[Stones] Chinese Herbs/My Piggie's Diet

[Kelly]

Thanks for your insights, Tex. I will find a "guaranteed" purity company for the shilintong; it certainly sounds better that "not guaranteed." ;)

I agree that 9 months old is very young for a stone. I am hoping she will pass the stone. I am also hoping her youth works in her favor in healing.

Diet: Because I lost a piggie to stones as a child, I have since been very careful with my piggies' diets with regard to the recommended Ca:P ratio. This extra care I have taken in doing the daily math is no small irony to me right now. 

The bulk of her daily diet is Oxbow Timothy Hay (all she can eat) and 1/8 cup of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine, along with a Oxbow vitamin C supplement (50 mg). Organic, green leafy veggies at the recommended Ca:P ratio make up approx. 25% of her diet. 

When she was under 6 months old, I did feed her Oxbow Cavy Performance (too much alfalfa?). I also fed her more veggies than I do now (veggies were then 40% of her diet). First I was told by one vet that it was okay for a piggie to have lots of veggies. Then I was told, by another vet, that piggies should eat no more than an 1/8 cup of veggies a day, which is why I have since reduced her veggie intake... Did too many veggies cause this? Or did the gradual decrease in veggies over the last few months cause this?was it the alfalfa in the Oxbow pellets? I just don't know, and there is a lot of conflicting information, even among exotic vets. 

More veggies? Less veggies? More pellets? Less pellets? She really loves her hay -- more than any other piggie I've had. I think that is a good thing... But is it?

I go over this stuff again and again in my mind. At first exam, her new vet said my piggie  looks "very healthy" and has the "best coat" she's seen in 20 years of practice. The vet also said, "Keep doing what you're doing" -- that this stone is probably a "genetic" problem (my piggie is a Texel, don't know if that has anything to do with this or not).

Obviously, I am stymied. I want to address this from a whole-system, whole-piggie perspective, instead of "chasing" a stone -- or more stones in the future. A dietary change would be the easiest thing, if I only knew what I should change! :p

That said, any advice regarding improving her diet to lessen the chance of future stones would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

       
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