Avocado skin

[djarenspace9]

I just read on another post that avocado skin and pits are toxic. I had just bought an avocado today for the very first time to give to my squirrels. I had remembered reading somewhere that the pits were bad to give them but I did give them the skin (a small sliver) each. I am just now reading about this and panicked wondering if I poisoned my babies. Can someone tell me what signs to look for? If they did eat it would they have gotten sick right away? (I left the house a few hours later and all was well) I won't be home until mid-morning (working a 12 hour shift) and now I'm really worried about them...

[PBluejay2]

Below is what I could find in a hurry. Did you actually see them eat the skin?

"Avocados. The leaves, fruit, bark and seeds of avocados have
all been reported to be toxic. The toxic component in the avocado is "persin,"
which is a fatty acid derivative. Symptoms of toxicity include difficulty
breathing, abdominal enlargement, abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest,
abdomen and sac around the heart. The amount that needs to be ingested to cause
signs is unknown. Avocado (Persea americana) The toxic principle in avocado is persin and
leaves, fruit, bark, and seeds of the avocado have been reported to be toxic to
birds and various other species. Several varieties of avocado are available, but
not all varieties appear to be equally toxic. In birds, clinical effects seen
with avocado poisoning include respiratory distress, generalized congestion, and
death. Onset of clinical signs usually occurs after 12 hours of ingestion with
death occurring within 1-2 days of the time of exposure. Small birds such as
canaries and budgies are considered to be more susceptible, however, clinical
signs have been observed in other species. "

Also,

"The signs associated with poisoning in to birds and mammals include edema of the throat and chest area, heart muscle failure, fluid-filled lungs and abdomen. Microscopic tissue examination revealed severe cellular damage to cardiac muscle cells and possibly the liver and kidneys. In addition, mammals have been experimentally fed dried leaves and suffered cell death of the mammary glands (noninfectious, necrotizing mastitis). This has been a commonly observed clinical finding in livestock, including goats and cattle, known to have ingested avocado plant parts. Microscopically extensive cell death and bleeding is found in the affected glands. These same test animals also sustained death of heart muscle cells at higher doses, similar to the reported bird cases.



The treatment for a patient found to be suffering from avocado toxicity is symptomatic and nonspecific, including inducing vomiting and cathartics to eliminate the plant material from the gastrointestinal tract, followed by the use of oral-activated charcoal to absorb any remaining toxin. Shock steroids, oxygen and bronco dilators may also be necessary in more advanced cases, but their specific value is still questionable given the unknown mechanism of action persin takes.

[djarenspace9]

Thanks for the info. That sounds really bad and not too much hope for helping them once they are sick. I don't even know if they ate it. When I sliced it I thought it would be messy to take it off the skin so I gave it to them like that. It was a small sliver for each because I did not know if they would like it or not since it was the first time I bought it for them. I would think inducing vomiting is pointless 8 hours later, right? Should I just keep an eye out for the symptoms of illness? I will have to pray hard that they don't get sick...

[muffinsquirrel]

Look around in their cage and see if you can find the avacado skin lying around anywhere. Usually they will eat the 'good stuff' and leave the peel. My flyers, in particular, will even leave the peel of apples, cucumbers, tomatos, etc.

muffinsquirrel

[mugzeezma]

Look around in their cage and see if you can find the avacado skin lying around anywhere. Usually they will eat the 'good stuff' and leave the peel. My flyers, in particular, will even leave the peel of apples, cucumbers, tomatos, etc.

muffinsquirrel

I agree
Look around the cage floor around the cage for nasty black shreds.
I never intentionally offered the whole fruit but my little Troll finds the stash.
Mugzi is a pro at popping the peels of of these things. He is none to neat about it either. It flies all over.

[djarenspace9]

Thanks all for your advice. I found one of the peels in one cage. The other 3 I did not find but they had a mess at the bottom of the cage and I'm not sure what it would have looked like if they shredded it since food usually dries and curls up. I did a good cleaning out and hoping for the best. None seem affected in any way so I will keep an eye on them and my fingers crossed for the next few days!

[PBluejay2]

Good news! Thanks! If they were going to be sick, they would have already shown symptoms IMO.

[djarenspace9]

:wahoo
That was a scary lesson learned for me!
I'm going to make sure everyone I know that raises baby squirrels knows these facts about avocados.
:thankyou