Keep Mavis healthy

[McVoudian]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so i hope I'm doing it right and in the right place.

I'm posting for a bit of post bladder/uritic stone in one of my pigs. We took Mavis to the emergency vets on Monday night when pee and pooing appeared to be causing her a lot of pain and after an x-ray it showed she had a stone that was in her urethra, after a lot of pain killers and some TLC the emergency vet and our regular bet who did a follow up in the morning thinks she has passed it. She has a bit of residual pain that I'm giving her metacam for and day by day she appears much more comfortable and well in herself.

I of-course want to do everything I can to avoid this occurring again, i know i cant 100% prevent it but I also think ive probably been a big cause of the development of the stone as Mavis is a big eater and I think i probably over fed her high calcium veggies (Spinach was her favourite and she had lots or it).

I found a list of veggies online that are recommended for a low calcium diet (I'm aware that some of the fruits are high in sugar so they wont be a common occurrence) are these Veg suitable to help prevent piggie stones?

• Lettuce
• Sweet bell peppers
• Cucumber
• Tomatos
• Radicchio
• Apples
• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Blueberries
• Asparagus
• Belgian Endive
• Pumpkin
• Eggplant/aubergine

Ive mainly been giving her cucumber/bell peppers and a bit of lettuce this last few days as she a terrible drinker and wanted to water rich veg.

Ive also divided the cage in half with CC cage just the last few days, so she can see her sister Edna but i needed to make sure Mavis was peeing and pooing ok which she is. When would be a good time to let them share a cage again fully?

Also, any advice of supplements, techniques, advice on how to keep the bladder stone risk low would be much appreciated. Her X-ray showed no other stones which is good but I'm assuming they can occur quickly.

PS ive just bough a brita filter so I can filter there drinking water.

Sorry for the long post x

 

[VickiA]

Hello and welcome to you and Mavis (Edna, too). Some Guinea pigs can be susceptible to stones, and some can eat all the calcium rich veg in the world and never be troubled by them. It’s a bit like humans, I guess. But you’ve done the right thing in planning to switch to a low calcium diet to help prevent future recurrence.
Here is the forum’s guide to a diet that is well balanced but low in calcium Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
For my own troublesome bladder pigs (and there have been several over the years), I have switched to grain free pellets; filtered the water, and followed the above diet guide. I’ve had far fewer issues since following the diet guide and reducing calcium intake. However, some pigs will always be prone to issues.

It can certainly help to Increase fluid intake. You can drench their veggies in filtered water to help ensure they get some additional water in their diet. You can try giving a syringe of water (if they will cooperate - don’t force it). I wouldn’t give much fruit - it is high in sugar and isn’t necessary - you can achieve a good balanced diet without it.

I think it would be fine to put the ladies back together now that Mavis has recovered from her ordeal. When you come to reintroduce the ladies please do so in a neutral space. They will need to re establish their dominance and bind as they have been separated. Hopefully it will be a simple matter of a short reintroduction but I’m linking the relevant guides here so you are aware what to expect.https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/bonding-and-interaction-illustrated-social-behaviours-and-bonding-dynamics.167042/
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Feel free to ask for any advice on this thread. We are all volunteers but happy to help. Just one request - can we see some photos of the ladies ?

 

[McVoudian]

Hi VickiA, thanks for the post, ive bought them a water bowl and some extra water bottles to see if this will encourage Mavis to drink more and will drench the veg in water to see if that helps.

Which grain free pellets do you use? Ive been looking but there are so many options i don't know what to switch them to?

Ive attached a few photos. Mavis is the white piggy and Edna is the browns with a dash of white. They are both such funny little personalities, i cant bare the thought of either if them being poorly.

 

[VickiA]

Hi VickiA, thanks for the post, ive bought them a water bowl and some extra water bottles to see if this will encourage Mavis to drink more and will drench the veg in water to see if that helps.

Which grain free pellets do you use? Ive been looking but there are so many options i don't know what to switch them to?

Ive attached a few photos. Mavis is the white piggy and Edna is the browns with a dash of white. They are both such funny little personalities, i cant bare the thought of either if them being poorly.

Oh what beautiful ladies
Personally I feed my lot Selective Naturals grain Free pellets - you can get them on Amazon andAt P@H.



They’ve also enjoyed Cavia Complete by Versele Laga


But that was more difficult to obtain at some time. They tried and rejected a few other brands. It’s a bit trial and error I’m afraid!

 

[McVoudian]

Oh what beautiful ladies
Personally I feed my lot Selective Naturals grain Free pellets - you can get them on Amazon andAt P@H.

View attachment 215902

They’ve also enjoyed Cavia Complete by Versele Laga

View attachment 215903
But that was more difficult to obtain at some time. They tried and rejected a few other brands. It’s a bit trial and error I’m afraid!

Thanks for those. I bought some of the grain free selective natural and the transition has gone well and they are both eating it.

Mavis had another episode of pain when passing urine on Sunday evening so i took her back to the vet on Monday and decided to get her another X-ray to check all stones were gone/no more had appeared. Thankfully the x-ray was all clear and we are now very focused on a low calcium/low oxalate diet so fingers crossed Mavis and Edna stay happy and healthy.

Thank you for all your help.