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Gritty Pee

Amiee Dalzell

Amiee Dalzell

New Born Pup
Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Messages
35
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23
Points
175
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Hey guys. I just joined and would love some advice about my piggies urine. I'm starting to find gritty pees when I'm cleaning the cage now. Theyll be about one or two spots each morning and I have been feeding them the same thing every day. They get mixed lettuce (a mixed bag of coral/oak/frill/cos/batavia), tomatoes, carrot, capsicum and a bit of cucumber in the morning along with their 1/8 cup of pellets each. I did up the capsicum a little last week as I was worried they aren't getting enough but have pulled it back down after I found the pee. I have posted picture of what it looks like and their vege amount. I've been googling like crazy. I know it's extra calcium in their pee but I haven't changed their diet apart from what I mentioned. I cut it back again over a week or so now and it's still happening. Maybe too much lettuce? Any help would be appreciated. I don't want my piggies getting stones.
Apart from the pee they are completely happy and I haven't noticed anything strange. I don't know who it's coming from either.20180106_072931.webp 20180106_072951.webp 20180120_081413.webp 20180120_081611.webp
 
Hi and welcome

Are the calcium pees powdery when you rub the residue or are there sharp, hard bits in it? The first is harmless, but the second can indicate a build-up of crystals in the bladder, especially if you get several in a week.

Please have a look at our diet thread; you may find it helpful. It comes with a sample diet and looks at all food groups. Be aware that most of the calcium actually comes from pellets and (hard) water and not necessarily from overfeeding on calcium rich veg. Minerals can also contribute to the build-up.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet
 
Thank you so much for your help. I might try cutting the pallets down. Maybe little Pumpkin isnt eating her share and one of the others is eating more than she should, which would probably be Sprinkles. She's quite bossy. I have a lot of food bowls for them but she still chases the little one away.
 
That's good to know. They get a good little amount in the morning so at least that will be helping.
Sorry Wiebke I didn't answer your question. All of their gritty pee so far has felt really powdery and not sharp or substantial at all.
 
Hey guys. Just wanted to post a quick update. So I've cut the pallets down to 3 servings of 1/8 cups instead of 4 just in case one piggie wasn't eating as much. I'm still finding the spots everyday. Theyre not sharp feeling at all. Just slightly
powdery and easily rubbed into the fleece.
I found out that romaine lettuce can give certain piggies too much calcium so I'm wondering if I should cut back on the lettuce or try and pick out the romaine?We don't have a lot of choice here when it comes to lettuce so I get the mixed bags with about 4 different kinds in (frill,Batavia, romaine,endive etc)
I'm trying to catch this quickly as I know the longer it goes on the more danger there is of one of my piggies getting a stone.
It's so strange because I've been feeding them the same things since I got them and had a few faint spots every now and then but nothing major, now I'm finding them everyday.
 
Amiee Dalzell said:
Hey guys. Just wanted to post a quick update. So I've cut the pallets down to 3 servings of 1/8 cups instead of 4 just in case one piggie wasn't eating as much. I'm still finding the spots everyday. Theyre not sharp feeling at all. Just slightly
powdery and easily rubbed into the fleece.
I found out that romaine lettuce can give certain piggies too much calcium so I'm wondering if I should cut back on the lettuce or try and pick out the romaine?We don't have a lot of choice here when it comes to lettuce so I get the mixed bags with about 4 different kinds in (frill,Batavia, romaine,endive etc)
I'm trying to catch this quickly as I know the longer it goes on the more danger there is of one of my piggies getting a stone.
It's so strange because I've been feeding them the same things since I got them and had a few faint spots every now and then but nothing major, now I'm finding them everyday.
Click to expand...
I’m having the same issue at the minute.I never feed foods high in calcium like kale etc and I filter the water now.I was recommended to try them on a grain free pellet but so far my pigs are not keen x
 
It's so strange isn't it? I feed a low calcium diet as well and they never had an issue until now. This morning was a lot better, just one faint deposit. I don't have hard water here so thankfully I can rule that out. Here in New Zealand we don't have a massive variety of pallets but I'm feeding what's clarified as the 'best' so at least quality isn't an issue there.
Hopefully your little piggies will come around. Are you feeding them Romaine(cos) lettuce? Sometimes that can give them gritty pee. I've cut that kind out today and I'll see how they go. Fingers crossed!
 
Amiee Dalzell said:
It's so strange isn't it? I feed a low calcium diet as well and they never had an issue until now. This morning was a lot better, just one faint deposit. I don't have hard water here so thankfully I can rule that out. Here in New Zealand we don't have a massive variety of pallets but I'm feeding what's clarified as the 'best' so at least quality isn't an issue there.
Hopefully your little piggies will come around. Are you feeding them Romaine(cos) lettuce? Sometimes that can give them gritty pee. I've cut that kind out today and I'll see how they go. Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Yes I feed romaine and little gem.Is romaine high in calcium then? It is strange as there was never an issue before but now both my girls and my boys have a lot of calcium deposits x
 
Mine are having this issue considering cutting down pellets and hand feeding small amounts of high calcium veg once they get back to normal. If I hand feed I'm certain of who's eating the veg.
 
Gem789 said:
Yes I feed romaine and little gem.Is romaine high in calcium then? It is strange as there was never an issue before but now both my girls and my boys have a lot of calcium deposits x
Click to expand...

Romaine isn't any higher in calcium but some piggies for whatever reason have more deposits when fed it. I think theyre just predisposed to it. It's why I'm cutting it out for now to see if maybe they're just having a bad reaction. A lot of people have noticed the deposits go away when they change lettuce types.
 
Hi again. So the pee is still too white for my liking and I've been keeping them of Romaine lettuce. I'm really looking into my pallets now and cutting them down a little more. The pallets I feed is Burgess Excel with Mint. I just realised it contains Alfalfa (lucerne) and I thought that was only good for really young piggies? Everyone we spoke to at the start told us that was the best to put them on but now I'm not too sure.
 
I would love to get them on to a timothy based pallet like Oxbow Adult. I know my piggies are not around six months old yet, but I can't think of why they would still be having too much calcium unless it's coming from the pallets.
 
Hi Amiee,
why don't you cut off all the pellets? your piggies will not die fi they don't eat that (unnecessary) food and at least you can check by yourself if THAT part of the diet is just rhe culprit of the white residues... Then you will make your choice and you will re-introduce pellets again, if you don't find any improvement.
Moreover: GRASS. Fresh grass. Not vegs...
The wee will become clear.... shall we bet?
I know so many owners now that have seen this result...
Do that just for one week, the results will be immediate. If nothing will change, there is something else to be changed...
My piggies often wee on the white coach and there are no stains...
It is not a matter of the amount of calcium (which can come even from the bones... if the diet is too rich in phosphorus as it may happen when the diet is rich on vegs), it is a mix of matters, a balance which is difficult to fix sometimes...
:)
 
rome_italy said:
Hi Amiee,
why don't you cut off all the pellets? your piggies will not die fi they don't eat that (unnecessary) food and at least you can check by yourself if THAT part of the diet is just rhe culprit of the white residues... Then you will make your choice and you will re-introduce pellets again, if you don't find any improvement.
Moreover: GRASS. Fresh grass. Not vegs...
The wee will become clear.... shall we bet?
I know so many owners now that have seen this result...
Do that just for one week, the results will be immediate. If nothing will change, there is something else to be changed...
My piggies often wee on the white coach and there are no stains...
It is not a matter of the amount of calcium (which can come even from the bones... if the diet is too rich in phosphorus as it may happen when the diet is rich on vegs), it is a mix of matters, a balance which is difficult to fix sometimes...
:)
Click to expand...

As much as I love the idea of a pellet free fresh grass diet, we also have to remember that for some owners who don’t have their own lawn/access to safe uncontaminted grass it’s just not a viable alternative.
 
Squeakz said:
As much as I love the idea of a pellet free fresh grass diet, we also have to remember that for some owners who don’t have their own lawn/access to safe uncontaminted grass it’s just not a viable alternative.
Click to expand...
my lawns are not uncontaminated too... it is only an attempt, as the problem is serious... and grass is everywhere. Then after few days the owner can realise if the problem is the piggie or the diet. In the meanwhile I would start with cutting off all the pellets.
Sometimes it is better a dirty grass than a "clean" veg... for preventing a bladder stone I would cut the grass even along the motorway.
Of course if it is frozen or it looks like a desert, that is a big problem... I know what it means because I have been living for three months in a desert-like place...
 
Thank you for the suggestions. I live in a live/work unit so don't have a garden anymore. I would be quite worried about contamination if I just went picking grass randomly. The council can pray weed kill on it and also I read that dog pee is really dangerous for your piggys if they eat grass that's contaminated with it. Even after washing the grass, stuff can still stick around.
As far as pallets go, does anyone have any experience or opinion about the alfalfa pallets I'm on and wether that might be the problem? I'm going to cut them down a little more and see if that helps.
Thanks again :)
 
Amiee Dalzell said:
Thank you for the suggestions. I live in a live/work unit so don't have a garden anymore. I would be quite worried about contamination if I just went picking grass randomly. The council can pray weed kill on it and also I read that dog pee is really dangerous for your piggys if they eat grass that's contaminated with it. Even after washing the grass, stuff can still stick around.
As far as pallets go, does anyone have any experience or opinion about the alfalfa pallets I'm on and wether that might be the problem? I'm going to cut them down a little more and see if that helps.
Thanks again :)
Click to expand...
I would say it’s worth changing pellets.The oxbow ones do look good as they’re Timothy based.Not cheap though x
 
Gem789 said:
I would say it’s worth changing pellets.The oxbow ones do look good as they’re Timothy based.Not cheap though x
Click to expand...
I have the same pellets and they love them so I just reduced the pellets from 10 grams to 7 grams each.
 
Just though I'd do a quick update.
The calcium pee has calmed down quite a lot after cutting the pallets down. The Oxbow Timothy palletts arrived yesterday so I gave them a little to try for their afternoon snack...Well it didn't go down too well! They weren't fussed at all. Little Pumpkin ate a few but Giggles especially was having none of it! Hopefully they start to get use to them because I really don't want them on the ones I have now. Fingers crossed!
 
Amiee Dalzell said:
Just though I'd do a quick update.
The calcium pee has calmed down quite a lot after cutting the pallets down. The Oxbow Timothy palletts arrived yesterday so I gave them a little to try for their afternoon snack...Well it didn't go down too well! They weren't fussed at all. Little Pumpkin ate a few but Giggles especially was having none of it! Hopefully they start to get use to them because I really don't want them on the ones I have now. Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...

Good that you know what is causing the problem.

Piggies are generally not keen on changing pellets; tough it out, even if it takes a month!

Pellets only make around 5% of the daily food intake and they can happiliy live without them. Give an extra sprig of coriander/cilantro until things have settled down again with the new pellets. The more hay your piggies eat, the better, anyway! ;)
 
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