Diet Questions about diet change with abnormal poops/pee deposits

[Patches_puddles]

I have a guinea named Minnie and she’s had problems with her poops off and on for a while now. They have since been taken off of a veggie diet for quite a while now. She is currently on the probiotic Benebac. The poops have been looking better but they’re not 100% yet. Lately I have noticed quite a few big pee deposits as well. Some have a very slight grit to them & some are just powdery. I am wanting to see if I can change their diet to fix the pee issue.


Their diet includes Timothy/orchard hay all the time. Oxbow vitamin C cookies & Oxbow digestive cookies once a day. For water they get reverse osmosis water.


I have heard switching to Mountain spring water works really well to get rid of calcium pee deposits. (Heard that from LA guinea pig rescue.) Has anyone had experience with this water helping calcium deposits/ possible sludge?


I also heard the Oxbow cookies sometimes causes sludge very badly in guinea pigs. I’d like to eliminate them from her diet but I’m nervous to start her back on a vegetable diet. Do you think I would be able to slowly get her back on a vegetable diet and see what happens? With her issues with poops, it could be caused by dehydration. I’m not sure. Like I said; she’s now on a probiotic again. Some poops still have a slight point but some are better than others. Her poops are also not runny or super wet. If anything they seemed more dry but with points/sometimes small.


Basically what I’m wondering is if I should maybe change her water to the mountain spring water along with slowly starting her back on a vegetable diet to eliminate the oxbow cookies in case they are the problem. I would like her to get her vitamin c more naturally from her vegetables but I was nervous to because she’s been up and down with her poops.

 

[ItsaZoo]

Veggies can cause bloat and mushy poops if too many are fed or if your guinea pig is sensitive. Avoid dark green veggies like spinach since the calcium levels are high. Romaine lettuce can cause stones in some pigs so avoid that as well. Peppers and cucumbers can sometimes cause gas issues, so feed very small amounts to start. Baby leaf lettuce is okay, and small amounts of carrot.

I feed mine husks from sweet corn. I only use the soft inner husks since the outside probably was sprayed with pesticides. These can be frozen over winter. Just wash and tear into strips. I feed a few small strips each day. I think the fiber is beneficial.

 

[Smileandnod]

Have you tried adding in some oat hay to treat the mushy poops?

I have always had luck giving my guinea pigs, who have had mushy poop, a nice pile of oat hay when they have needed Benebac. The Benebac is a probiotic and the oat is a prebiotic which work together to help establish good gut health flora.