Vitamin C Question

[RyouskeFC]

This is my 2nd post regarding this issue for those of you who already know. I was reading on guinealynx and this is what it stated...

"The Kaytee exact Rainbow, Forti Diet and Fiesta Diets for Guinea Pigs all have the L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate as the source of vitamin C. These products are formulated to contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals a guinea pig needs for a daily diet and are available in the product as per the intended Best When Used By date on the package, provided the product is properly fed and stored."

When they say that it contains vitamin C and all the neccessary vitamins and minerals for a guinea pig diet; are they implying that there will be no need to feed the pigs vegetables and fruits, which contain vitamin C because the Kaytee pellets contain all of that already? Thank you for those of you who can help.

[morrigan]

Yeah you can say that. But I think they still need veggies to fill up other vitamins that pellets don't have. And besides who wants to eat the same food day in and day out?

[Treen]

Plus remember that the vitamin content claims rely on the feed having being stored at the optimum conditions (temperature/ light etc) so if it's been stored somewhere too warm, for example, the vitamin content may well have degraded. Besides that, you can't beat getting vitamins/ minerals from a fresh source - both in terms of what's best for the body to absorb, and from the variety perspective as Morrigan said. If someone said you could get everything you needed from eating cheese sandwiches every day, you'd probably pass and go for the variety in your diet!

Pellets are great, but I think it's always best to look to provide them with fresh veggies and see the fact that pellets have vitamins added as a nifty back-up plan which will ensure they have a balanced diet!

Here's a good page on pellets http://cyberpiggies.coolfreepages.com/brands.htm - which to go for and which to avoid. It's important to go for a good quality plain pellet. A lot of guinea pig mixes have stuff like colourings, seeds and nuts in they really shouldn't be eating.