Piggies Choice high calcium pellet to prevent kidney stones?

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Fri Dec 13, 2019 10:07 pm


Wow! Thanks for sharing the calcium content in those treats, Sef. I had no idea. Mine used to get cookies pretty regularly. They don’t anymore, mostly bc I forget we have them, and now I’m doubly not sad about it!

As for your earlier mention about the vitamin C content in the Sherwood pellets, they do state on the packaging that you “do not need to feed a vitamin C supplement with this diet.” That makes me nervous for several reasons (mostly focused on the stability/shelf life) and my pigs weren’t eating them. They are both obsessed with the Oxbow vitamin C cookies, so I guess that’s another pro in the anti-Sherwood column for them.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sat Dec 14, 2019 12:57 am


Thanks for the calcium info Sef. I don't see anything on the packages or in the ingredients that would suggest calcium except the alfalfa meal in the barley treats, so who would know they contain calcium?

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Dec 14, 2019 10:25 am


As for your earlier mention about the vitamin C content in the Sherwood pellets, they do state on the packaging that you “do not need to feed a vitamin C supplement with this diet.”
I still question the extremely high amount of calcium in Sherwood pellets (2,000 mg/kg). No other commercial guinea pig pellet has that much vitamin C in it:

Oxbow - 250 mg/kg
SPS - Roughly 200 mg/kg (if I'm calculating it correctly)
Zupreem - 300 mg/kg
KMS - Roughly 200 mg/kg

You'd think if these amounts were inadequate, we'd be seeing cases of scurvy left and right.

ETA: I noticed, though, that they recommend feeding a significantly lower amount of pellets than most of us normally feed (1/2-1 tablespoon, depending on weight) which I suppose is why the vitamin C concentration is higher. It looks like they're trying to say that there is approximately 30 mg of vitamin C in 1 tablespoon of their pellets.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sun Dec 15, 2019 1:20 am


So Oxbow pellets are on the low end for vitamin C per serving. I weighted a tablespoon of pellets and got 0.01 kg, so that means 1 tablespoon of pellets is only 2.5 mg of vitamin C.

A few weeks ago when Lacey was at the vet we talked about what I was feeding. She thought 2 tablespoons of pellets was a little too much for a small pig. Lacey weighs about 2 lbs 4 oz. She also cautioned about too many fresh veggies and bloat. So a vitamin C supplement is probably a good idea.

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Sun Dec 15, 2019 2:27 pm


I recently had a vet tell me that my pigs should be getting two oxbow vitamin C cookies per day, rather than the one which the package recommends. I have never heard that before, and honestly didn’t like that vet much so we haven’t been back. But it was an exotics specialist at an exotics only practice, so I was surprised. I should have asked her where she got that info. She was pushy - which is why I didn’t like her - so I just wanted to get out of there.

There is vitamin C in the pellets, and in the veggies they get, so maybe she was just basing her statements on the cookie alone for some reason. I had a past pig who refused to eat the vitamin C supplements and never had an issue getting what she needed from her veggies and pellets alone. She lived to be almost 7 and passed from a large tumor, so we’ll be sticking to one cookie.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:05 pm


I don't think I ever used a vitamin C supplement except once to help during an illness. You are certainly right about all the sources of vitamin C that are available in the diet you already provide. I think of the vitamin C tabs as insurance for those who worry.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Mon Dec 16, 2019 1:38 pm


One of our vets said a possible vitamin C shortage might have contributed to Pepper's bumblefoot. In general, older pigs might be more in need of suppliments.

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