Bladder Stones & Diet

Question
Hi my 18month old male guinea had to have surgery yesterday as they found a bladder stone. My concern is that i am feeding him incorrectly although i have 6 other guinea pigs varying in age and they all seem to be fine? I generally feed them: Pears, Spring Greens, Spinach, Apple, Carrot, Mango, Melon, romaine lettuce, Peaches/nectarines, celery and cucumber along with Gerty guinea pig. I was wondering whether you could help me find the best food to feed him so he won't get the stone again. I've been reading online about balancing the calcium : phosphorus level but am unsure which foods are the best for this. any help would be appreciated. Thanks you

Answer
Hi Charlotte,

I don't know anything about balancing calcium and phosphorus levels I'm afraid. I do however know that guinea pigs shouldn't eat greens, spinach, lettuce or fruit in large quantities, though! Try to stick to one portion of greens, one spinach leaf, or one portion of fruit a week. Please don't feed lettuce to your piggies again. In large quanitites greens can cause diarrhoea, fruit can cause mouth ulcers, and spinach can be toxic.

The best veggies to feed your piggies are those that are high in vitamin c such as brocolli and carrots. My boys love red peppers too, and cucumber and celery are good things to continue with (make sure you cut the celery up small so they don't choke on the threads). Fresh parsley is also very high in vitamin c and has medicinal qualities, too.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.