Most animals will vomit as a process of getting something out from their body. It can be beneficial to the animals, but it can also be an indication that there’s something wrong inside the body.
Even young animals are possible to get this, just like vomiting in newborn kittens. How about guinea pigs, the small creatures? Can they vomit? The answer is no, they can’t.
Guinea pigs are unable to throw up or vomit. Basically, they are not equipped with body functions and brain circuits that are able to respond to this reflex. Therefore, consuming something toxic or experiencing a blockage or choking is really fatal.
A guinea pig is not able to throw up, but in some cases, a guinea pig might burp out certain things from their stomach and throat. That might happen if the guinea pig consumes something unhealthy or toxic.
It is very important as an owner to know the ways to handle this condition. Here are the things to do once you find your guinea pig vomits.
Causes of Throwing Up in Guinea Pigs
As stated before, guinea pigs are unable to vomit, and if they do, the vomiting is more like nausea and the response to remove the foreign bodies from the insides. If they do, then there are some possible causes of vomiting in guinea pigs as follows:
- Congestion of ingesting hair or food and hair out of another guinea pig (if you have more than one). This is similar to cats who cough up their own hairs as a hairball.
- Gastric ulcer. The sign of this is the pale area around the mouth. It indicates the blood loss due to ulcers. If this case happens, then you should contact your vet to remove the ulcer.
- Lastly, guinea pig disease ileus. A healthy guinea pig basically eats good food and defecates regularly. However, if yours rarely touches the food and passes the stools, then it could have ileus. This builds up gasses in the gastrointestinal tract or the stomach. As a result, the gasses cause discomfort and if it stays trapped in the body, it will pressure the whole stomach.
It is really important to understand the causes of vomiting in guinea pigs as it might lead to death, just like common diseases of guinea pig.
How Do You Know that Your Guinea Pig is Trying to Vomit?
Guinea pigs are more prone to have choking rather than vomit. There might be some blockage in their throat instead. Here are the signs of blockage in the air passage of guinea pigs:
- Breathing using mouth – you all know that guinea pigs are nasal breather, so when they start breathing with open mouth, then there is something wrong. Related to respiratory system, get to know pneumonia in guinea pig as one of the diseases you need to be aware of.
- Head shaking – it is a sign of your guinea pig struggling to lose something that is stuck.
- Swollen eyes – this indicates that your guinea pig storage of oxygen in their body.
What to do to Treat Vomiting in Guinea Pigs?
Your guinea pig will be likely to vomit if there is something stuck in the throat. When your guinea pig experiences this, then don’t get panic. You can do the following methods to help your guinea pig:
- Gently hold your guinea pig by your chest, and cover your piggy from its neck.
- Face the nose downward. Then massage your guinea pig using your finger on its stomach from the bottom of the abdomen to the ribs.
- Do this gently as its body is delicate. Don’t push too hard as it can break its ribs. Give a little pressure too.
- The pressure will be given to the lungs too, which will create a flow of air. If it succeeds, then the trapped object will come out from the throat.
Another case happens when your guinea pig eats something toxin. This case is a bit dangerous as if it cannot vomit, then the toxin might have been swallowed.
There’s nothing you can do to remove the toxin, instead, you just need to call the vet immediately.
However, you can do some prevention by keeping your guinea pig away from any kind of toxins, including:
- chemicals found in plants and grass
- rodent poison for pest control
- wild plants that are poisonous (some house plants are toxic)
- human medicines
- leaf-based products
- moldy or spoiled food
- any kind of flea treatment – to remove flea, you can follow these tips on getting rid of fleas on guinea pigs.
Be aware of the foods we must avoid to give guinea pig as they might give danger to your guinea pig.
The other signs indicating that your guinea pig is consuming something toxin. They are seizures, changes in body temperature, not eating, unable to move, etc.