Bladder Stone study

lorraine02

Post   » Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:49 am


I didn't have an pet now , and if they are ill , what can I fo first ?

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:30 am


The university clinic for exotic pets in Utrecht, Netherlands, says that the formation of bladder grit and stones, in an otherwise healthy pig, can be caused genetically and most certainly because we all feed too much calcium to pigs. 50% gets absorbed in the body. They say pigs needs a 0.3% calcium diet, always. Not once, not even as a treat, is a higher calcium item allowed.

they also said that the cranberry I gave, plus Chilintong, Chanca Piedra, etc, are all addressing the problem, not tackling the issue, so I had to stop them too.

I lost a pig because of genetic kidney issues, which led to gritty pee and stones. I am keeping her twin sister alive with that diet, as she has the same genetic issues. I see no more gritty pee, plus the pig is remarkably happier since the diet change.

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AldenM1
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Post   » Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:29 am


I don't understand the second paragraph. I'd been hoping to learn more about Chilintong and maybe use it... why is it bad?

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:09 am


Department head vet said that using stuff like Chilintong, cranberry, Chanca Piedra only addresses the issue, but not fix the cause. He is right of course. It's like people who take high cholesterol meds and still eat tons of fatty food that causes it.

He meant that a low calcium diet will be effective to attack the issues, so cranberry and all the rest becomes obsolete. He also was not keen on a lifelong treatment with stuff like Chanca Piedra and so, as it might have side-effects. Well, he was right too, as my pigs got incredibly farty from Chanca tea, after it had been bought and used for 2 months. I didn't even try the Chilintong yet, I was about to order it. If I kept giving Chanca, it probably would have caused diarrhea or bloat.

Cranberry is OK to help with bladder infections, not as a main med to battle a bladder infection. But he meant if cranberry is used to prevent bladder infections, caused by gritty pee and stones damaging the bladder wall, it's best to address the calcium issue than to give cranberry all the time. I hope that made it clear.

He was right, I know. My diet was not that bad, regarding calcium, compared to many pig owners. Still not good enough, not low enough. I keep strict to the new diet now and I can clearly see the change. Woozy is now off cranberry, off herbal remedies and she is doing better than ever before.

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ElvisTCB

Post   » Mon Jan 09, 2012 11:16 am


pigjes, do you have your new diet posted anywhere?

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AldenM1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Mon Jan 09, 2012 12:04 pm


Please.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:15 am


I will put it in here. First of all, the water served to the pigs needs to be as much calcium free as possible. I have an electromagnetic decalcifier on my main water supply and installed a Brita filter, to get the rest out.

I have a sunlight bulb, but it's not allowed to be switched on over 20 minutes a day, so there won't be too much vitamin D formed, as vitamin D helps to absorb calcium into the body. Pigs need vitamin D, but not too much.

I use only vegs which contain 0.3% calcium or lower. There is a list here on GL that tells you the calcium content in vegs. I had to switch to Timothy hay to offer low calcium hay.

I tried a pellets-less diet, but that caused serious bloat. So, I use JR Farm grainless pellets now, which contain 0.4% calcium. I mix that with dried vegs and herbs, with 0.3% calcium or less, so the mixture is average within limits. That's the lowest calcium pellet I could find, by the way.

I am not allowed to give any vegs, not even as a treat, not even once, with higher calcium value. Some store bought treats for pigs also contain a lot of calcium, so those are not allowed either.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:42 pm


I don't understand. How does one determine the percentage of calcium in any given vegetable? Most food databases express this in milligrams or micrograms; is there a way to calculate this?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:05 pm


I am guessing that the 0.4% is based on dry weight. You can calculate it with the info the USDA provides.

SardonicSmile

Post   » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:07 am


Pigjes do you know what your vet thinks about eurologist? It is the only medication my pig is on right now.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:43 am


He says the same thing about Eurologist as Chanca Piedra, Shilintong, etc: they all address the problem, not tackle the cause. Plus, he's not a fan of treating a pig with it for it's entire life, due to possible side-effects.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:50 am


You can calculate it with the info the USDA provides.
Okay. So if you look on the USDA Nutrient Database for 100 grams of green leaf lettuce:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/c ... ut_edit.pl

...it gives a value of 36 milligrams. This means that in a 100 gram serving of green leaf lettuce, the calcium content is 36%--right? If we're shooting for not more than .4% of calcium in a food, how do we extrapolate that down?

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