Vitamin C

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hez15

Post   » Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:39 pm


Hi Everyone,
New member here, and a new Guinea Pig owner. Our Guinea pig is only a baby still, and just had a recent visit to the vets, as it appears he had some kind of parasite from the farm we purchased him from (he was given revolution, and we're following up in a couple of weeks). At the vet appointment, I was advised that we are giving him an excellent diet, but I didn't know he also needs Vitamin C supplements. So I picked him up some in a liquid form to add to his water, but now he's not drinking his water. I was doing some googling, and from what I can see kale is a veg high in vitamin C and he eats one sprout (not sure if it's called a sprout, but one stick with the leaf) every day. Would that be enough vitamin c for his diet? I tried the red bell pepper, but he didn't seem to like it much. His diet consists of grass hay, a small amount of pellets, a sprout of kale, a carrot with the greenery left on, and some iceburg lettuce daily.
Thanks in advance!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:34 pm


Read over www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

If you are feeding a sound diet, you don't need to supplement with vitamin C, though it is insurance. Do not put it in the water. As you note, they can drink less as a result. Most guinea pigs can be fed a high quality guinea pig pellet with stabilized vitamin C added.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:49 pm


Also, vitamin C degrades almost instantly when it's in water in the presence of light. In a short time, all you've got is funny tasting water.

Bell pepper is a much better choice of veggie for vitamin C than kale. Kale is extremely high in both calcium and vitamin A, and should only be given sparingly.

Iceberg lettuce has almost no nutritional value at all. You'd do much better to switch to red or green leaf lettuce.

piggylover49

Post   » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:55 pm


If you need vitamin c supplement (which is not nessecary if the guinea pig pellets have vitamin c or if you are feeding your pig veggies with vitamin c) then Oxbow natural science vitamins are a good choice. I’ve fed them to my piggies before, and they love the taste!

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/our-pr ... -vitamin-c

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sat Oct 13, 2018 9:51 am


If you go the tablet route, I think I'd try soaking it just until you can break it into 2 pieces, but as bpatters said, the red bell pepper is best. (And yes, they do love their Vitamin C tablets. My three will almost climb out of the cage while waiting for me to get them out of the package.)

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 13, 2018 10:24 am


I don't know how well they would work, but there are also pill cutters that might cut them in half fairly easily too.

hez15

Post   » Sat Oct 13, 2018 3:07 pm


Thank you everyone for your replies! He is eating Martin Little Friends pellets, and I just read the bag, and it does say it contains stabilized vitamin C. I will continue to try red bell pepper with him (maybe he will warm up to it in time). If all else fails I will try the tablets you suggested. I've taken the vitamin C out of his water, as I'm more concerned right now he's not hydrating enough. I did not know that about the kale and lettuce, so thank you for that information. I do also give him spring mix when I have it on hand, as I like to eat that as well in my salads lol.. Do you feel that would be a better choice then the iceberg?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:06 pm


Just as an FYI, those are not very good pellets. The first ingredient is soybean hulls rather than hay, and the calcium is WAY high. I'd be very concerned about bladder stones with those pellets. You should be able to get Oxbow, which are primarily hay, and which have a considerably lower calcium level.

You can get some very high calcium greens in spring mix. Is there a problem with feeding red or green leaf lettuce?

hez15

Post   » Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:29 pm


Thank you bpatters I will look into the Oxbow pellets. The kind I'm using was just recommended by the pet store, so I took their word for it. I will replace them! Nope, no problem with getting red and green lettuce. Was just asking about the spring mix because I find I don't buy it for myself as often I would like, as the bag goes bad before I can eat it. Thought if the guinea pig and I can share it, that would have been convenient lol. Truly, thank you for all the information!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Oct 14, 2018 2:11 pm


Take a look at what they put in the spring mix. Maybe you can still share!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:15 pm


Yeah, Oxbow are much better. And FYI, NEVER take a pet store employee's word for anything! They're there to sell you stuff, not to keep your guinea pig healthy.

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