Referring to your statement above, may i ask, where can i get Oxbow's Cavy Cuising and Kaytee's Timothy Complete? You have pix?

Hun, how do you treat guinea ringworm, what treament drug?

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Added on July 20, 2008, 10:39 amHaha...i feel that too..no appetite to take breakfast la..

This post has been edited by silverwineus: Jul 20 2008, 10:39 AM

tee_jay,

I wish that your future GP will bring lots of pleasure and joy to you.. Hope for your success in keeping super-vibrant GP .. as you begin this exciting GP journey.

My Greyyie just passed away last Thurs. The operation has failed...
There's sth very important we need to know about GP's diet
I didn't know at first, not many aware

This post has been edited by silverwineus: Oct 28 2008, 11:57 AM

Thanks for your comfort Jamien.. I was very sad and cried a lot as i loved the guinea dearly,
i wish everyone to cherish, love and appreciate their guinea more while they are still with us, take more photo and video of them, spend time making them happy.
I have learned a lesson and i will share that later once i have found the time..
Thanks Jamien..seeya:)

On 22 Oct 2008, Greyyie, my Sheltie had died of a failure of operation for bladder stone.

They found some crystals and a stone lodged deeply inside the bladder. During the night, he was squeaking, unable to pass out urine. His pasage of urine was obstructed.

High level of certain minerals in food can increase the chance of crystal formation in urine. The minerals magnesium and phosphorous are components of the most common crystal type - struvite.
Therefore it is helpful to keep the levels of these minerals as low as possible.

The pH of the urine influence the chance of formation of crystals and calcium oxalate. Struvite tend to from in more alkaline urine, calcium oxalate in association with more acidic urine.

Therefore feeding a food that results proper urinary pH is essential to reduce crystal formation.

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What must we feed our guinea?

Recommendation

1. Do not overdose on Vitamin C, ascorbic acid!
Because Vit C is acidic, overdosing will result in acidic urine.
Don't think that the more Vit C the better. Sometimes, these little animals already have enough Vit C through their fruits, vege and diet.
Sometimes, we can just skip supplementing once a while and it's important to know what's the right dosage to give. Excess Vit C will only be passed out. Over supplementing is also detrimental.
If the urine is too acidic, it will tend to form calcium oxalate as mentioned above. If too alkaline, crystals like struvite will form.
All these are what we called "stones".

2. Stop 24 hours supply of commercial food
We don't know exactly what is the real content of the commercial food and they probably have very bad MAP-Magnesium Ammonium Phosphorous balance.
Last time, i loved my guinea so much and always bought expensive pellets for them, and the pellet food bowl was all the time filled up, never empty. This allowed them to eat the whole day, without knowing all the bad stuff and minerals had been accumulating in their system.
And one day, my Greyyie urine system failed.

Now, i have realised that the commercial food is one of the main cause.
It doesn't mean that we should stop giving them, but it means giving them at appropriate amount, maybe feed them pellet food once accasionally.

3. Provide continous supply of grass, hay
Beside vege and fruits, I recommend my guinea take these as staple diet because they are natural organic food.
And i recommend timothy hay, it is very good!!
Beside timothy, Every week, i will go to the hills area and cut natural long cow grass for them, and they love the cow grass, these cow grass are very rare in the city area where we live.

Grass , hay is my guinea staple diet now.

This post has been edited by silverwineus: Oct 30 2008, 12:03 PM

Stone can be passed out more easily through urethra for female, than males, and due to difference of the reproductive organs.


This post has been edited by silverwineus: Oct 30 2008, 12:46 PM

Can mix with chopped fruits for source of Vit C too yum yummy

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Added on October 31, 2008, 9:51 amThey love the cow grass..munchy..



This post has been edited by silverwineus: Oct 31 2008, 09:51 AM

Found this on web..

TOUCHING STORY ON SWEETIE PIG
IN LOVING MEMORY OF SWEETIE PIG..THE MASCOT OF GUINEAPIGS.ORG

Sweetie Pig left us on December 22, 2004, after a two year struggle with problems brought about, in part, by her disability. Below is part of her story...

As you may see in her picture, Sweetie Pig had three legs. She lost a hind leg to an act of heartless cruelty in a pet store in the Philadelphia area: her foot became entangled in the dangerous (for guinea pigs) wire-bottom cage the store used. to house guinea pigs. Rather than damage the store fixture, an employee decided to cut off her leg.

Scared, bleeding and in pain she hudddled in a cardboard box, awaiting feeding time for one of the store snakes. Were it not for an act of selfless kindness by a woman that just happened into the store to look at the animals, this story would have had a grim ending.

As it was, the woman took the hapless little piggie to a vet,and the piggie adapted to life on three legs. Unable to keep the little pig, the woman took her to a friend's home where she was nursed back to full health. Sweetie Pig lived with her new foster mother, Judy, for some months, until she was ready to go to a new home. That's where we came in.....

We adopted Sweetie Pig with every intention of taking her to a forever home in Maine. A friend had just lost her piggie, and had agreed to adopt Sweetie Pig. But, fate had different plans. In the couple of months that passed before we could transport Sweetie Pig to Maine, we became very attached to her. Fortunately - for all of us - the friend that was to adopt her was made a gift of two male piggies shortly before the transfer. Not wanting to keep separate living quarters, and reluctant to have one or more piggie neutered, we all came to a happy agreement that Sweetie Pig would remain here.

And so she lived a life of spoiled contentment, until some years later an infection developed in her leg stump. She battled infection, bladder sludge, digestive problems and even a heart condition for the next two years. Despite needing ongoing nursing care, she remained one of the happiest piggies I've ever seen. She was also one of the most well-travelled: because her condition required daily care and medications, she accompanied us on more than one vacation, often staying with her almost-adoptive mother for an extended visit and expert care.

On the night of December 21, 2004, I went to say goodnight as I always did. She hadn't eaten her treat of a cucumber slice - which was odd, as she adored cucumber. I picked her up and gave her a kiss, then offered her her treat. For the first time in over three years she nipped at me, as if to say "go on, leave me be". Sometime during that cold December night, just before dawn she quietly slipped across the Rainbow Bridge.

This post has been edited by silverwineus: Nov 4 2008, 10:22 AM

OOPPss...

Everybody has wet eyes because of the story..

No more crying , puhlease..i can't stand it !!!(jokin )!

This post has been edited by silverwineus: Nov 4 2008, 12:30 PM

This is very good question, that's why i don't recommend it for long run, bet you know what i mean..