General Has two quesstions

[mnguineapigmom]

Hey all as a new parent i have so many questions. i have two right now. first question is my girls pee is cloudy. is that a bad thing? if so what should we do? second question we have tried giving them their supplements tables. they will not take them, does anyone have any ideas on how to get them to take them? thanks all

 

[bpatters]

How old are they? And are they males or females?

Cloudy urine is normal in young pigs. It's caused by calcium in the urine. You'll need to restrict the calcium in their diets when they get to be six months old.

If you're feeding a good diet, they don't need supplementary tablets. You'll need to feed good pellets (Oxbow or KMS Hayloft), good quality hay (not the dried stuff from a pet store), and fresh veggies (bell peppers for sure, plus red or green leaf lettuce, and then other things such as carrot, tomato, summer squash, endive, radicchio).

Here's suggested reading for new pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

 

[mnguineapigmom]

they are two female girls, we really don't know how old they are. but we do know they are still babies like 6 to 7 months old maybe older. i don't know how to tell how old they are. but they are the young pig oxbow mix and they are now on the hay from oxbow. we will be trying veggies again today and tonight

 

[bpatters]

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/105287-How-to-teach-a-guinea-pig-to-eat-vegetables.

 

[mnguineapigmom]

thanks. do you know how to tell how old they are?

 

[bpatters]

There's no way. Younger pigs generally have straighter, thinner nails. Old pigs often have eyes that look old, and their coats may be dull. But in between, one guess is as good as another.

 

[CaviesAreCool]

Hey, I saw something about Kaytee Hay being really dusty and that's what I have, my guinea pig has been sneezing more than I am comfortable with, but I am new to owning guinea pigs and I don't know what is normal for them. Should I just switch the hay and see if anything changes or is it best just to take her to the vet?

 

[bpatters]

I'd try another hay. The problem is, anything you buy from a pet store is very apt to be dry and dusty.

You can order great hay online -- Small Pet Select, American Pet Diner, KMS Hayloft, and few more that I can't think of right now. They cost more to order at one time, because you're getting so much more hay, but the per pound cost is way less than half what you'd pay at a pet store.

 

[CaviesAreCool]

Thank you! I'll have to look into these different types of hay, I'm hoping it's just the dusty hay, she hasn't show any other signs of sickness.

 

[Piggienewbie510]

I noticed one of my pigs had cloudy urine when I was feeding spinach almost daily, before I found the feeding chart. It freaked me out. Then I found the chart and realized I was feeding them all the wrong vegetables every other day. Lucky that was only the first few days. I don't want to hurt them! Knowing cloudy urine is normal in babies makes me feel better though because mine are super super young. I'd guess eight to ten weeks tops.