<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

My 13 year old son with Celiac got a guinea pig in December.  He started
having significantly more episodes of stomachache and diarrhea since
January, severe enough to miss school 13x between Jan, Feb & March so far.

 

In early February we tried switching to a brand of guinea pig food labeled
gluten free (Higgins Vita Garden). We gave the guinea pig a bath and
thoroughly cleaned the cage and every surface in his room 1 week and again 2
weeks later, but his issues persist. Obviously the fresh fruits & veggies we
give are not the problem.  Her bedding is Care Fresh which is supposedly
made from recycled egg cartons (paper).  And everything I read says guinea
pigs need an unlimited supply of timothy hay, so she gets that. 

 

My main suspicion is the hay--maybe it's cross contaminated by shared farm
equipment or grown on field rotated year to year with wheat, so there some
mixed in maybe?

 

We have been working with our son on more frequent hand washing and trying
to break the habit of chewing on his finger nails, but this is a slow
process.

 

Does anyone else with celiac care for a guinea pig?  What do you  use for
bedding  & food?

 

Does anyone know of an inexpensive way to test her foods and bedding for
gluten?

 


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