Confused and Embarrased - little white stains

[boozyfruits]

i'm not sure if this post should be in H & I, Behaviour or Food - mods please feel free to move it as necessary.

For a while now we have noticed little white stains on the furniture in both of our boars cages, but earlier this week we converted to fleece bedding, and now they are everywhere and soaked right through the layers.
We had assumed that they were (how can i put this delicately?) 'excited boy emissions', but last night i was reading CCC4's thread on Calcium and Phosphate, and now i am worried that these may be crystal residues.
There are rather a lot of them.

Looking at the food lists they do have a reasonably balanced diet, but it does tend to swing from high to low calcium foods from week to week eg spiniach or kale most days one week, but then none for a few weeks, just plain cabbage; along with a carrots, fennel, broccolli and peppers combination everyday.

Am i just being a fretful first time mum, or should i be concerned about potential urinary problems, or do we have a pair of teenage boys who cannot control their urges? :red

Please could someone experienced advise us please?
Many Thanks
Becca

 

[MemberY]

The results of their "urges" looks like a lump of pritt stick glue and goes rock hard! It is likely to be their wee. This is a white colour and is perfectly ok, but you may need to adjust their diet if you feel there is too much high calcium foods such as kale, broccoli etc and if you think the wee has a chalky sludgy look to it. Hope this helps

 

[Hels]

Hi Becca,

Yes its wee - my boys wooden houses are covered in it!

Helen.
x

 

[boozyfruits]

so are white wee stains ok?
i'm sorry if these are stupid questions..
B

 

[Lisajazz]

I think they are yes. It's the gritty look to the white that's an issue. i think even smooth white wee is alright?

 

[Cavy2009]

I did wonder what the white stuff was. How come sows wee is clear then?

 

[Caviesgalore (EPGPR)]

I did wonder what the white stuff was. How come sows wee is clear then?

It's not always!

White patches are ok, as has been mentioned already if they feel "gritty" or feel like soft "chalk" then you might have the start of problems. My boar with bladder problems constantly leaves little piles of white powder with his wee, so in his case I up his water intake to try to flush out any crystals etc.

Welcome to the world of piggy ownership and never be embarrassed or afraid to ask, however, silly you might think your question is, we all have to learn somewhere!

 

[Cavy2009]

They all look normal. (FIngers crossed)

Cavy2009 x

 

[KingBoris&HisFollowers]

all my boys stain there fleece lol:red

 

[Wiebke]

If you are really worried that it's crystals, make sure you feed your pigs something juicy, sit them on plastic until they've had a few pees and let those dry. If they are powdery, it's just excess calcium; if they feel gritty you may want an x-ray at the vets.

More often than not you'll encounter crystals in connection with cystitis and blood in the urine, as crystals irritate the bladder. Not every cystitis (or UTI) is down to crystals or bladder stones, but it is always worth to have an x-ray when you are unfortunate to have a guinea pig with a urinary tract infecton.

Hopefully, you will never have a problem with that!

 

[boozyfruits]

no obvious blood in the wee, but certainly some chalky residue in both their cages (the boys were separated when they drew blood). Arthur rarely drinks, so we'll just have to push juicy veggies - looks like they'll have cucumber coming out their little ears. they're not really keen on fruit - tomatoes and grapes have always been left.
will keep you posted
Bx