Should I Be Concerned About This Amount Of Calcium

[BlueBird]

Bit of a grim photo coming up but I have noticed that my Guineas seem to have a lot of calcium in their wee. There's a very bad quality photo of it to show you below.

No matter what I seem to feed this is the result. Lettuce, cabbage, kale. No matter what leafy green I use as a base I can't seem to get their calcium down and this is what happens but the amount of it is worrying me. Is this normal? Should I be worried? Oand if I should be worried what should I be feeding. I'm trying to go for variety but everything seems to have some degree of calcium in it so I'm really lost With my Guineas diet.

I should add that I feed celery, leafy herbs, tomato, cucumber, carrot, parsnip and pepper on rotation too but the leafy greens are the bulk of their daily salads.



Please note the food normal sized food bowl and just visible poos for size comparison.

 

[Claire W]

Hello and welcome. If you are concerned, I very much suggest that you cut down on the cabbage and kale and only feed a couple of times a week as they are both very high in calcium.

Cucumber and pepper are fine to feed daily as they are low in calcium

 

[DM030819]

Better out than in is what my vet says.

If you rub it between your fingers you can tell if it's okay. Dusty/powdery texture is absolutely fine.

If it's gritty then it's a sign to try to reduce calcium as it could be causing crystals to build up inside, which can lead to stones.

 

[Wiebke]

Bit of a grim photo coming up but I have noticed that my Guineas seem to have a lot of calcium in their wee. There's a very bad quality photo of it to show you below.

No matter what I seem to feed this is the result. Lettuce, cabbage, kale. No matter what leafy green I use as a base I can't seem to get their calcium down and this is what happens but the amount of it is worrying me. Is this normal? Should I be worried? Oand if I should be worried what should I be feeding. I'm trying to go for variety but everything seems to have some degree of calcium in it so I'm really lost With my Guineas diet.

I should add that I feed celery, leafy herbs, tomato, cucumber, carrot, parsnip and pepper on rotation too but the leafy greens are the bulk of their daily salads.

View attachment 60010

Please note the food normal sized food bowl and just visible poos for size comparison.

Hi! Please cut down on the cabbage and kale as well as on high calcium pellets; there are now several brands with low or no calcium available.
Have a look at the sample meal in our balanced diet guide, which goes a long way in helping to minimise the risk of developing bladder stones. You can never cut out all risk factors, but too much calcium in the diet and in the water is an important long term contributor. I would also recommend to filter the water, irrespective of whether you live in a high or low calcium area.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet