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Diet Stone Pig Diet Advice

Tschannen14

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My 2.5 year old male pig, Vincent, has just been diagnosed with a bladder stone. Two years ago, his cage mate also had a bladder stone. We attempted surgery, but he did not fair well post-op and we decided to put him to sleep. I didn't even think to ask for the composition of the stone. After that, I adjusted Vincent's diet to try to prevent him from forming his own stone. Sadly it did not work.

I wanted to post his diet here and seek the advice of those whom have dealt with stone pigs before. He is scheduled for surgery on Monday, and I would like to do my best to prevent another stone and also minimize the chance of stone formation in my other pigs. I understand that bladder stones can run in certain bloodlines/breeds, but I want to do everything I can to help my pigs.

If there is something I can add, remove, or alter in the diet to improve my pigs chances of avoiding stone formation, I am certainly open to any advice.

Hay: Unlimited Oxbow Orchard Grass. Occasionally give Oxbow Timothy, but they tend to favor the Orchard grass.

Pellets: KMS Hayloft Timothy Pellets, 1/8 cup per day

Vegetables: Morning: 2-3 leaves of Endive, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf Lettuce
5-6 sprigs of Cilantro
1 slice of Cucumber

Evening: 2-3 leaves of Endive, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf Lettuce
5-6 sprigs of Cilantro
1/8 of a Green Pepper

Water: Sink Water, changed every 1-2 days, Calcium is 30 mg/L (< 60 mg/L is considered soft water)

Thank you for any suggestions, I really appreciate it.
 

pinky

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My 2.5 year old male pig, Vincent, has just been diagnosed with a bladder stone. Two years ago, his cage mate also had a bladder stone. We attempted surgery, but he did not fair well post-op and we decided to put him to sleep. I didn't even think to ask for the composition of the stone. After that, I adjusted Vincent's diet to try to prevent him from forming his own stone. Sadly it did not work.

I wanted to post his diet here and seek the advice of those whom have dealt with stone pigs before. He is scheduled for surgery on Monday, and I would like to do my best to prevent another stone and also minimize the chance of stone formation in my other pigs. I understand that bladder stones can run in certain bloodlines/breeds, but I want to do everything I can to help my pigs.

If there is something I can add, remove, or alter in the diet to improve my pigs chances of avoiding stone formation, I am certainly open to any advice.

Hay: Unlimited Oxbow Orchard Grass. Occasionally give Oxbow Timothy, but they tend to favor the Orchard grass.

Pellets: KMS Hayloft Timothy Pellets, 1/8 cup per day

Vegetables: Morning: 2-3 leaves of Endive, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf Lettuce
5-6 sprigs of Cilantro
1 slice of Cucumber

Evening: 2-3 leaves of Endive, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf Lettuce
5-6 sprigs of Cilantro
1/8 of a Green Pepper

Water: Sink Water, changed every 1-2 days, Calcium is 30 mg/L (< 60 mg/L is considered soft water)

Thank you for any suggestions, I really appreciate it.
I never offer tap water. I give them distilled or bottle water that's been purified by reverse osmosis with no added minerals.
 

bpatters

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Omit the cilantro. It's not high in calcium, but it causes excess urinary calcium in some pigs.
 

Tschannen14

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Thank you for your advice. Are there any vegetables that are safe to give on a daily basis to replace the cilantro? Would cherry tomato be okay? They seem to be pretty low in calcium.
 

bpatters

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See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List. You can find plenty of low calcium veggies on there.
Just avoid romaine lettuce and cilantro even though they're low in calcium. For some reason, some pigs excrete a lot of urinary calcium when eating those. Others don't, and are fine with eating them.

You may not be able to prevent another stone from forming. There's apparently a strong genetic component to stones, and some pigs will develop them no matter how low a calcium diet they're given. Others can eat anything they want with no problems.
 

barbaramudge

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Gordon Food services had a nice bag of "heritage lettuce" that Colonel Mustard and Private Paprika are enjoying. It's got a nice variety of low calcium lettuces. It's pretty big but it only lasts my 4 pigs and rabbit a week. I add other low calcium veggies to it along with green pepper to give them variety but that lettuce is our mainstay now.
 
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