Senior Guinea Pig Food by Oxbow
- Sef
- I dissent.
I started one of our older males on this today. His weight has been up and down for no apparent reason over the past couple of months, and that's why I ordered this in the first place. In the time that it took for my order to get here, though, his weight had leveled off and I didn't really want to change it up if it looked like he was going to maintain right at 1kg. He has started to drop again this week, though, so I'm gradually adding the Senior Essentials pellets to his feedings of Garden Select to see if it will help.
- ItsaZoo
- Supporter in 2023
I ordered the Organic before I saw your post about calcium carbonate. The max calcium less than 1% but I don’t think I’ll order them again. The Garden Select doesn’t have calcium carbonate, but I thought fussy little Gidget might like a change. It seems she doesn’t really care for pellets no matter what. She maybe eats a tablespoon of pellets a day and if her pellet cup is empty it’s because half the pellets are on the floor.
Glad to see this topic already in discussion. I just saw this product in a Petsmart over the weekend but didn't have time (or eyeglasses) to read thru the ingredients and learn how it's better for seniors. I also don't have senior piggies right now, although the one I just lost in June was low weight with calcium issues, so feeding her and attempting weight gain was challenging. I try to steer clear of alfalfa except for young piggies, and I agree it would be GREAT if Oxbow (or anyone) developed pellets that are better for stones/sludge pigs. So this formula mostly has extra vitamins, is that the difference?
- Sef
- I dissent.
My older guy seems to like it well enough, but I can't say that it has done a whole lot toward boosting his weight. I mix it with GS, though, rather than feed it "straight."
Oxbow states on their website, "Essentials Senior Guinea Pig is specially formulated to support your aging guinea pig’s needs. We start with 6 high-quality fiber sources to support the aging digestive system and add natural antioxidants to help maintain physical and mental sharpness and activity. Essentials Senior Guinea Pig includes natural plant-based herbal ingredients like ginger root, turmeric, and chamomile and provides 100% of your pet’s daily recommended vitamins and minerals with no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors."
The senior formula is higher in fiber and slightly higher in protein and Vitamin C. Otherwise, it is pretty comparable nutritionally to Garden Select:
Senior Essentials
Crude Protein (min) 13.00%
Crude Fat (min) 2.50%
Crude Fiber (min) 25.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 29.00%
Moisture (max) .10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.35%
Calcium (max) 0.75%
Phosphorus (min) 0.25%
Vitamin A (min) 10,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 200 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 300 mg/kg
Garden Select
Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
Crude Fat (min) 2.50%
Crude Fiber (min) 22.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.35%
Calcium (max) 0.75%
Phosphorus (min) 0.25%
Vitamin A (min) 10,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 250 mg/kg
Oxbow states on their website, "Essentials Senior Guinea Pig is specially formulated to support your aging guinea pig’s needs. We start with 6 high-quality fiber sources to support the aging digestive system and add natural antioxidants to help maintain physical and mental sharpness and activity. Essentials Senior Guinea Pig includes natural plant-based herbal ingredients like ginger root, turmeric, and chamomile and provides 100% of your pet’s daily recommended vitamins and minerals with no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors."
The senior formula is higher in fiber and slightly higher in protein and Vitamin C. Otherwise, it is pretty comparable nutritionally to Garden Select:
Senior Essentials
Crude Protein (min) 13.00%
Crude Fat (min) 2.50%
Crude Fiber (min) 25.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 29.00%
Moisture (max) .10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.35%
Calcium (max) 0.75%
Phosphorus (min) 0.25%
Vitamin A (min) 10,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 200 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 300 mg/kg
Garden Select
Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
Crude Fat (min) 2.50%
Crude Fiber (min) 22.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.35%
Calcium (max) 0.75%
Phosphorus (min) 0.25%
Vitamin A (min) 10,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (min) 250 mg/kg
- Shanna
- Supporter in '19
Hi guys. I know, by now, I’m probably virtually I I not remembered on here, but I read a lot to educate myself and rarely speak. LOL. Down to my last little rescue baby of 20 years and 16 piggies. I am writing with a heavy heart because, wouldn’t you know, he has a stone in one of his ureters. Through many years of loving many little pigbabies I can say with little doubt that not having the KMS Hayloft pellets led to it. As long as he had those he didn’t even have sludge. We always bought them, but when things went south, we had to switch back to Oxbow (By the way…thank you for the heads up, Sef. I did see the calcium carbonate in the organic which I’d ordered by mistake and immediately tossed them out.) Now, I’m struggling like everyone else to find a suitable pellet or another alternate regimen for my little Charlie. I was wondering about the Oxbow senior formula, so I’m very grateful for this posting. I’ve looked at Small Pet Select, you name it. I’m lost and very sad because I’m well aware of his condition and what it entails. Any and all suggestions for pellets and whatever else would be appreciated. Prayers, positive and healing thoughts are, too. If someone did buy the formula I’m afraid it may be too late for our baby.