Help! Low Calcium Diet With Variety!

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Rosanna Kapur

Rosanna Kapur

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I've noticed white stains when cleaning out my piggies so I'm trying to keep them on a low calcium diet, but it seems to be the same few veg they are getting, red and green leave lettuces, green beans, cucumber, courgette and the odd cherry tomato. (They refuse peppers of any colour!) any advice on adding a bit more variety?
 
it's usually the pellets that cause the most issues so i'd start with those first. how many do you feed and which ones? :)
 
I might be wrong, but I thought white staining is not necessarily suggesting a problem with excess calcium, more if it is gritty to the touch. If I'm wrong I might need to look at the diet of my pair as they have white patches and the wee itself is milky when fresh, so interested to see what the more experienced members suggest.
 
Tigermoth said:
I might be wrong, but I thought white staining is not necessarily suggesting a problem with excess calcium, more if it is gritty to the touch. If I'm wrong I might need to look at the diet of my pair as they have white patches and the wee itself is milky when fresh, so interested to see what the more experienced members suggest.
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The whiteness in Guinea Pig wee is excess calcium being excreted . I've always been led too believe it is normal - and to only get concerned if there are gritty deposits - or your guinea pigs are showing symptoms. It's a fine balance though and, personally , I think it is a very good idea to limit calcium rich veg.

I wish my guinea pigs would eat the "right" pellets ! They've made their choice ! I've tried Bunny Guinea Pig Dream, JR grainless AND Vitakraft .
No chance !
They like Burgess - so, Burgess it is !
 
Mine better like JR Grainless, I invested in a bag last week...

I do limit calcium rich veg, but not to the extent of having a proper "low calcium" diet as you might with a symptomatic bladder piggy iyswim. Tbh, pretty much the same list as the OP, although mine love peppers but refuse courgette. Glad I seem to have the right end of the stick with the white stains not necessarily being indicative of an issue though
 
the pellet amount sounds fine and the maximum people suggest so that should be ok. :)

agree that the white spots are normal if not gritty, and you'll usually find them after the piggy eats any higher calcium foods. just be wary of going too far the other way and cutting out too much calcium. vet was saying he's seeing this problem now and calcium is really important for the body which is why a small amount of leafy greens are still the recommended daily feeding fresh foods wise, even though most are medium-high calcium. you'd have to feed a huge amount to cause problems, so aslong as you stick to a small amount then you shouldn't go far wrong. obviously the ones very high in calcium it's best to use more sparingly :)
 
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