# Goat ate Pothos plant :(



## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi...my husband tossed a pothos leaf over the fence to the goats thinking it was a Taro plant. We live in Hawaii so pothos..the plant most of you probably grow in a pot in the house..grows wild in our jungle here. I have begged him time and time again to not give them anything until you are sure what it is and then find out if they can have it. 

Pothos is the plant that makes your cats loose their voice for a bit if they just chew on it a little bit. They don't usually get very much so they are okay..just have an irritated mouth and throat for a bit..but can get digestive probs from it. My Baylee goat chewed all around the edge of the large leaf. I was outside and I heard her scream suddenly and then keep screaming. I ran over to her and saw hubby saying "what you don't like your Taro plant?" I yelled for him to take it away..it was pothos. She was grinding her teeth so loud and was in pain. I imediately gave her some activated charcoal powder in water with a syringe and then some probios. 

By the next day she had major diarrhea. I gave her pepto (not realizing it was stopping the toxin from coming out of her system..I just read a good thread here in the forum about that) and it stopped the diarrhea for a bit but it started up again tonight..so I have her more. Now I'm seeing I should wait on that until she has it too long and seems dehydrated. How do you tell if they are dehydrated? How long should I wait to give that?

Also how much probios and how much activated charcoal should I give her? She is still eating and still walking around. she is only about 5 or 6 months old. I can tell she doesn't feel good. Do you think she's safe because she's not acting totally lethargic or can it get worse?

thanks for you advice!

jamee


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If you have the tube of Probios, I would give her 10g once a day for at least a week. I'm not sure how much charcoal but there is probably a dosage somewhere on here or maybe on the package.

Make sure she has plenty of fresh water and you could even give her another bucket of water with electrolytes in it.


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## dobe627 (Oct 16, 2007)

To tell if he is dehydrated pull her skin up, if it snaps back quickly your good. The slower it goes back the more dehydrated. If he is dehydrated quite a bit sub q fluids will be better and easier then trying to get her to drink enough


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

yes I have probios..I gave her 5g for two days in a row..I will give her 10 now. as for the charcoal she didn't even get a full pill..I just opened the powder in some water and sucked up a syringe that prob holds only 3 or 4ml. Would giving her more help or is it beyond that point now? 

She doesn't drink water out of a bowl very much..just weaned her from the bottle mid july. So I'm sure if she is dehydrated I could give her pedialite in a bottle again. 

I hear her crying for me..so I'm sure she will be fine..time to go assess the diarrhea damage for the night though! no my fav thing to do


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

update...she had major watery diarrhea all over this morning..even though she has pepto last night. I didn't give her any more pepto today though. She's grinding her teeth like she's in pain. Hangs out in a little shade house we have for them..but will get up and walk to me and will eat grass if I offer. Not sure how much she is grazing. 

I gave her the probios this morning and just now 3 oz of pedialite and 1/2 a pill of charcoal. (figured half an adult dose)

I have seen her drinking water out of the bowl to for the first time ever.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Most poisonings will cause either vomiting or diarrhea....it's important to allow the body to rid itself of the bad but keeping them hydrated at the same time. Giving her the charcoal was good and the pedialyte will help with hydration....offer her hay and some dry oatmeal, it will help bind her poop without stopping her up.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Oh my gosh. I'm going to have to look around and see if I have that plant here on my orchard on the Big Island. I hope your kid feels better.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with Liz... :thumb: 


praying for her... :hug: ray:


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

Yes Dayna..better make sure..it grows wild on the islands..it's the one you see growing up the sides of trees..but they also just pop out of the ground. My husband found some off in the woods here and brought it home to grow with out other plants because it is really pretty..he was trimming the garden and threw one in the pasture  It doesn't pop up in our pasture though..the goats keep that very trim and just grass.


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

thanks Liz and Toth boer goats 

So how long until I should give her pepto to help her system heal? Or is it better to just let it do that with the probios only? It happened on Sunday evening and I did give her pepto monday when I saw all the diarrhea and two times the next day and then I stopped.

Now it's very watery..green but super watery. She is eating..even found a way out of the fence some how early morning so probably had her fill of the yummy vine growing on the other side before she came waltzing in the front fence to come home.

I don't have hay (these goats don't belong to me..I help take care of them since we share 6 acres..just a few that I have raised from mommies dying or rejecting have suddenly become all mine because the owner changed hands and I don't want them sold so I'm more responsible for them now.) Hubby did pick up some raw oatmeal from the bulk section at the healthfood store. I gave her a handful yesterday..not sure how much to give her of that either. :shrug:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I don't think the pepto is working for her anymore....so I would not give it anymore.... 
Probiotics is OK to give...I'd also give a shot of fortified vit B complex....3cc's

Goats do need roughage.. which is hay.. to keep their rumen functioning properly...if there is anyway ...to buy a bale... that will help her...but introduce very little at first so... her system gets use to it....then slowly increase....even if it is oat hay or equivalent .....no grain with scours.... 
Oatmeal might be OK to give but ...she will need roughage as well....

Remember ....introduce anything new very slowly... 

She may have worms or cocci from the stress of the poisoning.... wish you could get a fecal on her..... :hug:


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

What about the pothos plant is toxic? I see that stuff all over Hawaii hand in hand with feral goats.


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

Well I only gave pepto to her in the very begining...and it did stop her diarrhea when I gave it..but I stopped because of trying to allow the poison to get through her system. So I thought once it was through..if her system keeps being upset that I could try it again to help calm it down.

I don't have the equipment to give her a shot though it's something I should probably get set up for. I do give my cat insulin shots. I'm just an 'accidental' goat owner..not on purpose ..if that makes any sense so I'm not really prepared. They are owned by my landlord who lives on the mainland and has made deals first with one gal who ended up moving and giving them back to him and now another person has taken over taking care of them..but they are his while he's doing it..he's to raise and sell them and make money off of them to rent the pasture. The landlord is not into the goats at all..just needs them for ag rates on taxes and water and to keep the pasture mowed down so they are kinda passed around. I've been here for a while and find myself doing a lot of things for them just because I love animals and I'm the one that is always here and see's what needs to be done. So with the last change of 'caretaker' I put more of a claim on a few because I wanted to make sure they did not get sold for meat. I can ask the new guy for help though if it comes to that..I think he probably comes here too for advice. I was just trying to take care of it on my own first.

I asked once about a bale of hay at the feed store and it was over 100 bucks. But that might have been straw because I wanted something for them to lay on in the stall I cleaned out. If thats the price it's too exp for me right now. I have two old cats on 6 diff meds between them .I'm so tapped out from all that  The goats get to eat grass though..this is a very big pasture..and I am constantly cutting hibiscus and wild olive from our hedges for my few. I hope that is good enough roughage.

I wormed her the day she started having the diarreah..not really connecting the plant she chewed on yet. I got some albon from the vet..but didn't give it to her when I realized she had pothos. Should I just start her on a dose of albon? I can get a fecal..but thats another 30 bucks. I'll do it if I have to..but trying to work it out myself first. She's still up and around..so not acting super sick.

what about the pothos is toxic? I don't know..but I read they call it devils ivy. And I do know it makes cats loose their voice for a bit if they chew on an indoor one. It seems to cause burning and irritation..so that is why Baylee started screaming in pain after a few minutes of chewing on it. and now her guts are probably all sore and inflamed and need to heal.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Okay, I found this link that explains it:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/cons ... piprau.htm


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How much pepto were you giving to her? If you feel that it will help then yes...give her some... 
but ...do know ...that other issue can cause scouring as well to keep it going....it can be cause by stress....triggering worms and/or cocci..

The fortified vit B complex will help calm her gut and put back the thiamine she needs.... At the feed stores... they have needles and syringes ...doesn't cost much and either does the vit B complex... :wink: 

You are a very sweet person... to try to care for these goats.... Too bad the landlord won't help out ....  

Are you sure....the hay is $100 per bale and not per ton? That seems way to high per bale... :shocked: 

Getting a fecal....would be good to get ..so you do not treat her.. if she is indeed not wormy ect...when you do treat for these things... it depletes the thiamine from their gut... that they so desperately need for good health... to produce normal poo... :hug:


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Pam, hay of any kind is VERY expensive here in Hawaii. So yeah, it's $100/bale.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Whoa, are you sure per bale? $10 per bale is high ... and two goats will go through a bale pretty quickly. Have you checked around? If it was $100 per bale I'd be surprised if anyone had any sort of livestock. Phew!


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

I will definitely look into that B vitamin..I will talk to the new person taking care of them too..he has been training himself for a number of years now how to take care of goats and knows a lot more then me. I didn't know that about worming messing that up too..that is so good to know. 

I did call the vet and tell her all that happened..she said to give more pepto. I will just try some today and see if it makes a difference. when I gave it to her it was 3cc in the morning and 3cc at night. (amounts taken from my notes with the last care giver)

it was probably the straw..is straw more expensive? Things are way more expensive here on Maui..esp if it has to be shipped in. We did have one summer where there was no hay growing at all and the only bailer we had on the island was broken so many people were loosing thier cattle or selling it younger then supposed to. It could have been around that time. Oh and I just looked down and saw Dayna's post...maybe I was correct then..darn! How do people feed thier animals here? that is crazy!


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Goats here eat forage, I don't know anyone that has goats that does hay. I can do some more checking (I'm new here, just moved here in May).

But you're right, I should call around. Maybe I didn't tell them what I was looking for clearly enough. My bag of purina goat chow was almost $50.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Okay, I musta had hay confused with something else. It's 11.99 a bale.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

And alfalfa is 33.99/bale due to drought relief freight funding, the price will go up when that funding goes away.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

Wow! Glad it's not $100 per bale! That is crazy!

$33.99 a bale for Alfalfa! Wow! and it will go up still!

Sorry I am used to paying 3-4 $ for a bale of Timothy and other grass mix... I haven't bought Alfalfa as it is more like 8-9 $ last I checked a LONG while ago! LOL!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Wow I guess we don't have a right to complain about our hay prices, not with what you have to pay! But living in the climate you live in, I could see the notion that goats are living on forage. But the grain price...WOW! Do you feed it 'sparingly?' sheesh.

I'm in KY and you can get decent hay around $5.00 a bale. We got some good alfalfa/grass mix earlier this summer for $5.00 a bale, and someone is delivering 40 bales tomorrow for $4.25 a bale, of course we haven't seen this hay, but it's alfalfa with some clover in it which our goats will love.
I think the feed you are buying is $15 at the local feedstore but we buy from feed from a feedmill for $9.00 a 50lb. bag.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

We pay between 13-14 $ for a bag of grain.... I know we wouldn't have goats if we had to pay that!


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

Just thought I would come back and say Baylee is fine! She had diarrhea for a little over a week...when I thought it all passed through her system and did all everyone said to do here..I went ahead and gave her pepto just once..and her diarrhea went away for good. She did get it again for about a day after we took her for a walk...so much to eat out on the walk..but usually all the stuff she eats anyways. She did get her mouth over some fireweed...and I stopped her and pulled it out of her mouth. I know that is poisonous but thought goats could eat it..or maybe they just keep it down out of the pasture when you have goats. I didn't want to chance it. 

anyways..I just did probios and charcoal one time and her diarrhea was gone. Perhaps she's just sensitive after what she went through.

Thanks for everyones help though..I really appreciate it!

Aloha!


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Glad you posted an update, I've been wondering and came back to this post to check!


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

I hope I did this right...it's been a while since I posted pics..here are a couple of pictures of my Baylee..her momma rejected her and she got pnemonia right away..so she was raised in the house in diapers.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Oh my gosh, how adorable!


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## jonara (Aug 30, 2011)

I never had a girl..and I only have nephews so I have to admit..I had fun shopping for baby girl clothes lol! The top pic she is in a premie..can't believe she fit in that..she's bigger now then goats older then her.


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## BlueMoonSpot (May 11, 2012)

Oh my goodness, that is soooo cute. xD


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