Calcium deposits?

Question
Hi Kat-  My guinea pig has recently been puffing up in his cage when he sleeps.  I took him to the vet to check for URI or ear infection and the vet did not find anything wrong.  Of course he did not puff for the vet.  He is eating and drinking normally.  He eats timothy cubes and timothy complete food with yogurt treats once or twice a day.  I have seen dried urine in the cage look white.  Then this evening he was sitting on me and tried to clean his genitals repeatedly.  I picked him up to see what was wrong and there was a white ball of some kind of deposit on the end of his sheath.  If this is a calcium deposit then what is wrong in his diet...could this be the reason for puffing?

Answer
Hello Bonnie,

Puffing is usually a sign of illness but they will also puff when they are cold. As long as he seems healthy otherwise, especially since he has already seen a vet, I wouldn't worry too much, just keep an eye on him. Yogurt treats and other dairy products are actually not safe for piggies. Removing them from his diet will help if he does have too much calcium in his diet. However, it's also possible this was a plug or even a bit of semen. Neither of those are really a problem. A calcium deposit is usually powdery not solid. I would remove the yogurt drops from his diet though. Perhaps replace them with a bit of carrot or romaine.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs