Calcium in hay?

MrA

MrA

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2012
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Anyone knowledgeable know if this is a thing? One of my guinea pigs has a recurring bladder problem of getting a calcium build up in her bladder. Vets are absolutely stumped. I've no idea where she's getting the calcium from! Swapping food, filtering water and low calcium veggies only!

Just wondering if hay can be a cause?
 
There will be some, and I expect it depends on the ground it grows on. There's a basic analysis from Horsehage of some random hay which says calcium is between 0.25 - 0.6%, I have no idea of whether that would be enough to cause a problem in a guinea pig! If you're on limestone or chalk I wonder if grass etc is part of the problem.

Have you checked her feed, if she has a prepared mix, to see if it contains alfalfa/lucerne? Or indeed added calcium?

I hope you can trace it back and get her healthy again.
 
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carthorse said:
There will be some, and I expect it depends on the ground it grows on. There's a basic analysis from Horsehage of some random hay which says calcium is between 0.25 - 0.6%, I have no idea of whether that would be enough to cause a problem in a guinea pig! If you're on limestone or chalk I wonder if grass etc is part of the problem.

Have you checked her feed, if she has a prepared mix, to see if it contains alfalfa/lucerne? Or indeed added calcium?

I hope you can trace it back and get her healthy again.
Click to expand...

Thank-you, they haven't been on grass since late autumn except a couple of days couple of week ago when we had that warm spell. Switching her feed to the recommended for low calcium but they were on restricted pellets anyway as were on a diet haha.

Thank-you for the suggestions and the info about hay, I wouldn't of thought that would cause issues but may switch to a fancier brand for a bit and see.
 
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