Choking Risk
December 19, 2022 2:45 PM Subscribe
In my zeal over my lunch, I took a drink of a soda and breathed in some of it. I coughed and recovered. But for some reason, that made me wonder how many animals, either in the wild, or in some form of captivity (zoos, shelters or preserves) die of choking. Any guesses?
Snakes choke on their meals sometimes - giant boas sometimes take on too much and they can't simply throw up or cough.
posted by tiny frying pan at 4:49 PM on December 19, 2022
posted by tiny frying pan at 4:49 PM on December 19, 2022
Humans are at greater risk of choking because of our voicebox.
When other animals choke, its usually because they tried to eat prey that was too large or too spiky/spiny to swallow,
not because food went down the wrong way.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 5:23 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
When other animals choke, its usually because they tried to eat prey that was too large or too spiky/spiny to swallow,
not because food went down the wrong way.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 5:23 PM on December 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Back during the wildfires in Australia, people were warned against letting koalas drink out of water bottles because koalas can choke if their heads are tipped back. They need to lap up their water. IIRC.
posted by Stuka at 5:57 PM on December 19, 2022
posted by Stuka at 5:57 PM on December 19, 2022
It definitely happens. Many years ago I had a weird psychosomatic stress response that made me feel like I couldn't swallow food. At home, alone, one day for lunch this happened in my home town. Didn't help my condition. :)
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Abilene-Zoo-black-bear-likely-choked-on-food-1988816.php
posted by tayknight at 9:28 AM on December 20, 2022
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Abilene-Zoo-black-bear-likely-choked-on-food-1988816.php
posted by tayknight at 9:28 AM on December 20, 2022
no answers, but i think about this often! my doggo has a drinking problem (harhar) and is constantly choking. i find myself often wondering if this is a developmental defect related to domestication. it just seems like a real vulnerability for survival ...
posted by tamarack at 9:46 PM on December 20, 2022
posted by tamarack at 9:46 PM on December 20, 2022
Horses can choke and can potentially die if not given assistance. A horse in the wild grazing slowly throughout the day would most likely not have an issue unless there was no water or if they were forced to eat brush or bark in a starvation situation such as heavy snows or late winter lack of feed.
Domestic horses are often limited to two or three large daily feedings. This is suboptimal as their digestive system works beat with continual access to forage. A lot of domesticated horses will be eager to eat, then gulp their hay without chewing adequately when fed, because of this. This leads to large wads of hay getting stuck, and the horse can't produce enough saliva to moisten the bolus in the throat, although they'll slop and drool buckets all over anybody trying to assist them.
Although I had never had any of my own horses choke, I've work with a vet on two occasions to intubate a horse and slowly get an oil/water mix down their throat. The tube has to be inserted by a vet or someone experienced enough to guide the tube toward the stomach rather than allowing it to go into the lungs. Additionally, the person tubing the horse must be able to recognize where the choke is occurring and place the tube to allow for the liquid. It's usually pretty easy to locate the lump by palpating the neck. After that, you administer liquid and manually try to break up the clog by rubbing and massaging the neck. Giving a muscle relaxant is a good idea with horses so they aren't fighting you or panicking.
Horses can choke on grain if they're being piggy, but the worst problem is with dry pellet complete feed concentrates or unsoaked pelleted beet pulp. Beet pulp can swell up to four times the size of the original amount given, and slowly softens from the outside in, so you wind up with a hard core in a bolus that is getting larger. I personally never feed beet pulp unless thoroughly soaked or concentrate unless wet.
That said, while I've never had a horse choke, of all things, my mule, Mouse, choked on dry beet pulp pellets this fall. (Mules are usually too smart to get themselves in trouble!) I had filled the buckets to put them out to soak, and I had set them on the ground while I closed the shed door. Mouse snuck up behind me and grabbed a big mouthful. When he tried to guilt-swallow and run off, he got a greedy gullet-full and immediately choked. Fortunately, he knew I was trying to help him, even though it was really uncomfortable for him to have his throat worked, so he let me continue. At forty-five minutes, I was just about to call the vet for that expensive after-hours bill, and he gave a big gulp. If I had had a muscle relaxer on hand that might have helped him swallow sooner, but unlike a horse, a mule won't fight or panic. It took about two weeks before he would eat his wet beet slop again, and you could probably now leave an open bag of dry pellets in the pen with him all day. (Mules are SMART!)
While a dog or cat *might* choke, they can still regurgitate. A horse has no gag reflex and can't vomit. The unattended outcome of serious equine choke could be death from shock and exhaustion and/or rupture.
Thank you for listening to my TED talk.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:40 PM on December 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Domestic horses are often limited to two or three large daily feedings. This is suboptimal as their digestive system works beat with continual access to forage. A lot of domesticated horses will be eager to eat, then gulp their hay without chewing adequately when fed, because of this. This leads to large wads of hay getting stuck, and the horse can't produce enough saliva to moisten the bolus in the throat, although they'll slop and drool buckets all over anybody trying to assist them.
Although I had never had any of my own horses choke, I've work with a vet on two occasions to intubate a horse and slowly get an oil/water mix down their throat. The tube has to be inserted by a vet or someone experienced enough to guide the tube toward the stomach rather than allowing it to go into the lungs. Additionally, the person tubing the horse must be able to recognize where the choke is occurring and place the tube to allow for the liquid. It's usually pretty easy to locate the lump by palpating the neck. After that, you administer liquid and manually try to break up the clog by rubbing and massaging the neck. Giving a muscle relaxant is a good idea with horses so they aren't fighting you or panicking.
Horses can choke on grain if they're being piggy, but the worst problem is with dry pellet complete feed concentrates or unsoaked pelleted beet pulp. Beet pulp can swell up to four times the size of the original amount given, and slowly softens from the outside in, so you wind up with a hard core in a bolus that is getting larger. I personally never feed beet pulp unless thoroughly soaked or concentrate unless wet.
That said, while I've never had a horse choke, of all things, my mule, Mouse, choked on dry beet pulp pellets this fall. (Mules are usually too smart to get themselves in trouble!) I had filled the buckets to put them out to soak, and I had set them on the ground while I closed the shed door. Mouse snuck up behind me and grabbed a big mouthful. When he tried to guilt-swallow and run off, he got a greedy gullet-full and immediately choked. Fortunately, he knew I was trying to help him, even though it was really uncomfortable for him to have his throat worked, so he let me continue. At forty-five minutes, I was just about to call the vet for that expensive after-hours bill, and he gave a big gulp. If I had had a muscle relaxer on hand that might have helped him swallow sooner, but unlike a horse, a mule won't fight or panic. It took about two weeks before he would eat his wet beet slop again, and you could probably now leave an open bag of dry pellets in the pen with him all day. (Mules are SMART!)
While a dog or cat *might* choke, they can still regurgitate. A horse has no gag reflex and can't vomit. The unattended outcome of serious equine choke could be death from shock and exhaustion and/or rupture.
Thank you for listening to my TED talk.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:40 PM on December 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
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