Best low calcium diet?

TheWillowPigs

TheWillowPigs

Junior Guinea Pig
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I live in a very hard water area and, for the last year, have had no real trouble with the amount of calcium that my guinea pigs were taking in. I filtered the water and fed small amounts of Burgess guinea pig nuggets ever day, alongside plenty of hay and daily veg!

However, I now have concerns that one of my guinea pigs isn't processing calcium as well as she once was.

What's the best diet for her? Are there any low calcium pellets that would be better? Or, if a veg-and-hay only diet is preferable, how much veg should she be having every day?

I have always fed pellets and have owned guinea pigs for 9 years now and been around them for 17 years. This is the first guinea-pig who I have had this trouble with.

Until a year and a half ago I lived in a very soft water area whereas I now live in one of the most hard water areas in England - eek!

Any alternative pellets or daily veg lists would be very much appreciated!

After doing some reading I believe Burgess contains some form of alfafa(?) which may be the reason she is getting more calcium than she can process.

I have 5 guinea pigs, between around 5 months and over 5 years of age so I need a diet that will suit all of them.

Money, thankfully, isn't that much of an issue and I just want to do what is best for Eevee (the guinea pig who has very milky urine) so that this issue doesn't increase and turn into bladder stones.

Thank you for any help,
TheWillowPigs
 
Hi there, I feed mine a low calcium diet, he regularly gets bell pepper, all colours, cucumber, green beans, celery and a small amount of coriander with an occasional treat of parsley, which is quite high in calcium. There is a section on the forum which describes low calcium diet in greater detail but I'm unable to tag it in to here.
 
daveclark79 said:
Hi there, I feed mine a low calcium diet, he regularly gets bell pepper, all colours, cucumber, green beans, celery and a small amount of coriander with an occasional treat of parsley, which is quite high in calcium. There is a section on the forum which describes low calcium diet in greater detail but I'm unable to tag it in to here.
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Thank you very much :) I'll try and find that section.

It seems like a veg-only diet may be the way to go! I'm a bit nervous as I have never done it before and am concerned about making sure Pip (my 5 year old) gets everything he needs.
 
I always thought that milky urine was a sign that they are expelling the calcium out of their bodies and it was not a problem unless it’s very grainy? It’s very difficult getting a balance of veggies that are both low in calcium and rich in Vit C and not too stodgy like beetroot and carrots? My boys don’t drink very much at all, we have soft water and they go out on the grass as often as they can weather permitting so I think that helps. Green beans seems quite low and spring greens seem better than kale in lower levels of calcium. Hope your piggie is ok x
 
Bill & Ted said:
I always thought that milky urine was a sign that they are expelling the calcium out of their bodies and it was not a problem unless it’s very grainy? It’s very difficult getting a balance of veggies that are both low in calcium and rich in Vit C and not too stodgy like beetroot and carrots? My boys don’t drink very much at all, we have soft water and they go out on the grass as often as they can weather permitting so I think that helps. Green beans seems quite low and spring greens seem better than kale in lower levels of calcium. Hope your piggie is ok x
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It wasn't grainy at all, just a small amount of a very soft powder in her urine. I'm just concerned with the lucrene in Burgess.

Is there a better pellet brand perhaps?
 
I believe soft powdery urine stains are ok, it’s if they are gritty you may have problems. I’m sure I’ve read it somewhere on this forum x My two get Harrington’s which they seem to like as they are quite small as Ted has mild dental issues, so there easier for him to eat.
 
I too believe that white power can be normal in guinea pig urine. It’s when it’s gritty that you have an issue. I have rubbed urine between my fingers many of times to check.
I too feed Harrington’s and never had any problems
 
White powder is fine :) when it's in large amounts you might want to start limiting things and most definitely when it becomes sludgy, but lack of calcium can also cause issues, you can get stones from calcium but you can also get non calcium stones from the calcium:phosphorus being out of whack.
I don't know if it's been mentioned yet (I'm hungover and haven't read all the responses in their entirety, sorry!) Lol but there is a nugget comparison chart on the forum which will show you which pellets are low in calcium :)
 
It was definitely soft.

I may switch to a different pellet brand then and keep with the routine I am used to. Lots of hay, a few nuggets morning and evening and a bit of daily veg.

My pigs seem healthy and happy. I was just concerned that soft power could worsen to gritty in the future.
 
My pigs low calcium diet is

Filtered water
Selective grain free nuggets, 1 tablespoon each per 24hours

Red pepper
Green pepper
Corriander
Parsnip
Cucumber
Romaine
Little gem

Sometimes i give kale, carrot greens or spinach.
 
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