't flame me for this. One of the pigs ate some of the ribbon that was on the balloons. That typical stuff you get on a balloon at a party store. She seems okay now, but what do I do, just watch her? Watch her poops?

I'll never forgive myself if something happens to my friends pig.

How soon does stuff pass thru their systems?

Thanks.

 

[Michellec]

I called the vet. He said it's just watch and wait now. It cold pass or it could get stuck.

I can't tell you how awful I feel. It's like a nightmare. My friend trusted me and I screwed up. She is due home tomorrow.

I'm not leaving this pig's side. I have a class tomorrow and I'm skipping it.

 

[Myspoiltpiggies]

I hope she is okay. Don't feel bad, we all make mistakes.

 

[sasha]

I had a shower curtain under a sheet with a cube fence on top, and thought that they would be ok in there while I cleaned the cage. Jane pulled the sheet with her teeth while I wasn't looking and crawled underneath and ate plastic. There was an extra foot of sheet on the other side of the grid. I swear that pig actually hunts plastic.

They can be sneaky, and I think everyone with a pig like that has had at least one heart attack. I think she will be ok though. The only death I personally know of is my roommates childhood pet. His pig ate half a superman poster that fell into the cage. The toxic ink and the incredibly large size of what he ate was probably what did him in, and he was dead by the time the family came home from school and work. The other pig didn't touch the poster- some of them seem incredibly sneaky and others won't even do a test nibble.

 

[VoodooJoint]

It it was a piece 4" or shorter I wouldn't worry too much. If it was longer then that there is a chance that it could bind up and cause a blockage.

Make sure she has lots of water, hay and veggies to try to flush it through. Most likely she'll be fine.

If you wanted to dose her with a small amount of Mineral Oil to help "grease" things along it couldn't hurt.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Lettuce dipped in mineral oil generally is a good way to give it to her if you need too.

 

[Michellec]

So, mineral oil...where do I get it and is mineral oil the common name? What exactly will it do?

Also, I wish I knew the mechanism of their chewing. Like, they don't just swallow hay whole, right? When I see them eat hay, like we slurp ina piece of spaghetti, I'm assuming it's a chewing motion, not slurping. I'm hoping she at least chewed it up.

She seems to be acting normally, eating, pooping, drinking, normal activity. But, I know the next couple of days is critical.

I think I'll set my watch alarm to go off hourly to check her all night.

Thanks for the help.

 

[VoodooJoint]

You should be able to find Mineral Oil ( labelled exactly like that) in any pharmacy or superstore in the pharmacy/drug section.

 

[littlebear]

Don't feel bad, I did the same thing or sorta the same thing on Christmas I put some paper things around it and they had string on it and my pigs ate it all! But they turned out just fine.