possible urine scald

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meganmarie

Post   » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:49 pm


Not at all. In fact, i don't even recall him telling me the name of the bacteria. I was just worried about how long we were there and she hadn't eaten anything.

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meganmarie

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:05 pm


So, these are the things that I am doing for Ginger. I am
1. Brita filtering her water. Our water has a ton of calcium in it(I think the guy called it hard water?)
2. I am changing lettuce from spring mix to red/green leaf lettuce.
I feed KMS hayloft pellets and hay, the pigs only get low calcium veggies(cucumber, lettuce, cherry tomato, carrot, peppers, occasional apple slice). I'm not sure if I should do something more, but that's where I am right now. If anybody has any other ideas, the ideas would be very much welcomed.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:44 pm


Plan to go outside and pick some nice fresh grass when spring shows up. Introduce slowly. Most guinea pigs really enjoy fresh, clean grass.

www.guinealynx.info/.html

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meganmarie

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:56 pm


okay, awesome. : ) Thanks Lynx!

huh. We actually pick dandelion leaves to eat in my family. We have a spot we always pick at. That's awesome! Also, would the forages count as veggies for the day or as towards hay consumtion?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:38 pm


Dandelions have too much calcium in them to feed more than a leaf or two. Chickweed would work well (I am picking chickweed daily right now for my chicken, who likes it). I think of fresh grass as a supplement rather than a replacement for fresh vegs. Variety provides more nutrients.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:15 am


You're doing everything right. Ditto Lynx, but you're doing the right things.

Many GL members have had the best success with KM's pellets for stone- or sludge-prone pigs.

Look for an orange juice with no calcium added.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:07 pm


Regarding your water: "hard" simply means lots of iron, not necessarily calcium. I'm not sure calcium can actually be filtered out without using a very expensive RO system. Not positive of those either, to be honest. It's been 5 years since we looked into changing our filter system and I can't remember the fine details, since we didn't actually go for the change. That said, I "Brita" my pigs' water, too. They seem to drink more since I started doing that.

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meganmarie

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:10 pm


Well, we rent an apartment, so there's not even anything we could do with the water. I'll get a picture of the brita pitcher we just bought. I'm scared that it's not the right one.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Brita-Slim-Wa ... up/8470932

C Cole-Chakotay

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:17 pm


It sounds like you are giving your girl really good care. I'm glad to hear she passed the stone.

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meganmarie

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:54 pm


Thank you. I'm trying. These pigs are my babies, I'd do anything for them.



They also have a double layered cage. I only had water bottles in the bottom left corner. I bought two more and put them in the middle of the cage on the top. So now they have water everywhere they turn.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:38 am


Water everywhere they turn is a good idea. Try different size bottles; bottles placed at different heights in the cage, and bottles with different water heights (that is, don't fill it all the way to the top). The two girls we have right now drink best when the bottle is well less than half-full. Just check frequently to make sure they don't run out.

I am no water expert, but hard water has always been explained to me as being high in calcium carbonate, usually found in water in areas with lots of limestone. You can have water with lots of iron and other minerals in it without a lot of calcium carbonate -- IIRC Northern Wisconsin is like this.

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Delaine
Supporter in '14

Post   » Sun Jan 17, 2016 12:01 pm


I also have a sow prone to stones. I pretty much follow what you are doing. The only thing I can add is getting her moving as much as possible.

I think of a guinea pig's bladder as one of those snow globes we put out at Christmas. When you shake it the snow flies around and when you put it on the counter the snow settles to the bottom. The more our pigs can shake up the sludge in their urine through exercise and expel it the better. I feel sludge in a sedentary pig settles and has more chance to form into stones.

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