Carrots or Health Problem?

[PiggiaWiggia]

Hi everyone,

Today I thoroughly cleaned my guinea pigs' cage (took out all the bedding, gave it a good scrub, etc.) and of course let my two piggies out of the cage for a run. They seem in the best of health and were pop corning and running around just like usual showing no sign of any troubles. However, I am slightly concerned as about 5 minutes ago I went to check on them and refill their water bottle when I saw that their bedding (which is Kaytee Clean & Cosy bedding, the white variety so it's easier to see any stains) in the corner of the cage was damp and orange. Obviously because it's the corner of the cage it's going to be damp from their urine, which I know is no cause for alarm, but usually the wet patch is pale yellow and no darker. I'm pretty sure they don't have any wounds that could be bleeding as I have checked them over, but I don't know if it might be something internal? Neither of my piggies seem to be showing any discomfort, although one of them does drink quite a large amount of water, but she's always done that since we got her as a baby and she came from a good pet store, so I don't think that's an issue. I was wondering if it might be to do with what they're eating? They have had a lot of treats this week (though I don't give them more than they should eat) and 50% of those treats were carrots - could that be causing it? They've never had this before with the carrots but we did make a bedding switch only a few months ago to the current one, so maybe it just didn't show up in the previous bedding we used (which was much darker)? If any of you can think of what this could be then please let me know soon.

Thank you!

B&PP

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,

Today I thoroughly cleaned my guinea pigs' cage (took out all the bedding, gave it a good scrub, etc.) and of course let my two piggies out of the cage for a run. They seem in the best of health and were pop corning and running around just like usual showing no sign of any troubles. However, I am slightly concerned as about 5 minutes ago I went to check on them and refill their water bottle when I saw that their bedding (which is Kaytee Clean & Cosy bedding, the white variety so it's easier to see any stains) in the corner of the cage was damp and orange. Obviously because it's the corner of the cage it's going to be damp from their urine, which I know is no cause for alarm, but usually the wet patch is pale yellow and no darker. I'm pretty sure they don't have any wounds that could be bleeding as I have checked them over, but I don't know if it might be something internal? Neither of my piggies seem to be showing any discomfort, although one of them does drink quite a large amount of water, but she's always done that since we got her as a baby and she came from a good pet store, so I don't think that's an issue. I was wondering if it might be to do with what they're eating? They have had a lot of treats this week (though I don't give them more than they should eat) and 50% of those treats were carrots - could that be causing it? They've never had this before with the carrots but we did make a bedding switch only a few months ago to the current one, so maybe it just didn't show up in the previous bedding we used (which was much darker)? If any of you can think of what this could be then please let me know soon.

Thank you!

B&PP

Hi!

Some veg can dye the urine but basically anything orange drying to rusty is normal oxydation of pee in contact with air. The more dilute urine is, the more yellow and paler.
What you need to look our for is pinkish/reddish dots in the middle of a pee puddle (drying to brown) or - much more rarely - a red/brown ring around a pee puddle. Ot gritty bits in dried milky calcium pee puddle (a sign of potential crystals/sludge in the bladder).

Please cut down on carrots as that is like feeding a bar of chocolate to a guinea pig or rabbit. It makes a nice occasional treat but it can be fattening and life-shortening if overfed.

Our comprehensive diet guide, which looks at all food groups (including water/drinking) also contains a chapter on healthy and not so healthy veg and treats, which you and your family may find interesting: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[PiggiaWiggia]

Hi!

Some veg can dye the urine but basically anything orange drying to rusty is normal oxydation of pee in contact with air. The more dilute urine is, the more yellow and paler.
What you need to look our for is pinkish/reddish dots in the middle of a pee puddle (drying to brown) or - much more rarely - a red/brown ring around a pee puddle. Ot gritty bits in dried milky calcium pee puddle (a sign of potential crystals/sludge in the bladder).

Please cut down on carrots as that is like feeding a bar of chocolate to a guinea pig or rabbit. It makes a nice occasional treat but it can be fattening and life-shortening if overfed.

Our comprehensive diet guide, which looks at all food groups (including water/drinking) also contains a chapter on healthy and not so healthy veg and treats, which you and your family may find interesting: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Thank you very much, that helps a lot! Yes, I know carrots are like chocolate and I try to give them equal and sparse amounts as I know too much sugar is bad for piggies - it’s difficult though as one is much greedier than the her sister and often steals her treats when so ends up eating more
Thanks again for you help!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you very much, that helps a lot! Yes, I know carrots are like chocolate and I try to give them equal and sparse amounts as I know too much sugar is bad for piggies - it’s difficult though as one is much greedier than the her sister and often steals her treats when so ends up eating more
Thanks again for you help!

Why not hand-feed carrot only in little pieces as as a special treat? That means your piggies have to come up to you and you have more control over how much each gets when one of your piggies is a food hogger.