Yuck! What is this?

[Amanda]

I put my piggies out for floor time this evening and I have found a few tiny puddles of this white stuff. What in the world is it? It isn't urine, because there is some on there too and it is clear-ish. Mottley and Axle have been fighting a bit, would that be some kind of marking fluid?

 

[Plummie]

Could it be semen? Seems like an awful lot for a guinea pig, though..

 

[Amanda]

Yes, I know. There is two separate puddles on the tablecloth that I am using for a drop cloth. There was some mounting going on (or at least trying)

 

[Slap Maxwell]

I think it's urine. Looks like a lot for semen.

 

[Amanda]

Ok, if I had been patient and watched I would have seen what it is. I watched Snickers pee and ran over to see a white puddle. This means too much calcium, right? They eat mainly loose leaf lettuce, cilantro and lots of bell peppers. What do I need to do for their diet? The last thing I need is a pig with stones.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

Yup, its urine.

...wow I was late.

 

[Amanda]

I looked up the ratios on GL and there isn't anything that I am doing wrong with the food. I am a little paranoid when it comes to my piggies.

 

[DocDolittle]

My pigs always have murky/milky urine and they barely ever get food with calcium. it may just be the color of their pee. Is it gritty?

 

[Amanda]

Ewe, I touched it! No, not gritty.

 

[DocDolittle]

I believe that it's only stones if it's gritty, but I'm not sure. I know that Ly knows, though.

 

[Amanda]

Thanks Doc

 

[Ketus15]

My pigs urine always looks like that. I was told by a vet that it is actually Urate, a more concentrated form of excretion than urine.

 

[lauren]

When I introduced Baby Cosmo to one-year-old Timmy during floor time, Timmy wiped his bottom all over the place, leaving those little drips. It was definitely a male marking behavior.

 

[Amanda]

Well, they have known each other for a while now. But Mottley is going through puberty and fighting Axle. I have had to put a divider up to protect Axle. I know a lot of people dont agree with that but it was what I felt was the right thing to do.

 

[Hammer&Sarah]

Did you say you feed them mainly cilantro? Well from what I know cilantro is reallly high in calcium. But that is most likely urine in the pic.

 

[lauren]

I read in some other thread that Cilantro is a great everyday food because it is low in calcium....?

 

[Piglet]

Cilantro is a perfect everyday vegetable. You're right in the fact that its quite low in calcium

 

[Amanda]

I read the guinea lynx veggie chart and it said that cilantro was great. You may have been thinking of Parsley with is very high and should be given in moderation.

 

[Auzziefreak]

thats deffinately urine. Its funny, but a piggies urine isn't a yellow tint its that milky color. I find that every morning as well after my piggies have had a good run.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Yes, it's urine. The reason it's white is because the pigs were expelling the extra calcium from their bodies. To do the test for grit, wait until the pee is dried then feel it.

Amanda, give me a list of exactly what your feeding your pigs, how much and how often and I will see if I can find the culprit or see what needs modifying in their diet.