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Download
Nutritional Information Chart
Go to info on bladder sludge
diet
This
chart shows nutritional values of common fruits and vegetables
commonly fed to guinea pigs. It has been updated to include
oxalic acid (oxalates) values as well, since it is suspected
that oxalates play a part in the formation of some types of
bladder stones.
Notice:
the information provided in the chart was originally compiled
by Oxbow Hay Company as a service to the Guinea Pig Community.
We would also like to thank Karen Easley for the update.
The chart may be freely copied and distributed, but it may
not be modified in any way.
Becky
has put together a balanced Calcium/Phosphorus diet that she
feeds to her piggies. Here is what she has to say:
"I
have one sludge pig. Her sister died from multiple stones,
one which eventually lodged in her ureter (sp?) and caused
kidney failure.
Shortly
after that pig died, Chippy, my sludge pig, showed those tell-tale
signs of blood in urine, pain when she urinated and large
piles of sludge left on the bedding. We put her on polycitra
right away (more than 18 months ago) and supported her with
subcues three times a week. Large concentration of sludge
was shown on x-rays and on ultrasound.
In the
interium she developed ovarian cysts and was spayed. After
the spay, she continued to pass large "blobs" of
bloody mucus. We decided it was irritation from the sludge.
(Probably not, but irrelevant to this discussion, anyway.)
About
a year ago, I started her (and all of my pigs) on the diet
I sent you. I didn't cut out calcium, as you can tell. Since
about three or four months ago, Chippy has shown no indication
of sludge at all. Her last x-ray (two months ago) showed a
very small amount. No blood in the urine, no calcium deposits
on the bedding, no stones have ever developed, and I've stopped
her subcues altogether. I'm continuing the polycitra.
Who knows
exactly what is working or not working? What Dawn H. [at
Oxbow - ed.] said about their natural diet's Ca:Ph ratio
stuck with me, though, so I figured it certainly couldn't
hurt.
...If
nothing else, it represents a diet with a great deal of variety
and plenty of Vit. C. On those points alone, I'd feel comfortable
suggesting it to any pig owner.
The only
thing I would add is that my pigs' diet also consists of as
much hay as they can eat (or pee in, as the case may be) and
a small amount of Oxbow pellets--no more than 1/8 cup per
pig per day. I wouldn't want anyone thinking the veggies/greens/fruits
were the only food they get. Also, some of the foods I feed
are high in oxalates, so anyone with that type of stone issues
would need to tweak it with that in mind."
You can
download the diet here.
More nutrition
information can be found at the GuineaLynx site:
For hay:
http://www.guinealynx.info/hay.html#list
For food (on this
page):
http://www.guinealynx.info/nutrition.html
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