[Stones] CARE: diet

[ABSiev at aol.com]

To Cindy and Muriel -
 
Here's what I do, based on my research.  How useful it is in general, I 
couldn't tell you.
 
My piggies get unlimited grass hay, and a small amount of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine 
every day.  They got bottled water that has no fluoride and no or very low 
mineral content.  They get red peppers, corn husks and silk, and peeled cucumber 
- those are very low in oxalates (you can add turnips if your piggies like 
them).  That's it.  We even stopped the chewable vitamin C tablets (just in 
case), and count on the Oxbow pellets and red pepper for C. 
 
Dark green leafies, parsley, probably cilantro, are high in oxalates so I 
avoid them.  My boys used to LOVE dandelion greens but get them no more, alas.  
(Dandelion is actually supposed to be good for urinary issues but it's wicked 
high in oxalates.)  I don't even offer carrots, lettuce, or other piggie 
favorites because somebody somewhere said it might be a problem.  I used to give 
them the leaves from broccoli or cauliflower my family was having for supper - no 
more.  (Sometimes I sneak Jif out and give him a treat Skippy can't have.  
Skippy gets taken out all the time for meds...he now gets Shilintong and 
Polycitra every day.)
 
If I didn't have a piggie who produced an enormous stone mere months after 
another enormous stone was removed (and even on this regimen produces a bladder 
full of "sand"), I wouldn't be doing this.  I certainly didn't do it with my 
previous 5 pigs, except Byron, who was a stones pig (with a lot of other 
problems).  Muriel, I wonder why you want to feed your piggie a stone-preventive 
diet, prophylactically, if you have no particular reason to think he will have 
bladder stones.  It seems to be a genetic issue, and many piggies don't get 
stones no matter what they eat.  That includes my stones pig Skippy's 
brother/littermate, Jif, who is the strongest, healthiest boy in the world and could eat 
anything.  
 
Others may disagree with me and I hope they weigh in.
 
Amy



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