Bladder stone surgery

[Pigglemama]

Hi all

Just to let you know that Muffin had his bladder stone surgery on Thursday and it went really well. His surgeon was amazing and he really put my mind at rest. I have attached a pic of his bladder stone (4mm by 4mm) He was a bit sleepy when we picked him up and they had to force feed him at the vets but as soon as he came home he started munching on his veggies. He is on Baytril, Cisapride and Metacam and the vet is keen to trial a new supplement to prevent another bladder stone ( I’ll post on here when I know more). He is no longer squealing when urinatong or pooping and is even cuter with his little shaved belly. Surgery was £850. Can anyone advise on a low calcium diet? I am thinking of cutting out pellets all together. Thank you all for your support in the lead up. x

 

[piggl]

Very glad to hear muffins surgery went well, fingers crossed all is up from here. That is quite a decent stone muffin, you brave boy.

You could cut out pellets, as long as piggie is getting plenty of hay, as they aren’t that necessary or go grain and calcium free/low.

As for a low calcium diet you may be looking at cutting out/lessening dark green leafy veg, such as spinach and kale, and root vegetables.
You will likely find this guide helpful, as there is an IC/Stone section - Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

I have not actually had a stone piggie so couldn’t get into specifics, but I know many members have so hopefully you can get some more insight there.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m glad he is ok.

Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and drinking water. Ensuring pellets are grain free and kept limited and that water is filtered is the main thing. You can cut pellets out altogether or even just don’t give them as often - my piggies only get pellets three times a week and I use 100% grass pellets (from Piggie Parcels) rather than commercial brands.

Veg wise lettuce, coriander, pepper and cucumber are the main daily four but if you cut out pellets, you would want to make sure they get good nutrition so use a range of low calcium veg (avoiding kale, spinach, parsley, anything else high in oxalates), lots of grass and fresh forage also. You want to encourage good urination so the bladder keeps flushing through.

 

[Free Ranger]

Well done Muffin! And that is a nice round stone - this type are apparently typical of bladder stones these days.
My vet would probably say that's a calcium carbonate stone. George also had a nice round stone and that's what it was made of. They look so tortuously solid but dissolve away in a drop of vinegar. It's so frustrating. We use bottled Waitrose water for piggy drinking. The tap water here is very hard indeed. The No1 water in the glass bottles (used to be their Duchy Organic brand - but you can't really have organic water!) has only 3mg/L calcium. Even the 'essential' range has 30mg/L which is still much better than the 350ish in my tap. We actually have to replace the bath/shower mixer tap every 2 years because the scale wrecks it to the point of unfixable!

George looked so relaxed after his op (once the buprenorphine had worn off) that I said at that point it was worth it even if he got another stone later...