Vitamin C Deficiency

[RyouskeFC]

I was reading on this site that Kaytee Forti Diet claims that they have enough vitamin C and all other nutrients for a complete balanced guinea pig diet. I am currently using L'Avian Premium Plus and Kaytee Fiesta. The article said that Kaytee Fiesta also has all the nutrients neccessary to maintain a healthy guinea pig diet, including vitamin C. I have been feeding my 5 pigs these 2 types of brands for about a month now. I noticed one of my guinea pigs began to show symptoms of vitamin C deficiency. He had diaherria, crusted discharge in the eyes, and excessive weight loss. I brought him to a local vet asap. They had told me that he needed more vitamin C then just the pellets alone. At an instant when I got home I fed them oranges and strawberries. My 4 other pigs attacked the fruits as if they were starving and my one sick guinea pig just sat there and ignored the fruits, even when I offered it to him. 2 days later my guinea pig died after I had seperated him from the rest of the 4 due to his illness. I want to prevent this problem from happening again. Right now I am still using those 2 brands of food and feeding them oranges on a daily basis. If I decide to switch over to Kaytee Forti Diet, will it contain enough vitamin C to substitute for the fruits I am giving them? I find giving them pellets alone to be more cost efficient and easier. If not I will continue to feed them Kaytee Fiesta and L'Avian Premium Plus along with the oranges and strawberries on a daily basis. I also give them fresh water and timothy hay on a daily basis. My 4 pigs are doing fine and healthy as of right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[morrigan]

Do you visit www.guinealynx.com? Consider reading nutrition for pellets and vitamin c deficiency.

I don't think you need two kinds of pellets. And besides, too much vitamin c can cause problems too.

And instead if giving them only friuts to provide vitamin c, why not try in drops or tablets?

[macdaddyGP]

I'm very sorry to hear about your friend. I've recently had the same loss. A few weeks ago one of my three guinea pigs began to lose weight rapidly. He didn't have any other signs. I had been crushing vitamin C tablets and putting it in his water bottle thinking that and vitamin c abundant fruits and veggies would give them enough. I was wrong. I took him to the vet and he said putting vitamin c in the water doesn't do anything for them. The copper in the water keeps the GP's body from absorbing the vitamin c. He said to buy a bottle of generic vitamin c 250mg. Crush 1/2 of the vitamin up and mix it in 2ML of apple juice. Use a small syringe to squirt it into their mouth everyday. I do it for all three of my guineas and just over the last couple of weeks, they look and act much healthier. He also said foods that claim they contain the vitamin actually do when they're first made, but we don't know how long the bags have been sitting in a warehouse before we buy them from the store. Vitamin c dissipates after a short period of time, so the foods we're buying may not have the vitamin c in them any longer when we buy them. The best thing you could do for your friends is take a little extra time to give them vitamin c directly. Then you're sure they're getting the amount they need to be healthy. I hope I've helped. It saddens me to know other people are losing their friends by trusting factory labels. Sometimes I come home from work at night and I'm tired and I think "oh, I have to give the guineas their vitamins". I may not feel like doing it because I'm tired, but when I think of the alternative, I don't mind doing it. Good luck.

[cavylover]

if you keep the pellets in a cool dark place the vit c should stay in the food for a well long time

[macdaddyGP]

I'm sure the vitamin c stays in the feed for a long time but how do we determine what a long time is? How do we know how long the feed has been in the warehouse prior to being sold and shipped? I don't think it's worth the chance. I'd rather see other cavy lovers go the extra step to make sure they're friends are getting what they need. The risk factor is too high.

[lawomans]

Hi,

I'm new to guinea pigs and have heard of this problem. The lady where I rescued my guinea pig said that the veggies I feed should provide enough vitamin C. They are parsley, Romaine, endive, escarole, cilantro, Italian parsley, carrot tops and carrots, as well as a small piece of apple and broccoli weekly. I feed a combination of these veggies twice a day plus a timothy based pellet by Oxbow, and timothy and oat hay. Do I need to give more vitamin C?

[cavylover]

my dearest snoball has rescently passed away. He had a little fight with another one of my cavys and must of got to stressed out to handle it.Its not like it was a bad fight he just a little nip on his lip.Abit after, He all of a sudden died.....But did he he jumped up and looked what i thought was a seisure and was almost fine.an hour ago while i was in the shower he passed with his lifeless head on his favorite teddy bear .The only real good thing about this was he had no friends really he stuck to him self unless everyone squacked.Im placing a buryo for him tommorow at 12 noon Eastern time plz send him your deepest alignments

[macdaddyGP]

According to my small animal vet cavies don't need anything but guinea pig pellets, timothy hay everyday and plenty of vitamin c. He said that out in the wild they only eat hay and vegetation. He warned me that alot of times they'll get used to eating veggies and like it, then they prefer the veggies over their pellets and will eat less of what they really need. When I lost my friend a few weeks ago I thought I was doing everything necessary to keep him healthy. I fed him plenty of fresh veggies and herbs along with pellets and hay. Even though I was doing all of that and putting vitamin c in his water, he still got sick. I realize now that he wasn't getting any of the vitamin c from the water because he couldn't absorb it and maybe he was eating all of the veggies and not enough of his pellet diet. I'll continue to give vitamin c by syringe and include timothy hay and pellets daily. I treat them to 2 mini carrots twice a month. Since I've been doing that and built them a 3'x6' foot cage they're thriving. I can't tell anyone what's right or wrong to do, I'm just going by the experiences I've had and the things I've learned from losing my friend. I've raised rabbits for nearly 7 years. Over those years I've had people come to me with children and tell me their rabbit died at 1-2 yrs old, even less. They can't understand why. With every rabbit I sold I supplied a sheet explaining what to feed and what not to feed. (Most people don't even read it.) Rabbits, like guinea pigs, only need water, hay and pellets daily. People think they're doing right by giving them as much carrots and lettuce as they will eat. Then they die from enteritis (bacterial infection) it causes diahrea and they die within 48 hrs. I don't know yet if guinea pigs suffer from enteritis or not but I'm just using rabbits as an example of how critters live with only the necessities. I'm still researching to find out more about guinea pig ailments. I'll keep you posted as I learn. Also, according to my vet, cavies can't get too much vitamin c because their bodies don't produce it.

[lawomans]

Hi,

I really apprciate the information. I have had rabbits for the past 6 years and lost 3 this past year. It was such a loss and I still miss them. I can understand how you feel about you guinea pig.

I feed my rabbits some veggies every day, but mostly hay and a good pellet. It sounds like that is good for Guinea pigs, but I will take you advice about the vitamin C and give it to him orally.

Thanks for the help!

[morrigan]

I recommend you to check this site. www.guinealynx.com

Guinea pigs can have diarrhea and entritis that causes diarrhea. Giving them too much veggies may cause diarrhea.

http://www.guinealynx.info/emergencymedicalguide.html see diarrhea

And it's very much important to weigh you guinea pigs every week to see if they're ill.

[JULIE]

How Do You Know If Your Piggie Is Vitamin C Deficency?? I Give Mine Oral Vit C...he Does Not To Get Ot That Way But He Won't Chew Them....

Julie (harrys Mommy)

[morrigan]

http://www.guinealynx.com/hairloss.html#scurvy

For your medical questions, go to this site. www.guinealynx.com

[JULIE]

Hi There. Thank You For The Web Site. I Will Check It Out.

Julie (harrys Mommy)

[david]

I've been reading a lot about guinea pigs lately and I'm a new owner, but my guinea pig allows me to give her the vitamin C drops straight from the syringe. She drinks it straight. I'm not sure if it's to concentrated for her that way but she seems to like it (I do this about every two days). I also crush vitamin C tablets and spread it around her food and timothy hay and around the cage. Plus I throw some in the water.

[morrigan]

I do that to my pigs too. It's much better of you if they like it. Some of my pigs don't so I have to carry them and make them drink it.