Adding Vitamins To Water Bad? - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**Astrantia** · #1 03-07-04, 07:57 am

I've been reading various books and websites, and I have come up with some conflicting information about adding vitamins to piggies water.

So websites tell you it's a good idea to add vitamins to the water. Others say you shouldn't.

I personally HAVE been adding vitamins to my piggies water. I also give my piggy at LEST 1 tomato a day (which is high in vitamin C) and other fruit peels. Do you think this is enough Vitamin C for my piggy?

What would you all suggest? Should I not add vitamins to my piggies water? I'm struggling to find the things I need to keep my piggy well here (Hay, grass, pellets etc).

Thanks

**ninga1026** · #2 03-07-04, 10:17 am

Adding vitamins to the water changes the taste and your piggies might not like it. Plus i read that you have to change their water everyday because The vitamins dissolve or something and their useless.

Hope I helped, ~~*NINGA*~~

**Astrantia** · #3 03-07-04, 10:37 am

Thanks, but...

My piggy appears to be drinking the water with vitamins in it. Also I change the water everyday anyway, with or without vitamins. I also use purifed water so the chloride in normal water doesn't dissolve the effect of the vitamins... I don't know. I could do with some other peoples point of views

LeonThePiggyMAn · #4 03-07-04, 11:59 am

to get xtra vit's keep ur cavys food in a dark and cool place also putting vit supliment in to purified water is awsome especially if u change it daily good job with the purified water

i thought i was the only one

**morrigan** · #5 03-07-04, 11:19 pm

Putting Vitamin C in water isn't advisable it will disperse in water and you have to keep on adding it to take effect.

You can feed them fruits and veggies that contains a vitamin c. Here's a link:http://www.guinealynx.info/nutrition.html#order-c

Or you can add crushed vit. c tablet in their food.

What I do with my pigs is i give them liquid vitamin C

**Astrantia** · #6 03-07-04, 11:36 pm

Since I change my water everyday and it is purified water, I would of thought the vitamins wouldn't have time to disperse.

Everyone has conflicting advice. I wish I knew what was best 8-)

I also do give her a cup of fresh fruit a day. Ocassionally she has to go a day without, like when I'm broke.

But the crushed vitamin C idea seems good

Thanks for the advice people.

LeonThePiggyMAn · #7 03-08-04, 08:17 am

the only thing in unpurifeied water that makes the vit C disappear is the chlorine and if u take the chlorine out(aka distilled water) the vit c stays in at least 4 more days oh also ur only suposed to put one drop in a guinea pig bottle witch wont change the taste. or if ur so concerned about ru cavys health and what he drinks u should already be giving him unsweetened cranberry juice in a seperate bottle

**Astrantia** · #8 03-08-04, 11:07 am

That's what I thought, thanks :-) I only put a drop in a half full drinky bottle anyway.

Wow! They can drink undiluted cranberry juice? :-D They like that?

**CavySpirit** · #9 03-08-04, 12:05 pm

Leon,

Please do the rest of us a favor and stop writing in chat speak. I'm 46-year-old woman who abhors chat speak. It's another language for teenagers who have no respect for the written word. If you are taking the time to put your thoughts on this forum, please take the time to spell out your words in English and use proper punctuation. I think I will have to make this a stated policy for the site. Also, many readers are from foreign countries and English isn't their first language. So, perhaps you can imagine how difficult, if not impossible, it is to FIRST intrepret a lot of slang and shorthand and abbreviations for words and THEN translate those words into their language.

-----------------------

As to the Vitamin C, there IS one website that DOES have FACTS on it about guinea pig care (as Morrigan referenced). Yes, sure, there are conflicting websites and books. That's because a bunch of kids and people like to create websites about their guinea pigs and throw up (literally) a care page. They quote the books and other sites and what they think they know.

DON'T add vitamin C to the water and certainly don't add any other vitamins to the water. Here's the link that lays out the facts: http://www.guinealynx.info/hairloss.html#scurvy

As I state multiple times on this site, BOOKMARK THIS SITE: http://www.guinealynx.info/

That site has tons of CORRECT information that has been vetted by experts around the country and world, including vets and vet techs.

**Astrantia** · #10 03-08-04, 12:27 pm

Thank you. That was the kind of advice I was looking for. I already have that site bookmarked, but I wasn't sure about the sources for the information on that website (I hadn't read the whole way throw it).

Sure people throw up sites like that. I'm aware of it, being a web designer.

I understand you not wanting people to write in chat speak. This is your forum after all, but I think your approach to Leon was a little harsh. "It's another language for teenagers who have no respect for the written word." isn't a very fair thing to say and is a rather large sweeping generalization. Chat speak has it's place (used commonly on the internet), but I agree it shouldn't be used here.

I don't mean to offend anyone, that's just how it came across to me.

**CavySpirit** · #11 03-08-04, 12:49 pm

I frequently come across as too harsh. No excuses for it. And yes, it's a generalization, but accurate enough, as far as generalizations go. On the flip side, the chat speak comes across just as negatively to me. Also, I really don't like taking the time to 'interpret' the slang, the shortcuts, the abbreviations, the lack of puctuation when reading posts. Especially when they are serious and responses are needed.

Chat speak should be reserved for fast chat rooms of like-minded, like-sounding, like-culture ... kids. My opinion.

re: GL (www.guinealynx.info), if anyone here ever has an issue or disagrees with any of it's information, I would definitely like to know about it. As far as I'm concerned, the buck stops there on being the definitive source. And you'll always finds links to other sources and references to medical texts and sources as well.

**Astrantia** · #12 03-08-04, 08:57 pm

Ok, that's fair enough. Thanks for the advice again.

**CavySpirit** · #13 03-09-04, 03:49 pm

Just wanted to add a note that I've added the posting policy just above where people type new messages and replies.

"Please use proper English: NO CHAT-SPEAK, spell out your words (for example, do NOT use "u" for "you"), use proper punctuation and capitalize the beginning of each sentence. In this international forum, please use slang with restraint. Easy to read and understand posts get faster and better replies."

Hopefully, that clears up any ambiguity and I won't have to go into it personally with individual posters.

**macdaddyGP** · #14 03-12-04, 08:35 am

Adding vitamins to your cavy's water does nothing for them. Due to the copper and other metals in our water, their bodies can't absorb it. The best thing to do is continue to feed water, guinea pig pellets ( not rabbit pellets because they're mainly made up of corn) and timothy hay. They must have timothy hay everyday because they have 3 sacks in their stomach which contain micro organisms. They need the hay to continue to replenish these micro organisms which break down their food and fight off bacteria. They need plenty of vitamin c. Their bodies don't produce it. I buy generic 250mg unflavored vitamin c and add it to apple juice. (I couldn't find the drops). I cruch the pill between 2 spoons. I then take a small syringe and fill it with apples juice to measure the amount i want and then squirt it into a glass and mix the crushed pill into it. I then suck it up into the syringe and squirt it into their mouths. They really like it because of the juice and their bodies will absorb it that way ( that's why all of our juices that we buy have vitamin c added, our bodies can absorb it.) I wish you the best of luck with your friend.

cavylover · #15 03-12-04, 09:53 am

is it true that cavys like unsweetened cranberry juice. i know it cleans out our systems but will it do the same to a guinea pig...................

**Astrantia** · #16 03-12-04, 10:07 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by macdaddyGP

Adding vitamins to your cavy's water does nothing for them. Due to the copper and other metals in our water, their bodies can't absorb it. The best thing to do is continue to feed water, guinea pig pellets ( not rabbit pellets because they're mainly made up of corn) and timothy hay. They must have timothy hay everyday because they have 3 sacks in their stomach which contain micro organisms. They need the hay to continue to replenish these micro organisms which break down their food and fight off bacteria. They need plenty of vitamin c. Their bodies don't produce it. I buy generic 250mg unflavored vitamin c and add it to apple juice. (I couldn't find the drops). I cruch the pill between 2 spoons. I then take a small syringe and fill it with apples juice to measure the amount i want and then squirt it into a glass and mix the crushed pill into it. I then suck it up into the syringe and squirt it into their mouths. They really like it because of the juice and their bodies will absorb it that way ( that's why all of our juices that we buy have vitamin c added, our bodies can absorb it.) I wish you the best of luck with your friend.

Thanks for the sound advice! One thing I will repeat ONCE more, however; I use purifed water. Professionally purifed water with high tech equipment. It does take out most (if not all) of those things in the water. So with that in mind, how would the vitamins work in the water? And I change it everyday.

But yes I have stopped adding vitamins to my piggies water. I make sure she has her fresh veggies and grass everyday

**macdaddyGP** · #17 03-12-04, 11:21 am

I won't pretend to know the answer to that question. If I were you, I'd ask my vet. It sounds like it would work but I'd still call the vet and ask just to be sure.