Jill, Jaffa and Jupiter

Post Reply
User avatar
daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:06 am


Thanks for the replies and wishes Lynx and ItsaZoo! Just taking one day at a time!

User avatar
daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:00 am


Took Jill back to vet. Small weight gain. Vet was happy and said take her off Bactrim(she has been on it for 2 weeks) and to see how she goes. Will keep you posted. Still hand feeding too.

User avatar
ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:56 am


Best wishes with Jill. It would be nice if she didn’t need the Bactrim anymore, and weight gain is good news!

User avatar
daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:32 am


Thanks for the reply ItsaZoo! It has been 4 days of Bactrim and Jill has started to lose weight again. Still hand feeding too. Not sure if weight lost is due to being off the Bactrim or from chasing Jersey and especially poor Jay.

Day after she went off the Bactrim took dividers away separating her from Jay and Jersey. Strange she has lost weight when she eats everyones food.

If she loses weight tomorrow will go back onto Bactrim and off to the vet if it continues. Keep you posted! Reminder she has been sedated and teeth checked.

THOUGH it took same vet 3 times to see her sister's Jaffa's tongue trapped by teeth and tongue even had a hole in it. Poor Baby! Vet even put X-rays on VIN and 3 vets said they were all clear(Jaffa NOT Jill. Jill has had no X-rays).

They found it hard to X-ray Jaffa as machine more for dogs and cats and had no plate small enough, so would have to find someone with the machine which will NOT be easy!

User avatar
daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat May 02, 2020 5:19 am


Okay, Things have settled with Jill, Jay, Jersey. They are getting along NOT smoothly but not to badly. Jill is eating, peeing, pooping and maintaining weight.

Still hand feeding her, without that she would be losing weight. We think she was lonely living alone after losing her Sister Jaffa then her best friend Joy whom they'd talk between the divider.

Maybe seeing and smelling Jay and Jersey through the divider wasn't enough for her? Anyways keeping an eye on her and will keep you posted.

User avatar
ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Mon May 04, 2020 1:29 am


Glad to hear Jill is maintaining weight. Hopefully this will continue and they will get along okay.

User avatar
daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sun Jun 21, 2020 4:58 am


Okay cleaned Jill Saturday-yesterday and her white towel in one corner was a very pale pink so she is off to the vet tomorrow for a check over. Wonder who is going to be number three? they say things happen in three's.

My piggies for last 30 years have gotten to eat grass when available cat grass when it is cuttable,Oak reg/green lettuce, cos lettuce, baby spinach leaves, spinach and silver beet. Carrot, cherry tomato, continental cucumber. Oxbox Timothy hay(not keen) Adult Oxbow pellets, Meadow hay. Now Jinx and Jill who have the blood Jill not so much very pale) will not be happy but am going to cut out the silverbeet and spinach(keeping the baby spinach) and replace with parsley and celery(cut small). They will not be happy but until Jinx never had a stone pig on food mentioned above.

Now they get fed 3 times a day, carrot a slice X 3, Cucumber 1/2 X 3, cherry tomato a slice X 3. Silverbeet and spinach a quarter of a leaf X 3, baby spinach 4-7 leaves X 3, lettuce-oak a hand full X 3, Cos lettuce half a leaf X 3, grass when have it a hand full X 3. Pellets 1/4 bowl and Timothy hay 1/4 bowl, meadow hay all over their pen. Any suggestions much appreciated.

Sorry for the double post but the post is relevant to both pigs. Thanks for the reply ItsaZoo. Let you know how we get on at the vets tomorrow. Will book Jinx in for stone removal whilst there.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:06 am


What kind of lettuce is cos lettuce? Can you link to a picture?

Parsley is also high in calcium. Maybe only a single baby spinach leaf.

I understand how difficult it is to figure out a good diet when your guinea pigs are prone to stones. Have you ever tried soaking a handful of hay in water and offering it to them for a couple hours? Increasing fluids should help.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:41 am


Cos is romaine.

User avatar
daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:42 am


What kind of lettuce is cos lettuce? Can you link to a picture?

Cos lettuce is what USA people call Romaine lettuce.

Parsley is also high in calcium
Damn Damn Damn! What about Watercress, Mint, Coriander? Broccoli leads to wind. What else is there? They won't eat Kale, capsicums, any root vegetable except for carrot. Maybe I will just take the girls to the fruit and vegetable shop and they can pick out what they want? Just kidding. Will give it more thought. Thanks Lynx. Oh tried hay in water and it's a no go. They ignored it, had to throw it out.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jun 21, 2020 10:00 am


You want to avoid romaine (though supposedly not high in calcium, it leads to excessive calcium deposits).

You want mild leafy greens. See:
https://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/fave.html

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Jun 21, 2020 1:18 pm


My piggies for last 30 years have gotten to eat grass when available cat grass when it is cuttable,Oak reg/green lettuce, cos lettuce, baby spinach leaves, spinach and silver beet. Carrot, cherry tomato, continental cucumber. Oxbox Timothy hay(not keen) Adult Oxbow pellets, Meadow hay. Now Jinx and Jill who have the blood Jill not so much very pale) will not be happy but am going to cut out the silverbeet and spinach(keeping the baby spinach) and replace with parsley and celery(cut small). They will not be happy but until Jinx never had a stone pig on food mentioned above.

Now they get fed 3 times a day, carrot a slice X 3, Cucumber 1/2 X 3, cherry tomato a slice X 3. Silverbeet and spinach a quarter of a leaf X 3, baby spinach 4-7 leaves X 3, lettuce-oak a hand full X 3, Cos lettuce half a leaf X 3, grass when have it a hand full X 3. Pellets 1/4 bowl and Timothy hay 1/4 bowl, meadow hay all over their pen. Any suggestions much appreciated.
That seems like a lot of veggies, but it's hard to know what size a slice is or what is meant by "cucumber 1/2." Half a cucumber or half a slice? Is that per pig or shared?

By way of comparison, all but one of our guys* get roughly 1/2 cup of veggies per pig twice a day (morning and evening), with the bulk of their veggies being green leaf and bibb lettuce with a few lower calcium vegetables rotated. Lynx's food chart is very helpful in comparing the amount of vitamin C and calcium in various vegetables.

As far as pellets, all but one* get roughly 1/8 cup daily, divided into two feedings. Pellets make up the smallest part of their diet. Think of a pyramid with hay at the bottom, comprising maybe 75% of their overall diet; roughly 20% of the food pyramid being lower calcium veggies; and roughly 5% being comprised of KMS pellets.

You mentioned feeding Oxbow pellets. Just a thought, but have you checked the ingredients to see if it contains calcium carbonate/limestone? I don't think the formula differs from what we get here in the US, but it might be worth verifying. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that calcium carbonate (sometimes listed on the bag as "limestone") can cause stone formation in guinea pigs who may already be predisposed.

Finally, as an added measure to try to prevent future stones, I would suggest used filtered water if you don't already do so. The pH/hardness in some water sources can be quite high and could be a factor. After we lost two guinea pigs back-to-back last year to bladder stones (after several years of not seeing any new cases), I switched to filtered water just to be on the safe side. The water source was the only thing in their diets that had changed, and could have been a factor.

[* our senior with GI problems gets fewer veggies and pellets than the others]

Post Reply