Can Guinea Pigs Eat Plastic? [Know The Fact Based Truth]
Does your guinea pig do stupid things sometimes? Like, eating things that it shouldn’t? Well, your pet is not the only one. All pet cavies tend to do that. They sometimes even eat plastic bags.
Butcan guinea pigs eat plastic? No, they can’t. Technically speaking, they can, but they shouldn’t. Animal stomachs can not digest plastic. So, if your cavy eats a lot of plastic, it might get severely sick.
However, having a single or a couple of bites would probably not hurt your piggy. Now, what happens if a guinea pig eats plastic? To find a comprehensive answer to this question, you must dive down into this discussion of ours.
So, let’s dig a bit deeper into the topic right away!
Can Guinea Pigs Eat Plastic? (Explained)
As we have already briefly indicated above, guinea pigs sometimes do chew on plastic bags. But it doesn’t mean they can digest plastics. Instead, sometimes cavies chew on plastic bags and eat quite a bit of plastic. But, they usually let the plastic out in a few days through feces.
However, just because guinea pigs can poop out plastic bags doesn’t mean it’s safe for them to eat. According to 2019 research, most plastics are non-biodegradable. So, eating plastic can jam the digestive tract of your cavy. As a result, in the worst-case scenario, your pet can even die.
Moreover, a 2020 study shows that reusable plastic bags may contain additional bacteria, fungi, or viruses. That, in turn, can cause severe illness to your pet guinea pig.
For example, when your piggy chews on plastic bags, it can have a stomach infection due to mold or fungus. And ultimately, this can cause your pet to die.
Therefore, you should try to prevent your cavy from eating plastic bags as much as you can.
How Common Is It For Guinea Pigs To Eat Plastic?
![How Common Is It For Guinea Pigs To Eat Plastic](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/How-Common-Is-It-For-Guinea-Pigs-To-Eat-Plastic.webp)
Surprisingly, eating plastic is not anything uncommon for guinea pigs. Rather, almost all pigs like to chew on plastic from time to time (almost every week). Consequently, there’s a high chance that any pet cavy might frequently grab a bite on plastic bags.
Not only that, you’d be surprised to know that, in addition to plastic, cavies also eat metals, rubbers, or other non-organic materials. Sounds interesting, huh?
But, in most cases, this does not cause severe problems because these non-organic materials pass through the digestive tract of guinea pigs without causing pain or harm. In the end, the non-organic materials leave the body of the cavy with feces.
A video of a cavy eating plastic.
Should I be Concerned If My Guinea Pig Chews On Plastic?
![Should I be Concerned If My Guinea Pig Chews On Plastic](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Should-I-be-Concerned-If-My-Guinea-Pig-Chews-On-Plastic.webp)
As we have said above, pet guinea pigs commonly chew on plastic materials such as plastic bags or plastic bottles. But, it shouldn’t be a reason for your concern because, in most cases, guinea pigs realize that plastic is not anything appealing to eat.
Resultantly, pet piggies end up not chewing plastic anymore. However, what you can do in this situation is you can try preventing your piggy from munching on plastic materials. If not anything else, it will give you some peace of mind.
Why Do Guinea Pigs Eat Plastic?
![Why Do Guinea Pigs Eat Plastic](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Why-Do-Guinea-Pigs-Eat-Plastic.webp)
Guinea pigs are a kind of animal that loves to chew on things. Whether it is food or not, these animals have a huge tendency to chew things and keep their mouths active. It’s because, like many other animals, such as rats or rabbits, cavies have an instinct for chewing.
You might ask, “why do guinea pigs have this type of instinct?”. Well, it’s because wild cavies usually have to live on many types of vegetables and fruits that have hard plant tissues ( according to a 2020 study on guinea pig husbandry).
To break down the super solid plant tissues, guinea pigs frequently use their front teeth and chew on the hard tissues. Consequently, they can easily eat even the hardest types of plants.
Since guinea pigs and their ancestors have been living in the wild by breaking down food items, they cannot help but chew things from time to time. As a result, they sometimes even end up chewing things that are not food items (such as plastic bags).
Is Plastic Bad for Guinea Pigs to Chew?
![Is Plastic Bad for Guinea Pigs to Chew](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Is-Plastic-Bad-for-Guinea-Pigs-to-Chew.webp)
Usually, chewing on plastic is not extremely harmful to a guinea pig. It’s because, in most cases, the plastic leaves your pig’s body through feces without causing any trouble.
But is it ok for guinea pigs to chew on plastic? Well, technically speaking, it is quite harmful to cavies to chew on plastic. Since plastic can cause internal infection, you should try to prevent your beautiful pet friend from chewing on plastic.
How To Detect If My Guinea Pig Has Eaten Plastic?
![How To Detect If My Guinea Pig Has Eaten Plastic](https://caringtinypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/How-To-Detect-If-My-Guinea-Pig-Has-Eaten-Plastic.webp)
Unless plastic causes any trouble in the stomach of your pet cavy, it is extremely difficult to understand whether your pet has eaten plastic or not.
However, if you see the below-mentioned sickness symptoms in your pet pig, you should understand that it might have eaten plastic.
Here we go:
1. Extreme laziness:
Guinea pigs usually run around a lot and spend their day looking for food items here and there. But, if your pet piggy has suddenly become extremely lazy, it might indicate that it has eaten something wrong.
2. Lack of hunger:
As I said, guinea pigs should always be on the hunt for food items. But, if you notice that your pet has no affinity to food items, it can be because of sickness due to eating plastic.
3. Sudden weight loss:
Remember, a healthy guinea pig never loses much weight over its lifetime. So, if your pet piggy has been losing a lot of weight recently, you should take it to a vet and check if it’s eaten something indigestible or not.
4. Vomiting and diarrhea:
In an unlucky scenario, your guinea pig can have chronic vomiting and diarrhea because of eating plastics. In that case, you should hurry up and take your pet to an animal care center.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
We have gathered and answered some “pigs eating plastic” related questions here.
How can I prevent my guinea pig from eating plastic?
If you want to prevent your guinea pig from chewing plastic, you should keep plastic bags away from your pet’s living space. In addition to that, I suggest you stop using plastic bags altogether.
Plus, you should also provide food to your guinea pig frequently, so it doesn’t have to chew on other items.
How much plastic is dangerous for a guinea pig to eat?
Plastic, whether eaten in small amounts or large, can be hazardous to a pet’s health. Specifically, if your guinea pig eats more than 5 g of plastic at a time, it might have digestive problems.
It’s because pet piggies usually don’t bite and chew more than 5 g of food at a time. So, eating plastic in amounts more than that can jam up the digestive tract of your cavy and cause extreme illness.
Conclusion
Well, that’s all there’s to it, people. Now that you’ve got a clear understanding of this query, can guinea pigs eat plastic?
To sum it all up, No, it is never okay for them to chew or eat plastic items. Although chewing plastic is not always dangerous, it can cause health issues for your pet. So, always try to prevent your pet from eating plastic. To do that, you can restrict your pig from entering your kitchen. Or, you can also keep it in a cage so it can’t chew on random items. Thank you so very much, and peace out!