Putting This "wonder Food" To The Test!

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Adelle

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
3,205
Reaction score
8,426
Points
1,525
I recently ordered Guinea pig pellets from Sherwood Pet Care in the US.

They sound amazing on paper.. Now I'm putting it to the test!

They are grain and soy free, at least 80% hay and are free from molasses and rubbish fillers. Their biggest impact is meant to be on bladder health- particularly sludge and stones. They affect the ph of the urine , preventing the conditions that usually help calcium to bind to other elements (making calcium carbonate or oxalate) therefore reducing sludge and stones. Changing the ph of the urine by just one unit can apparantly break down stones and sludge allowing them to be passed. Apparantly Protein waste contributes too. There is also a mention of benefits to digestive health.

I have a sow with chronic IC and crystals, has done for over 18 months. But the one I'm really hoping it will work on is fudge, who has crud built up in her urethra as well as a sludgy bladder... she can't be operated on due to heart failure, so medical management is our only option . developing a stone high in the urinary tract would ultimately cost her her life.

The ONLY thing that is making my wary is the high calcium content- min 1%! But there is scientific evidence from the nutritionist that makes the food that calcium is necessary for a healthy pig and that calcium on its own isn't the problem- it's the junk in normal pellets and the conditions they help create in the bladder that cause the calcium to bind to things.

There is also an interesting part about how lack of calcium can affect the teeth/jaw and cause dental issues... My IC sow who has been on a restricted calcium diet for 18 months has had dental issues for the past 9-12 months.. Could be coincidence but I'm keeping an open mind.

Why Alfalfa?

My vet is on board and I'm praying it helps them both. They are 6 and 8, and I just want them to be as comfortable as possible.

The taste test has went down well- the first hurdle!

image.webp



They are greener than most pellets, smell lovely and are very similar size/shape to oxbow- so easy to eat.

The only issue (if they work) is maintaining the supply..

The pellets are American, and cost $28. The postage to the uk was $67 .. And I had an unsuspected £20 customs charge! All in, the 4.5kg bag has cost me just under £98 ..... But I'm assuming I could order a larger amount in future to save on the regular shipping costs!

I will update this thread with how we get on, I know some would have stopped reading about 10 minutes ago but there are a lot of us with bladder pigs that may benefit from this food- should it work!
 
Last edited:
Adelle, my lot are still young (babies or crabby teens) but I am interested in this. I often wonder about the stuff in pellets, but there are people on this forum who do not feed pellets at all. I wonder how much pellets or nuggets contribute to bladder sludge.
 
Good luck. I get the protein and the grains, I hope also that the high calcium suits Fudge. That's certainly dedication right there (as if we didn't know you are dedicated already). You are such a star @Adelle, hope this does her good xx
 
Flamestriker said:
Adelle, my lot are still young (babies or crabby teens) but I am interested in this. I often wonder about the stuff in pellets, but there are people on this forum who do not feed pellets at all. I wonder how much pellets or nuggets contribute to bladder sludge.
Click to expand...

I used to have Crunchie off pellets as her IC just got so bloody bad- her bladder was thick and scarred and was so damaged beyond repair I was terrified what another flare up would do. She lost a lot of weight with no pellets, and I was worried about her vit c intake as she could only have limited veg and goes off her pepper before anything else when her bladders bothering her.

Introducing Cystease meant she could go back on pellets as her condition improved, but it was a struggle to find one that didn't aggravate the issue. I found harringtons to work best for her (I had Tried oxbow, JR Farm, science select, bunny, burgess, meadows menu, natures harvest, p@h...) it's not the best quality of food but it kept her weight stable, her bladder under control and I knew she was getting vitamin c. But her bladder is still a problem from time to time, and she still has recurrent dental issues.

And now fudge has bladder issues, and as she can't have surgery it's vital I nip this in the bud. I couldn't live with myself knowing something I was feeding her caused her to get a stone and ultimately end her life! The no pellets for her also caused weight loss and a poor body condition despite the fact she had balanced veg and plenty hay. But she is nearly 8 years old...

My two youngsters where a bit overweight on oxbow, but have slimmed down on the harringtons. They are healthy and their skin/coats/ eyes are immaculate and bright. I will keep them on the limited harringtons, unless they develop bladder issues too.

It's just a matter of waiting and seeing how we go!
 
Fingers crossed for you and the girlies Adelle. My lot are on Burgess mint, but I am thinking of adding some grainless to the mix.

Fillers are an issue with other animal feed as well. Hamster food comes to mind, those brown things that the animals don't eat and what are always left!
 
Critter said:
Good luck. I get the protein and the grains, I hope also that the high calcium suits Fudge. That's certainly dedication right there (as if we didn't know you are dedicated already). You are such a star @Adelle, hope this does her good xx
Click to expand...

The lack of calcium does concern me in their current stage of life, especially with fudge being so arthritic. The dental correlation to a low calcium diet is also setting alarm bells off because of Crunchie.. But I can only hope this makes a difference!x
 
I wondered if you had tried the JR Farm one, I always thought the ingredients looked really good and I use this within a mix of others. Was there anything that put you off, if you don't mind me asking?

I have to admit I dread having a bladder issue in my piggies. My first had repeated bladder infections (or the same one that never went away) and in the end had an x-ray on her's which revealed suspicious-looking lumps within the bladder. I can't remember what the lumps were now - cysts or something, caused by badder infection anyhow. She removed these but Shadow never recovered from her op sadly, her body shut down a couple of days later. She had spent over a year in and out of the vets on Baytril, and trying her with a new vet resulted in more Baytril. I still don't know if her treatment was correct, but I dread seeing signs of bladder infection because I would hate another piggy to go through what Shadow went through.
So I have been using mainly grain-free products since. Anything to reduce the chances of a bladder issue is good in my book, so I have my own interests here, as well as wishing all the best for Fudge.
Fudge is amazing, and so are you!
 
Flamestriker said:
Fingers crossed for you and the girlies Adelle. My lot are on Burgess mint, but I am thinking of adding some grainless to the mix.

Fillers are an issue with other animal feed as well. Hamster food comes to mind, those brown things that the animals don't eat and what are always left!
Click to expand...
Fillers are an issue with all Pet food.. I have a rescue dog with food allergies and she was put on a super expensive veterinary hypoallergenic diet as a last resort... I done some digging into it.. Everything in the food is so "treated" to rid of the allergens that it's nutritional content is absolutely shocking. Opting for allergy blood tests to find out her triggers, then exclude them from her diet by feeding a raw diet. She gained weight yet was absolutely ravenous. I don't understand how they can justify some things I really don't...
 
Critter said:
I wondered if you had tried the JR Farm one, I always thought the ingredients looked really good and I use this within a mix of others. Was there anything that put you off, if you don't mind me asking?

I have to admit I dread having a bladder issue in my piggies. My first had repeated bladder infections (or the same one that never went away) and in the end had an x-ray on her's which revealed suspicious-looking lumps within the bladder. I can't remember what the lumps were now - cysts or something, caused by badder infection anyhow. She removed these but Shadow never recovered from her op sadly. She spent over a year in and out of the vets on Baytril, and trying her with a new vet resulted in more Baytril. I still don't know if her treatment was correct, but I dread seeing signs of bladder infection because I would hate another piggy to go through what Shadow went through.
So I have been using mainly grain-free products since. Anything to reduce the chances of a bladder issue is good in my book, so I have my own interests here, as well as wishing all the best for Fudge.
Fudge is amazing, and so are you!
Click to expand...

Poor shadow! I think her issue was pretty rare but I understand why you are so cautious now.

The Jr farm grain less are one of the better ones ingredient wise. My girls just wouldn't eat them, which put me back into the dilemma I faced when they had no pellets. I refreshed their bowl of pellets every morning for 2 weeks...no one ate a single piece! Believe me, I tried!

My youngsters get some occasionally , just using up the bag really. Sometimes they eat them, sometimes they don't!
 
What a really interesting thread.

I will be keen to hear how it goes, although at that price it would want to be brilliant!
You are one dedicated piggy slave Adelle.

The calcium level as opposed to the calcium uptake makes perfect sense to me - it is rarely he level of a certain mineral or vitamin in a food that determines the amount of uptake (iron in humans is a classic example of this theory), so in this case it would be a great result if it offered improved dental health without increased bladder issues.

And if it does work out for your piggies, maybe it would be worth contacting the manufacturer about making it available in the UK through a specialist supplier?
I used to think I was going above and beyond by driving to Germany to buy specialist food for one of my dogs, but 98 pounds for a bag of guinea pig pellets tops that by a long way!
 
Swissgreys said:
What a really interesting thread.

I will be keen to hear how it goes, although at that price it would want to be brilliant!
You are one dedicated piggy slave Adelle.

The calcium level as opposed to the calcium uptake makes perfect sense to me - it is rarely he level of a certain mineral or vitamin in a food that determines the amount of uptake (iron in humans is a classic example of this theory), so in this case it would be a great result if it offered improved dental health without increased bladder issues.

And if it does work out for your piggies, maybe it would be worth contacting the manufacturer about making it available in the UK through a specialist supplier?
I used to think I was going above and beyond by driving to Germany to buy specialist food for one of my dogs, but 98 pounds for a bag of guinea pig pellets tops that by a long way!
Click to expand...
Yes, that is the thing that annoys me about certain food claims, due to its contents. Just because it contains x,y and z it doesn't always mean that the body can utilise it.
 
Great thread Adele, the more info we can find on this sort of thing the better. Will look at creating an info thread at some point and use this great info if that is okay with you?
 
sport_billy said:
Great thread Adele, the more info we can find on this sort of thing the better. Will look at creating an info thread at some point and use this great info if that is okay with you?
Click to expand...
Of course! Although the link words it better than I do haha
 
£98? Wow! Certainly you're a dedicated piggie slave :eek: Hope the pellets work out well for you :). Keep us updated. The video is adorable. They are so beautiful and cute :)!

I feed a mixture of Burgess mint and Rosewood grainless. Neither of them are overly keen on the Rosewood but will eat a few pellets. They both love the Burgess and it helps keep the weight on. When I was trying to feed exclusively Rosewood, Oreo lost a fair bit of weight, so I switched back because he is already light compared to what he used to be.

Flamestriker said:
Fillers are an issue with other animal feed as well. Hamster food comes to mind, those brown things that the animals don't eat and what are always left!
Click to expand...

I agree fillers are an issue, but with hamster food, the 'fillers' are what has most of the nutrients, even though the hamsters ignore them. Removing them will unbalance the nutrition of the mix. This is why I researched into hamster nutrition and came up with my own hamster food. It doesn't have any filler and my hamster eats the majority of it. I have been told numerous times how healthy he looks so clearly the food is working.
 
chesca_27 said:
£98? Wow! Certainly you're a dedicated piggie slave :eek: Hope the pellets work out well for you :). Keep us updated. The video is adorable. They are so beautiful and cute :)!

I feed a mixture of Burgess mint and Rosewood grainless. Neither of them are overly keen on the Rosewood but will eat a few pellets. They both love the Burgess and it helps keep the weight on. When I was trying to feed exclusively Rosewood, Oreo lost a fair bit of weight, so I switched back because he is already light compared to what he used to be.



I agree fillers are an issue, but with hamster food, the 'fillers' are what has most of the nutrients, even though the hamsters ignore them. Removing them will unbalance the nutrition of the mix. This is why I researched into hamster nutrition and came up with my own hamster food. It doesn't have any filler and my hamster eats the majority of it. I have been told numerous times how healthy he looks so clearly the food is working.
Click to expand...
75% of that cost was to get it to the uk!

My hamsters where fed on a balanced mix I made myself too, they had a complete pellet option too but preferred the homemade dinner! Had them both at different times, one lived to 3 and the other 3 years 8 months x
 
Well it's been 48 hours of the new food being mixed into their harringtons.. They have since decided they don't want the harringtons and where clearing the bowl of their new pellets! So they are now just on the new pellets and there's been no upset tummys or bloat (Iv been keeping a VERY close eye!) in fact...

Fudge who has had dodgy poos since her heart meds where increased for the past 4 weeks has already started producing her normal "bullet" poos again! She looks proud haha

image.webp
 
That is one gorgeous photo, and you're right, she does look proud. Just right too!
 
Yes, she does look proud "look what I did Mum"! :)
Glad they like it, and it looks like it's already doing her some good :)
 
How are your girls getting on with the new pellets? I'm seriously considering buying some. Both of my piggies have tummy issues (one has been confirmed as having Candida). My other girl has IC and their current pellets are causing her to have calcium deposits in her urine, which is sometimes painful for her to pass. They are currently having Versele Laga grain-free which are affecting Poppy who has Candida. This might be due to the Elderberry content. Because of this I can only give them a few pellets each. Did it take long for the pellets to arrive?
 
Lily & Rose said:
How are your girls getting on with the new pellets? I'm seriously considering buying some. Both of my piggies have tummy issues (one has been confirmed as having Candida). My other girl has IC and their current pellets are causing her to have calcium deposits in her urine, which is sometimes painful for her to pass. They are currently having Versele Laga grain-free which are affecting Poppy who has Candida. This might be due to the Elderberry content. Because of this I can only give them a few pellets each. Did it take long for the pellets to arrive?
Click to expand...
It took like 3 weeks to arrive to the U.K. As having to go through customs.

My sow with crystals/sludge no longer had any after only 2 weeks of this food, and no calcium deposits despite the food containing alfalfa- the body was clearly using the calcium instead of peeing it out and it definately done what it said it should.

My other sow with crystals and IC for 19 months now no longer has crystals... Except the food caused a major flare in her IC.

I'm amazed it's worked so well with sludge and crystals but can no longer feed it to Crunchie as it affected her IC.. And with fudge having a real poorly spell with her ovary; she went off the food so I put her back on harringtons so she was getting extra calories.

I may try again with it when they are in a more stable position but I don't think it's right for Crunchie. I'm really pleased with the fact it rid them of sludge and crystals though!

If I don't use it I will be looking to give to someone that wants to try it, so if you don't mind waiting I'll post here for anyone wanting some! The food itself is about £25 but cost me £100 by the time I paid delivery and customs. I have 4kg of it!

Meant to add, my girl with a funny tummy had excellent healthy poo's on this food too so definately helped with the guts as stated on the website. Her poo's are a bit iffy on the harringtons but she's eating them and gaining a little weight so I need to focus on that.
 
Adelle said:
It took like 3 weeks to arrive to the you.K. As having to go through customs.

My sow with crystals/sludge no longer had any after only 2 weeks of this food, and no calcium deposits despite the food containing alfalfa- the body was clearly using the calcium instead of peeing it out and it definately done what it said it should.

My other sow with crystals and IC for 19 months now no longer has crystals... Except the food caused a major flare in her IC.

I'm amazed it's worked so well with sludge and crystals but can no longer feed it to Crunchie as it affected her IC.. And with fudge having a real poorly spell with her ovary; she went off the food so I put her back on harringtons so she was getting extra calories.

I may try again with it when they are in a more stable position but I don't think it's right for Crunchie. I'm really pleased with the fact it rid them of sludge and crystals though!

If I don't use it I will be looking to give to someone that wants to try it, so if you don't mind waiting I'll post here for anyone wanting some! The food itself is about £25 but cost me £100 by the time I paid delivery and customs. I have 4kg of it!

Meant to add, my girl with a funny tummy had excellent healthy poo's on this food too so definately helped with the guts as stated on the website. Her poo's are a bit iffy on the harringtons but she's eating them and gaining a little weight so I need to focus on that.
Click to expand...
Thank you. It sounds like it might not be good for Lily then who has IC. I was worried recently when we went to the vets as the vet noticed a difference in her jaw, which I suppose could be caused by the reduced calcium in her diet.

I love the photo of Crunchie and Fudge eating their pellets! :)
 
Lily & Rose said:
Thank you. It sounds like it might not be good for Lily then who has IC. I was worried recently when we went to the vets as the vet noticed a difference in her jaw, which I suppose could be caused by the reduced calcium in her diet.

I love the photo of Crunchie and Fudge eating their pellets! :)
Click to expand...
Their stance on the dangers of a low calcium diet is bold but it all makes total sense. And I saw first hand the reduction in sludge and crystals just by not feeding a food with fillers in it!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top