White wee?

[Mummybean]

Hi

I am still new to guinea pigs and learning. We had our piggies in today (we set them up a large box in the livingroom to run round in with tunnels and hides) and I noticed this white substance. At first I thought it might be guinea pig sperm, having read some other posts on that but when I came to fold the box up it was in fact clear watery liquid with a white chalky substance in it. I think it was wee. Is that normal?

 

[Claire W]

It’s excess calcium which guinea pigs excrete through their urine.

a little bit is normal and only if the urine is sludgy / gritty should you be concerned. But you may want to look at their diet that you’re not feeding them too much calcium rich veg

 

[Piggies&buns]

They excrete excess calcium in their urine, which shows as white wee. The odd one isn’t an issue. However, if it is happening frequently, or if it feels gritty when It is dried, then you should look at their diet. Too much calcium can lead to bladder problems.
You cannot nor should you cut calcium out, but unfiltered drinking water (particularly in a hard water area) and pellets contribute most calcium to the diet (even low calcium pellets have as much calcium as kale does), so ensuring water is kept filtered and pellets are low calcium and kept limited to one tablespoon per pig per day goes a long way to helping. Ensure high calcium veg (kale, parsley, spinach) isn’t fed frequently - one small amount once per week only.

 

[Mummybean]

Thank you. They do eat quite a lot of Kale and leafy greens but I don’t think that has a lot of calcium in. I let them have carrots and sweet potatoes about 2-3 times a week but maybe that’s too much. Other than that they have occasional cuecumber, lots of hay, pellets and water. I will keep an eye on it. Thanks so much.

 

[rp1993]

kale is high in calcium and it’s a once a week sort of veg, same with carrot and sweet potato as they are high in sugar I wouldn’t feed both in the same week if it was me. Pellets are also a source of calcium they only need a table spoon per pig per day. Cucumber is fine for daily feeding and so is bell pepper and coriander, with a few tweaks to their diet it should look better over time.

 

[Piggies&buns]

entirely
Kale has a lot of calcium (as much as pellets do) - it’s one small amount once per week only.
Carrots and sweet potato are treats only - no more than once per week due to the sugars etc.

Safe daily veg include cucumber, pepper, lettuce, coriander, green bean. This is the basis of the veg my piggies get daily. Anything else is on rotation and in moderation.

 

[Mummybean]

Oh I totally got this wrong I though kale and leafy greens were ok to have daily. I was thinking it was about sugar content I hadn’t thought about calcium. I will def cut back. They won’t eat coriander or broccoli I’ve tried both. Is there any other veg I can give them every day?

 

[Mummybean]

I’ve also tried green beans and peppers and they won’t eat those either They seem very picky. They didn’t want Apple or strawberry. They love grass though

 

[Piggies&buns]

Grass is good for them to have if you can provide it - it’s obviously their natural diet.
The guides below will help further

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

 

[Mummybean]

Grass is good for them to have if you can provide it - it’s obviously their natural diet.
The guides below will help further

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

This is really helpful thank you

 

[rp1993]

Have you tried multiple times with coriander and pepper? Our boys sometimes take a few times to warm up to veg!

 

[Siikibam]

Sometimes you just have to be persistent with some veg. If they don’t like the fruits I wouldn’t bother. But with coriander and (all colours of) pepper I’d keep trying.

 

[Merab's Slave]

You may also find that the veggies they hated yesterday are today’s favourite!

 

[Mummybean]

I am going to try again with the peppers. I am really struggling for fresh food they can eat daily. All the things they love are the things that should be occasional treats (I can totally relate to this ).