Ensure for guinea pigs?

[Charybdis]

I wonder if I could get some opinions on the Missing Link vegetarian formula?

Here are the ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:
FLAX SEED, BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES, RICE BRAN, PRIMARY DRIED YEAST, SUNFLOWER SEED, DEHYDRATED ALFALFA, DRIED CARROT, SPROUTED GREEN BARLEY, DRIED KELP, LECITHIN, GARLIC AND YUCCA SCHIDIGERA EXTRACT.

18% protein
28% fat
10% fiber
10% moisture

The vegetarian formula is at the bottom here: http://www.designinghealth.com/products ... _main.html

But I can't find a complete nutritional analysis.

Would this be a good additive for critical care? Or not?

[Charybdis]

And while we're at it, who has heard of Green Mush?

http://www.healthforce.com/green_mush.htm

[lisam]

I haven't heard of Green Mush, but one of the ingredients is horsetail (shavegrass) which is poisonous to horses.

[Lynx]

I take it you are thinking in terms of a supplement for a severely ill pig, losing weight. Of course it's high in fat which would throw it out as a general recommended food. Probably better than Ensure though I would avoid using it also. Find out how many carbs are provided by the sweetener (simple sugars).

[critterluv02]

I haven't personally used Green Mush, but it is a hit with all the rattie owners I know. It is used widely with them. By knowing that, I would assume it is a decent product; however, I know that guinea pigs have very different dietary needs than rats. I don't know enough about it as to whether or not it is suitable for guinea pigs.

[Josephine]

I've always liked The Missing Link. It wouldn't hurt to use it, I suppose, although I wonder how much garlic it would take to cause hemolytic anemia. That is the only concerning ingredient in that. As a supplement, it should be fine.

The Green Mush stuff looks good also. I'd have to check on the horsetail. If what I saw was the entire ingredient listing, it looks O.K. as a supplement if the horsetail checks out. They of course make some rather lofty claims about their product. To tell you the truth it certainly MAY be possible to overdose on certain vitamins and minerals. It looks like there aren't any additional added vitamins or minerals, so the safety is higher, but it wouldn't be used as the animal's entire diet anyway.

[melcvt00]

My cat was on garlic for a while (I would love to try Missing Link with her, but I can't find it anywhere near me). She was getting the equivalent of a clove daily (tablet form), and didn't get Hemolytic Anemia. The dosage was out of an herbal book another tech had.

[Josephine]

Mel, there are TONS of online sources for The Missing Link. We even carried it at several veterinary clinics in my home county.

I sometimes order from Revival Animal Health (www.revivalanimal.com ?) for miscellaneous animal shampoos and stuff. I've had the best service from this company and they carry the complete line of Missing Link stuff, including some of the human products.

[melcvt00]

I will have to try there. The sites I kept looking at had the dog formula, but never the cat.

[Josephine]

I do believe they have the equine, dog, cat, glucosamine OTC formulas (less glucosamine than the veterinary ones), and human.

[Josephine]

Try here http://www.revivalanimal.com/index.cfm? ... uct_ID=274

They even have the avian formula! I thought they had the vegetarian one, too. My initial search didn't pull it up, though.

[melcvt00]

Found it. I just might have to order a package of it this week. My older kitty might enjoy it as well.