CALIFORNIA POTBELLIED PIG ASSOCIATION, Inc.
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Diseases/Illnesses - Urinary Stones
URINARY STONES IN PBPs


My pig Froggy, who is now 12, had stones blocking his urethra twice. After the first operation to remove them, I started giving him cranberry juice every day as suggested.  Three years later he got them again.  After the second bout, the vets gave me some ammonium chloride (salt) to give him (which the pig hated no matter how I tried to disguise it) and I was suppose to check his urine ph frequently and adjust dosage as necessary (imagine waiting all day for him to go and when he sets up, running outside and diving under him with a cup) then...I found Methioform (available without a prescription) it was much more consistent at buffering his urine ph, and he liked it...I give him two tablets with each feeding and he has been healthy ever since.

Also note, while I was checking his ph every day, I experimented with cranberry juice and found that this did nothing to lower the ph of his urine.  While it might of had other beneficial effects (besides he liked it) it probably did little or nothing to prevent the stones from redeveloping.

Laurie Schuyler
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I give Hamlet about a pint of cranberry juice mixed with his food about 3 times a week. As I said, he prefers the sweetened juice but sometimes I give him the unsweetened. He gets about a half cup of cranberries twice a week. If his urinary stream becomes weak, I double everything. This is funny--when he sees me with the sweetened juice, he stands back patiently and lets me pour it in his food. If he sees the unsweetened juice, he nudges it with his nose and tries to knock it our of my hand!!! Toooo smart!!! Other than the stone blockage about 6 years ago, Hamlet has been extremely healthy. He is also very trim and gets more love than most humans! He is so much a part of our lives.  He even travels in our RV with us and loves to go!!

Sara Hines
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Take two pigs and call me in the morning.