Urine Should I be concerned?

[lisa325]

My 7 1/2 month old boys seem to be doing great, but I have this one thing niggling at me. A week and a half ago I changed the bedding in the kitchen to wood pellets covered with fleece. Although I'm loving the pellets, I have noticed calcium deposits on the fleece. The deposits aren't gritty or chalky. I know they expel excess calcium in their urine, but should I be concerned that it could be a sign of something brewing?. I have them on a low calcium diet consisting of:
Green/Red leaf lettuce
Green/Yellow/Orange peppers
Baby carrots
English cucumber
Radicchio
Cherry Tomato (3 x week)
Belgian endive
Broccoli (2 x week)
Apple (occasionally)
Strawberries ( occasionally)

I've also ordered Oxbow's Urinary Support tabs, I figure it can't hurt to give a little extra support.

 

[Nicks Pigs]

What brand/type of pellets and hay are you feeding your piggy?

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't worry about that. It's not much, it's not big piles of calcium, and all guinea pigs excrete calcium in urine.

Your diet looks fine. But what brand of pellets do you feed, and how many? And what kind of hay.

 

[lisa325]

Oh sorry! I knew i would forget something. They eat unlimited Small Pet Select Timothy hay and 1/8 cup of KMS pellets each per day.

 

[bpatters]

The only other thing I'd suggest checking is the calcium content of your water. If it's hard, you may want to look into reverse osmosis water.

Other than that, I wouldn't worry at all. You've done everything you can do to prevent stone problems. Some pigs will have them no matter what they eat, and others will never get them no matter what they eat.

 

[lisa325]

Thanks bpatters, I appreciate the reassurance. I only give them Brita filtered water, so I don't think that's a concern. I will continue with my regime and hope for the best.