[Gpdd] HEALTH (re Mishy's bladder stones)

Fri Dec 15 10:45:51 EST 2006

As you have paid ( over the odds ) for the Xray at your vets I don't see why 
you should not be entitled to take it home. Whether they will allow this 
will depend on how pushy you can be. I would also tell them why I was not 
bringing the piggy back to them, after I had the Xray firmly in my grasp and 
was standing near the door.

Re Gerty Guinea Pig. It looks good and piggies love it but why do they put 
all those colourants in it? My Rodentologists, Cavies Castle tell all their 
clients to buy "Dry Goat Mix" to put in their piggies' bowls. I buy one at a 
local feedstore. It is made by Allen and Page and is in their "Smallholder 
Range". This is a big bag but the Piggyfriends get through it in no time as 
there are a lot of them. Chris at Cavies Castle makes up small bags for 
people with only a few piggies.This feed contains crushed oats, dried peas, 
grass pellets and maize. I can buy all these ingredients loose at my local 
petfood store ( one of the Jollye's stores - you may have one of these near 
you ). I wouldn't venture into one of the dreadful Pets at Home stores but 
they will probably sell loose feed.

I give all of my piggies veggies for the Vitamin C, which is so important 
but steer clear of spinach ( high oxalic acid content) and all lettuce 
except romaine ( the dark green one ). Lettuce contains laudanum. They have 
apples but a few piggies are prone to mouth ulcers so I cut the apples up 
into small pieces. Celery is good and so are cauli leaves. There are lots of 
wild plants that are good for them but we can discuss that at a later date 
if you like. Our plants will be different from those in the US and Australia 
etc. Mine also love melon, including watermelon ( and the rind ). They all 
have a chunk of carrot every day. Some like sweetcorn ( break a piece from a 
cob ).

You may find that the bottled water contains less calcium than your own at 
home as you are in a hard water area. Keep giving Mishy the cucumber as it 
contains so much moisture. My flock gets loads of cucumber and a lot of them 
hardly ever drink. I'm sure that there is a connection here!!

Treat yourself to a copy of Peter Gurney's "Piggy Potions" for an early 
Christmas present. All sorts of wonderful guinea pig advice. Or his "Proper 
Care of Guinea Pigs". I always recommend these. The man was a genius.

Feed your little fellow up before his op. Grass is great. See if you can get 
him some crushed oats, dried peas etc. My piggies also like Spiller's 
"ReadiGrass" which comes in a big bale for when the lawn grass is not so 
good. They get the lawn grass too but it never looks so tasty at this time 
of year. If you can't get ReadiGrass in small packs look for Friendly Farms 
dried grass which I have seen in little bags more suited to the smaller pig 
household.

Our American friends will have many more products available to them, which 
we cannot buy.

I have just read Merle' post about Lucky's successful bladder stone 
operation. What wonderful news and an inspiration to you and Mishy.

Don't ever be afraid to ask for help. That's what we are all here for.

Good luck Mishy,

Best wishes from Penny and the Piggyfriends.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "dannyto" <fai at dannyandpip.demon.co.uk>
To: <gpdd at gpdd.org>
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 1:48 PM
Subject: [Gpdd] HEALTH (re Mishy's bladder stones)

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> The GPDD moderators frequently reject messages that do not follow
> these guidelines:
> A lack of a Topic label is the most common reason for message rejection. 
> Please use a Topic Label (HEALTH, CARE, ANNOUNCEMENT, BEHAVIOR, RESCUE, 
> BREEDING, SILLY, PIGLETS, MISC.  or VIRTUAL) and descriptive subject. More 
> information on Topic use, post restrictions and permissions can be found 
> at http://www.gpdd.org/topics.html
>
> Postings to the digest must conform to the rules stated at
> http://www.gpdd.org/guidelines.html
>
> Please consult the GPDD FAQ at http://www.gpdd.org/faq.html for
> a list of commonly asked questions.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Other GPDD-affiliated sites:
>
> The Guinea Pigs' Rainbow Bridge, dedicated to the memories of piggies past 
> http://www.guineapigsrainbow.org
> ---------------------------------------
> Piggie bladderstone informational resources and mailing list:
> http://www.gpigs-database.org
> ---------------------------------------
> All material posted is copyright The Guinea Pigs' Daily Digest, and may 
> not be reproduced in whole or in part in any media - printed or 
> electronic - without written permission of the administrators.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carole and Leah and Joan

Thanks for your messages.  You are all so sweet and helpful.

I have spoken to Vedra and she has fixed me up with a recommended vet who 
will see him next Thursday and if he does need the operation, can do it 
straight away.

He seems OK at the moment, happy little guy running around and wuffling at 
food.  I am a bit worried though, 'cos I just weighed him on my kitchen 
scales and he was only 11b 11oz, compared to Harry my other GPs 2lb 9oz. 
Should I try to feed him up before Thursday.  Is there time?  If so, what 
could I give him?  At the moment I am giving him all the hay and grass he 
will eat.  He seems keen so don't know why is skinny.  I suppose its the 
bladder stone.

I have seen the bladder stone on the pricey x-ray taken by the local vet 
(the vet I'm leaving).  Could I go and ask them for the copy of this x-ray 
so new vet doesn't have to repeat this?  I think I should be entitled to it, 
also maybe repeated x-rays are not very healthy?

Also we live in a hard water area (kettle gets furred up, etc) and Vedra 
told me this could be contributing towards the bladder stone due to calcium 
in the water and I should give him bottled  water to drink.  I was looking 
on the bottled water labels in the supermarket and they all contain calcium 
AARGH!  So I just bought the one with the lowest ph which was 6.1.  Is this 
right?

I have committed the sin of putting Gerty guinea pig mix in his bowl.  (Its 
a mix with lots of bright colours).  Vedra said this was the worst thing, so 
I have removed it.  But to be honest he almost never touches his bowl, 
sticking to hay, grass, veg and fruit,  so I don't think that was the cause. 
She said I could feed him crushed oats.  Is this the same as the rolled oats 
you use to make porridge.  Would I need to go to a health food store?

I am very sorry to bombard you with all these questions,  but you seem to 
have so much experience.  I always thought I was doing good for my GPs 
giving them loads of veg and fruit, but no!     Could you just tell me which 
of these items that he has always enjoyed are a definite no-no.:

Carrots, cucumber (he adores cucumber), apples, cabbage, celery.  I have now 
figured out spinach and lettuce are bad.  Correct?

Thanks so much for all your help.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> _______________________________________________
> Gpdd mailing list
> Gpdd at gpdd.org
> http://gpdd.org/mailman/listinfo/gpdd_gpdd.org
> 