[Gpdd] Health: Piggie Sludge & Water Intake

Leah McNeil lconsuela at yahoo.com
Wed Dec 24 11:15:26 EST 2003


Hello Slaves!
First, I would like Thank you all who have
written me personally and through the Digest.
The more information I get, the better Slave
I become. I would have to say the number one
thing that is probably affecting my Brownie
Bear negatively is her water intake. She
doesn't drink enough water (and she never has
for that matter). I syringe-feed her water
every day and have been for a long time because
that pig just doesn't want to drink her water 
(Sigh!). I mix the water that I syringe-feed
her with a little bit of apple
juice (to keep her interested). I used to mix
a little cranberry juice with the water and
then syringe her. But, as I have learned,
cranberry juice is good for UTIs, but not
bladder stones. So, I do feel guilty about
making the problem worse, although I realize
that 2 of the Vets I was taking her too said
that the cranberry juice was good for her...
Uggggggggggggh!

But, the good news is that since a couple of
wheeeeks before her bladder stone surgery, she
actually has been drinking a lot more. And since
her surgery, she has been drinking even more,
but still not enough. I believe she should be
drinking at least 3 ounces of water, since she
weighs almost 3 pounds (2.8 lbs to be exact).
>From what I understand, piggies should drink
1 ounce of water per pound of weight. Well,
Brownie usually drinks about 2-2.5 ounces of
water per day. That is why I syringe her more
water (mixed with a little apple juice).

Well, at this point, I am going to start
experimenting (not that my Brownie will be
a guinea pig, but wait! she is a guinea pig).
I have removed cucumbers out of her diet
completely as of yesterday (Tuesday) and what
I would like to do is see if she still gets
the bladder sludge when I remove something from
her diet. I hate to limit her like this, but
I don't want her to continue suffering with
bladder stones/sludge and a Slave's got to do
what a Slave's got to do! So, I will be monitoring
her "out's" very closely. After today, I will be
on vacation for about a wheeeeek and a half, so
I'll be able to watch my Bear very closely.

Oh, one more thing, one Slave wrote me and said
that her Vet told her NOT to give her piggie any
Vitamin C Supplement. And I wanted to know if 
anyone had any thoughts about this. I do give
Brownie Bear Oxbow's Vit C tablet, one per day,
but I don't know if I should take that out of
diet since I'm limiting her veggie intake so much.
The Oxbow Cavy Cuisine has Vit C in it, but I don't
know that Brownie eats enough of that daily to
satisfy her Vit. C requirements. Any thoughts or
advice would be appreciated.

I hope all Piggies and Slaves have a Wonderful
Holiday Season!!

   HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

      Love 'n Wheeeeeeeeeeeeps,
        Leah..Slave to Brownie Bear :-) 

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