General urinary health

[J999CRA]

Hi guys

I am new here but have used your advice for years. I took the time to sign up today after a particularly difficult weekend

We lost our beloved little boy Perri on Friday. He would have been 6 in September. It’s very difficult but yet another piggy that was defeated by stones. He was lucky enough to have only 2 weeks of ill health in his whole… life so I am pleased with that. However in our family we have had 7 pigs over the years and 5 suffered with stones at one point or another.

However I am now taking some serious action for my remaining 5 year old boy Eggsy and my cat Kitty. We live in a very hard water area and I have always given them filtered tap water, but I guess the filtering process still is not enough to remove enough excess calcium.

I went to Tesco today and bought 6 bottles of their bottled water that contains 11mg per litre of calcium ( the lowest they had) Our Tap water contains 106mg per litre un filtered! I may be wrong but from what I can find online .. filtering your home tap water might only remove up to 50% of the calcium? Does anyone know if this is correct?

I am also changing Eggsy gradually onto the Oxbow adult guinea pig food which I believe is one of the best made from Timothy hay with the right calcium / potassium balance. I am also buying the Oxbow urinary tract treats to strengthen him as much as possible. He has fresh meadow hay sourced from a local farm at all times. Also when he goes in the garden he gets lots of grass. If it’s not wet he goes out for some grass and exercise.

I am cautious with spinach, kale and broccoli. Is there anything else I should be cautious with ? He gets a lot of cucumber, romaine and some carrot, sweetheart cabbage and other bits like green beans and apple. Occasional watermelon

Any advice greatly received .. I want to do all I can for my remaining boy

Kitty has also had 2 urinary issues in the past 18 months and so she has been switched onto bottled water and Royal Canin urinary health food. So I really think our tap water is the issue more than anything.

thanks

Jamie

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys

I am new here but have used your advice for years. I took the time to sign up today after a particularly difficult weekend

We lost our beloved little boy Perri on Friday. He would have been 6 in September. It’s very difficult but yet another piggy that was defeated by stones. He was lucky enough to have only 2 weeks of ill health in his whole… life so I am pleased with that. However in our family we have had 7 pigs over the years and 5 suffered with stones at one point or another.

However I am now taking some serious action for my remaining 5 year old boy Eggsy and my cat Kitty. We live in a very hard water area and I have always given them filtered tap water, but I guess the filtering process still is not enough to remove enough excess calcium.

I went to Tesco today and bought 6 bottles of their bottled water that contains 11mg per litre of calcium ( the lowest they had) Our Tap water contains 106mg per litre un filtered! I may be wrong but from what I can find online .. filtering your home tap water might only remove up to 50% of the calcium? Does anyone know if this is correct?

I am also changing Eggsy gradually onto the Oxbow adult guinea pig food which I believe is one of the best made from Timothy hay with the right calcium / potassium balance. I am also buying the Oxbow urinary tract treats to strengthen him as much as possible. He has fresh meadow hay sourced from a local farm at all times. Also when he goes in the garden he gets lots of grass. If it’s not wet he goes out for some grass and exercise.

I am cautious with spinach, kale and broccoli. Is there anything else I should be cautious with ? He gets a lot of cucumber, romaine and some carrot, sweetheart cabbage and other bits like green beans and apple. Occasional watermelon

Any advice greatly received .. I want to do all I can for my remaining boy

Kitty has also had 2 urinary issues in the past 18 months and so she has been switched onto bottled water and Royal Canin urinary health food. So I really think our tap water is the issue more than anything.

thanks

Jamie

Hi!

I am very sorry for your loss. Urethral stones in boars make the biggest chunk of fatalities in guinea pigs with urinary tract problems because boars have a longer urethra with an awkward inglenook where stones can get stuck and occasionally block the urethra.

Please take the time to read our diet recommendations in the special diets chapter in our comprehensive diet guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Please also reduce the amount of pellets to 1 tablespoon max per piggy per day. Even no added calcium pellets still have more calcium than the same weight of kale. Apart from water, pellets are the second largest calcium contributor. Please be aware that you cannot cut out all calcium of the diet because that can itself be long term health damaging. You also need to be aware that magnesium (which is not supplied in pellets) is bound in entirely in calcium high veg. I would rather recommend to still give a little greens (UK; a milder relative of kale) or kale (in other countries) occasionally for the important trace elements it contains, but to use it more like you would a fresh herb - for the same reasons.

Also take into account that it takes everal weeks before your diet changes work their way through the body. The calcium absorption process is not a quick one.

Here is our practical and supportive information for bereaved piggy companions and owners: Death, Dying, Terminal Illness, Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children

 

[J999CRA]

Thank you so much I will have a good read through it all