Diet Too much calcium?

[LemonySnickers]

So this has been going on for a little while, and I've vaguely skimmed people's responses to it, but I'm not sure whether I should be super concerned about this or not. Recently my guinea pig has been leaving a lot of white chalky spots on the fleece in his cage. I mean, it's not like the spots are everywhere, and I had encountered them every once in a while in the past, but they started occurring more frequently. I've read the white chalky spots are essentially calcium. Other than that, he's been eating and pooping fine, and seems as cheeky as normal. Is this a vet-worthy issue? Or can it be resolved by changing the veggies or pellets he eats?

 

[bpatters]

It's not an issue for the vet, but you do need to make some changes in his diet.

What exactly do you feed him? What kind of hay? What brand of pellets, and how many, What veggies, and how many of each.

Do you live in an area with hard water?

 

[bpatters]

Bear in mind that diet isn't the whole picture. Some pigs will produce a lot of urinary calcium no matter what they eat. But it's in the best interest of the pig to keep it down if possible.

 

[LemonySnickers]

It's not an issue for the vet, but you do need to make some changes in his diet.

What exactly do you feed him? What kind of hay? What brand of pellets, and how many, What veggies, and how many of each.

Do you live in an area with hard water?

I feed him unlimited timothy hay, and Oxbow Essentials Adult Guinea Pig Pellets, about 1/8 of a cup. I usually estimate and give him a small handful. Almost every morning he gets either a piece or two of celery, some cucumber, a mini sweet pepper, or one or two baby carrots. It depends on what I have in the fridge. I'll also give him romaine lettuce and tomato occasionally when its available. Yes, I do live in an area with hard water, and I give him water straight from the tap. Should I change that to filtered water?

 

[bpatters]

I'd switch to filtered or reverse osmosis water, but not distilled. I'd also cut out the romaine and the celery -- some pigs have problems with romaine while others don't. But red or green leaf lettuce is a better choice.