Vitamin C

[sanyka]

Following the advice of many, I went to US to get Oxbow pellets as well as Oxbow vitamin C. I'm slowly trying to incorporate the new pellets into her diet without messing up her digestive system. However, she has a genuine dislike of the oxbow vitamin C. Previously, I would try to measure out "human" vitamin C and feed it to her in powder. She does not touch the food that had been sprinkled with vitamin C and since I don't want her to starve, I gave her the vitamin C separately. Needless to say, she would fight me on every one of my attempts. She does not *despise* oxbow vit C but she does not eat it. I tried giving her bell peppers on numerous occasions. She hates oranges and other citruses but she doesn't mind an apple every now and then. Other than that, her veggie intake consists of small amount of cucumbers, carrots, parsley and romaine lettuce. I give her spinach every now and then. She's not fond of any other veggie other than the ones I've mentioned. Any recommendations on what I can do?

[Haley0489]

How old is she? When did you get her?
If she's still fairly new to your home [about a month or so] she's probably still settling in and nervous. Younger pigs tend to be more picky about what they eat. Also, the pellets already have Vitamin C in them, and I'm sure she's getting some from the small amount of veggies she does eat right now, I doubt she'll be harmed by not taking her vitamins. :P

[babybunny]

Since my Sammy is older it seems like he needed a Vit C boost. I tried finding some liquid vitamin C in town with no luck; so I got some Vit C tablets that I divide up, crush and mix with a little bit of water. I then put it in a medicine dropper and feed each pig twice a day a tiny bit of the mix. (They both refuse any type of bell peppers too.) It seems to work well.

From Guinea Lynx :: Scurvy -- Vitamin C Deficiency

Can I give my guinea pig a vitamin supplement?

If you wish to make sure your guinea pig is getting adequate vitamin C, you can give a vitamin C supplement.

Vitamin supplements: chewable flavored C can be found in 100 mg tablets which when quartered will add 25 mg to a guinea pig's intake. Some people have good luck with liquid vitamin C, which can be found at some health food stores. In cases of deficiency, providing small amounts of vitamin C several times during the day when hand feeding or administering medications may help treat scurvy more quickly. Some pet owners report Rugby's Vitamin C Liquid very popular with their cavies.

Avoid multivitamins! Vitamin supplements should only contain ascorbic acid. "Multivitamins should not be used because of the potential for toxic overdose of vitamins other than C." (Harkness and Wagner)

Do not add vitamin C to drinking water! Besides not knowing how much they're getting, when added to water exposed to air, half its strength will be lost in as little as a day. Heat, metal, mineral content (hard water), and chemicals, most notably chlorine, will also affect how long the vitamin C is viable, and if the flavor of the water is adversely affected, the guinea pig may drink less. Adequate water intake is vital to good health.

[sanyka]

Yes I see what you're saying. I tried giving Ksusha just powder vitamin C (which tastes awful since there's no sugar in it and I myself had to take the same vitamins too- since they were for humans initially). I may try the dissolving method soon if she doesn't begin to like Oxbow. *sigh* $13 bucks gone just like that She's worth it, it's ok.

Thanks everyone!

[Ly&Pigs]

Give me an example of how much veggies she eats in a day. Like how many leaves of lettuce, how much parsley, carrot and cucumber? I hope you don't feed cucumber and parsley daily.

I'd keep trying new veggies. See my nutrition charts for a list of veggies that are good for daily intake. Just try with one at a time and keep giving small amounts daily until she eats it. Sometimes it can take days or weeks to get them to eat new foods. Does she have a roommate?

[sanyka]

PS: she's approximately 5 months and I've had her for 3 months. She's young but she's not nervous like she used to be when I brought her in. She's quite brave now actually

[sanyka]

No she doesn't have a roommate currently. I don't give a lot of cucumber or parsley. Just a slice (of cucumber) and a few branches of parsley and not every day but maybe every second day. I don't measure it out precisely but I judge depending on her appetite. I give a little less veggies now according to my vet's advice (she said she was a little bloated last time I brought her in). I give her a carrot everyday but not the baby carrots, just a piece of a regular carrot which would equal the size of two baby carrots daily. I give her 1-2 small leaves of romaine lettuce every day. We tried giving her tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, cabbage (which she liked at the beginning but when she learnt what spinach was, she totally forgot about it!), apples (which I still give on occasion), celery in tiny pieces, little bit of potato, etc (can't remember the rest). I'm on a hunt right now for wheatberry grass but I have been out of luck so far.

[Ly&Pigs]

Regular potato is a definate no-no. They are toxic to guinea pigs. Sweet potato is ok but maybe once/twice a month at most.

Pigs should get no more than the equivalent of one baby carrot per day as they are high in A and oxalic acid.

I am not a fan of spinach for pigs at all because it's through the roof in oxalic acid. Oxalic acid can bind with calcium and form oxalate stones.

Was she eating a lot of cabbage or other gassy type foods before she last saw the vet? That would explain the bloat.

Have you tried cilantro, kale, mustard/turnip/collard greens? Cilantro can be fed daily and you can look at my charts for how often to feed the rest.

[sanyka]

I have not tried any of the veggies that you have mentioned. I tried broccoli (which Ksusha hated) but other than that nothing. Will these veggies substitute for the missing vitamin C?

And no, she didn't eat any cabbage before seeing the vet, just some romaine.

I'll start trying th new veggies one at a time