Guinea Pig Pee

Question
Hi there,
I am a first time guinea pig owner. The guinea pig that i purchased from the pet store is probably an older one, probably atleast 2yrs old. They had no idea how old she was when she was brought in and the people had not taken good care of her. She is a long haired guinea. So my question is about proper diet for her because some things i have read online say give them an endless supply of hay and some say piggies over 12 mos do not need alot of hay if any at all. Ive been feeding her 1-2 handfuls of Timothy hay a day. Her bowl always has "Encore premium food pellots" at all times. and usually hald of a large carrot which she sometimes eat all of and sometimes not. And an occasional apple slice. Her pee has been having white spots in it. Ive reseearched this online also and says if its gritty means too much calcium and could lead to bladder stones. The white spots are gritty in my piggies urine. But nothing in her diet shows that it has a high amount of calcium? What should i do?

Answer
Congratulations on being a first time pig owner. As for her diet it sounds like you're giving her the best possible diet. The pellets that are just plain green pellets are the best as opposed to the kind that has all the extra colored things in it to catch the eye of the owners. I'm not familiar with the Encore brand but many of those things are different in different parts of the country.

The pellets should have between 18 and 20% protein, along with a variety of minerals and vitamins. The most important is Vit C.  Cavies do not produce their own Vit C so it's supplemented in their diet. The Vit C degrades and is almost gone within three months of being milled. Some feeds have the milling date on it, not to be confused with an expiration date.

The milling date will be a date before you purchase it, the expiration date is much after you've bought it. Not all feeds have the milling date on the package so the best thing to do is not buy more than you can feed in two months. It should be stored in a plastic container to help keep it fresh. Keeping it in the refrigerator is even better.

The best Vit C supplement is parsley, next is Romaine lettuce. But the best way to make sure they're getting the right amount is by feeding fresh feed. Guinea pigs also love the rind of watermelon, cantaloupe, etc. They also LOVE corn on the cob, uncooked. Cut it into pieces about 1 inch thick. She will eat the corn, then chew on the cob for several days. It's an excellent way to keep the teeth worn properly. Don't give more than one piece a week. Some pigs also love the husks, but remove the silk strings.

As for the hay, yes giving hay keeps their digestive tract in good shape.  It also provides something for them to chew on to keep the teeth properly worn. I use a thick layer of shavings in each of my cages, topped by another thick layer of hay.  I use Bermuda hay because it's a grass hay. It's softer than alfalfa, doesn't have the seed pods in it that alfalfa does, and being Bermuda it's available all year long.

Timothy is an excellent provided you can get the first two cuttings. It's replanted yearly and the first cutting is good, the second is the best, but by the time they get to the third and fourth cutting it's got a lot of stems and in my opinion is not worth the big price you pay for it.

I buy mine in bales at a feed store, but for a one pig family that wouldn't be practical. Sometimes you can ask at the feed store if they would sell you parts of an open bale. They sometimes break and are not able to be loaded on a truck for delivery, so the stores will sell it off by the flake (a section of the bale).

So to address the issue of hay being available I can tell you with certainty that most breeders who are breeding for show pigs keep hay available at all times. This is more difficult with longhaired pigs that are being "coated for show" because of the tangling in the coat. Some will use a hay rack, others give hay cubes. They're compressed alfalfa cubes about 2 in square.

Since guinea pigs' teeth never stop growing you have to make sure they have something to chew on to keep them properly worn. Hay is one of the best ways. Remember these are grazing animals which means they like to chew almost constantly.

I also find that the hay keeps the cages "sweet." What I mean is that it keeps them smelling fresh longer. Also it keeps them dry on the top. Shavings absorb water, hay does not (unless it's soaked of course.) So if the water bottle leaks you won't feel it on top of the hay. You have to move the hay to feel the dampness in the shavings.

Some of my pigs like to bury themselves under the hay, some will make tunnels and some just like to chew on it and sleep on it. But they have it all the time. And mine are show animals, so they're fed to keep their coats in top shape.

I also feed grain to mine as well. In winter they get 4Way grain, aka Sweet Feed. It's a multiple grain and has molasses added. During hot months however, it will mold because of the molasses, so I change to rolled Barley. If you know anyone with horses you can maybe talk them out of a pound to so. Sometimes the feed stores will sell you a couple of pounds if they've had a bag break open. Otherwise you have to buy it in 50lb bags and that's just not practical for one pig.  

As for the white spots in her urine I can't really tell you what that is. Are you speaking of the spots being there when she first goes, or are they white spots after it dries? It's doubtful this is calcium deposits, but if you're saying it's gritty urine she may be passing small stones. The grit you are seeing is not necessarily causing stones, but rather may BE the stones, just very small and able to pass.

Stones in small animals are generally caused more from their water supply than from their food. Giving bottle water can correct this. With a large herd that's not usually an option unless you're prepared to spend a great deal of money on bottled water every day.  

Longhaired pigs have more grooming issues than short haired pigs simply because they matt and tangle. The rear of their coats get stained and are the worst spots to matt. They also get hay caught in the coat and that causes tangles too.  For a pet that's not being shown the fix is easy. Give her a good bath, then trim the coat to keep it manageable. It's more comfortable for the pig too.  

I hope this has given you a good start. Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you have any other questions. And I love to see pictures of everyone's pigs, so if you can send a picture I'd love it. And just in case you're not sure what breed of longhaired pig you have I can identify it for you if you'd like.