Is romaine lettuce good for piggies/low in calcium?

[Laura_Deakin]

I’ve got a piggy who has a possible bladder stone (been to the vets and they said no need to do a scan as she’s fine in herself) .. so I’m looking for veggies that aren’t going to make it worse, they’re currently living off fresh grass, bell peppers and coriander, hay and nuggets, but I want to start giving them more of a variety of veggies again, is romaine lettuce good for them? If not, which lettuce is? Because I’ve also heard little gem isnt good for them. I’ve read the page about low calcium diets, just wondered if anyone knew of some good veggies that are low in calcium and are healthy.

 

[Free Ranger]

Have a look at the forum diet guides here Diet Guides

The two things that are generally advised are restricting the amount of nuggets and filtering water to reduce calcium - or in my case we use low calcium bottled water. This can really help. My vet's mantra is "keep everything flushing through..." so I increased the number of water bottles and repositioned them: the nuggets are served near the drink bottles as they drink when they eat them (mainly in the evenings) but I have bottles close to the hides where my pigs sleep so they don't have to wander out in the night to drink - they just tip their head out.

I do give Romaine lettuce and they like it. Iceberg is to be avoided - it apparently lacks nutrients - there might also be another reason (I've forgotten right now!) Mine are very fond of cucumber. My approach is to rotate the veggies so they tend to get lettuce, cucumber and bell pepper each day but other stuff as and when. We also give a lot of grass - it keeps the diet nice and wet.

Now, my old boy threw a giant stone this summer at the age of 5 1/2, and now has another (age 6) but I think these are to do with ageing as he's been OK up till this point. I've had girls young and old in the past with smaller stones and some have passed them and some have had them 'extracted' (ouch! but over quickly) but one thing I will say is that if you are seeing symptoms such as wet bottom end, hunching and chirping while peeing, blood-tinted pee etc check for UTI. We've had UTI more often than stones. If you are just seeing 'milky' or gritty pee with no other symptoms that's pretty normal for pigs - if it's all the time then yes, you might be at increased risk of stones or sludge and can look at their diet. But pigs absorb all the calcium they eat and pee out the excess - so some white patches are typical. So so you have any symptoms other than milky pee? And how old is your little lady?

(Off to bed now so will check thread tomorrow x)

 

[Wiebke]

I’ve got a piggy who has a possible bladder stone (been to the vets and they said no need to do a scan as she’s fine in herself) .. so I’m looking for veggies that aren’t going to make it worse, they’re currently living off fresh grass, bell peppers and coriander, hay and nuggets, but I want to start giving them more of a variety of veggies again, is romaine lettuce good for them? If not, which lettuce is? Because I’ve also heard little gem isnt good for them. I’ve read the page about low calcium diets, just wondered if anyone knew of some good veggies that are low in calcium and are healthy.

Hi

Please reduce the pellets to 1 tablespoon per piggy per day and filter any water. Most calcium in the diet comes via
those two food groups and not from veg. Even no added calcium pellets still contan more calcium weight per weight than kale, the veg highest in calcium.
Also be aware that going too low in calcium with your veg can promote more stones; there is a sweet spot in the diet. Romaine and gem lettuce is safe to feed. Some people have had issues with sterile IC piggies and lettuce (we rather think it is due to changes in diet more than what you feed) but it is not an issue with stone piggies. Cucumber is also a good veg for piggies. You are aiming for a mix of watery veg (fresh grass, cucumber, lettuce, fresh young dandelion etc. that promote stronger pees) and veg containing the crucial extra race elements and minerals that guinea pigs traditionally get from ther wild forage (which these days is replaced by the combination of pellets and veg).
Stay off any veg high in oxalates because they contribute to the formation of bladder stones.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Laura_Deakin]

Have a look at the forum diet guides here Diet Guides

The two things that are generally advised are restricting the amount of nuggets and filtering water to reduce calcium - or in my case we use low calcium bottled water. This can really help. My vet's mantra is "keep everything flushing through..." so I increased the number of water bottles and repositioned them: the nuggets are served near the drink bottles as they drink when they eat them (mainly in the evenings) but I have bottles close to the hides where my pigs sleep so they don't have to wander out in the night to drink - they just tip their head out.

I do give Romaine lettuce and they like it. Iceberg is to be avoided - it apparently lacks nutrients - there might also be another reason (I've forgotten right now!) Mine are very fond of cucumber. My approach is to rotate the veggies so they tend to get lettuce, cucumber and bell pepper each day but other stuff as and when. We also give a lot of grass - it keeps the diet nice and wet.

Now, my old boy threw a giant stone this summer at the age of 5 1/2, and now has another (age 6) but I think these are to do with ageing as he's been OK up till this point. I've had girls young and old in the past with smaller stones and some have passed them and some have had them 'extracted' (ouch! but over quickly) but one thing I will say is that if you are seeing symptoms such as wet bottom end, hunching and chirping while peeing, blood-tinted pee etc check for UTI. We've had UTI more often than stones. If you are just seeing 'milky' or gritty pee with no other symptoms that's pretty normal for pigs - if it's all the time then yes, you might be at increased risk of stones or sludge and can look at their diet. But pigs absorb all the calcium they eat and pee out the excess - so some white patches are typical. So so you have any symptoms other than milky pee? And how old is your little lady?

(Off to bed now so will check thread tomorrow x)

Hello! Thank you for your advice. Right so I’ll give mine romaine lettuce, bell peppers, hay and 1 table spoon of nuggets each day as well as filtered water every day. They don’t like cucumber! Mine are very fussy she’s 4 and a half and we’ve already been to the vets to see if she’s got a UTI but they said there’s no sign of that. She had red wee about a month ago but the vets didn’t see the point in doing a scan because she seemed totally fine in herself, we stopped all veggies other than grass hay bell peppers and 1 tablespoon of nuggets, now I want to start introducing veggies back into their diet but I’m scared to incase the red wee comes back!

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! Thank you for your advice. Right so I’ll give mine romaine lettuce, bell peppers, hay and 1 table spoon of nuggets each day as well as filtered water every day. They don’t like cucumber! Mine are very fussy she’s 4 and a half and we’ve already been to the vets to see if she’s got a UTI but they said there’s no sign of that. She had red wee about a month ago but the vets didn’t see the point in doing a scan because she seemed totally fine in herself, we stopped all veggies other than grass hay bell peppers and 1 tablespoon of nuggets, now I want to start introducing veggies back into their diet but I’m scared to incase the red wee comes back!

Please still give a little coriander or a slice of greens every now and then. Keep in mind that pellets are not reinforced with all trace elements but that you are pretty eliminating them totally from your piggy diet. If you cut down on the water and the pellets, then this means that you have a bit more leeway with the veg.
Don't make the mistake to err too much on side of caution because getting on the low side of the sweet spot can also lead to long term problems, and even more stones or sludge.

Diet is a minefield; it is always at the best a compromise - for whatever you patch up, you create another pothole in another area. Fresh grass at this time of year doesn't contain a lot of vitamin C, either.
Wild forage is there to provide a wide range of nutrients in a small quantity, so a little herb you use in your own diet and a slice of greens once a week will deliver magnesium, which is not in pellets. You need to keep that side up. You can supplement with dried forage but you need to be aware that with the water gone, the calcium concentration is higher than in the same amount of fresh herbs.

We cannot provide a diet that fits all locations and all cases; you always have to finesse your own diet. Right now, you are too far on low side to be sustainable.

 

[Free Ranger]

One random red wee can freak you out - but there could always be another cause. Should I ask about whether they might have had beetroot or beet leaves? The colour can come through in the pee. Sometimes I've seen a scary red smear on the fleece which has turned out to be where someone has been nibbling red pepper and the juice has stained the bedding. And of course it's always possible that there was a little stone and she passed it with no further complications...
I do hope so