My guinea pigs like vitmen drops!

[GuineaPigs530]

Well, I went shopping for the pigs today! And I bought them the vitmen drops that has all the vitmens they need, instead of just vitmen C, so it has it all, and people say not to give it to them because they would probably drink less, well the girls love it! They keep on drinking! I'm really surprised! I did the math, and I'm supost to give them 32 drops! It says to give them that much because the vitmens dissolve, then the guinea pigs won't get any of the vitmens, but I only give them 2 drops. But still! They love it!

[PigPandemonium]

First, guinea pigs don't need most of the vitamins and such in drops like those, some of them can even harm to guinea pigs. Second, they are getting just about nothing from the water, so there is no point in them. All around it's just way better not to use them. They do no good at all for your guinea pigs, and can also harm them with some of the stuff they contain, they also waist money.

[Roo99]

Regardless, you cannot really control how many of the vitamins that they are geting once it dissolves. In my opinion it is still best not to use vitamin drops.

[GuineaPigs530]

Pig, Thanks for letting me down, Dang.

[PigPandemonium]

Sorry, but if it's not good for your guinea pigs, we of the forum let you know so that you can take the best care of your guinea pigs that you can! We don't mean to "Let you down" We only mean to give your guinea pigs the best life they can have.

[GuineaPigs530]

Sorry, but if it's not good for your guinea pigs, we of the forum let you know so that you can take the best care of your guinea pigs that you can! We don't mean to "Let you down" We only mean to give your guinea pigs the best life they can have.

Okay, I understand, but what harms it?

[Roo99]

Okay, I understand, but what harms it?

Just like in humans, sometimes an overdose of one vitamin can harm pigs. It is best not to risk it, as it is hard to know which vitamin drips could be 'safe' and which are unsafe.

[PigPandemonium]

Some of the vitamins and such that could be in it, such as Calcium, that is only one example though, there are tons of others that can harm them. If they have too much Calcium, they can get bladder stones, which have to be surgically removed. My Phoenix actually died trying to pass bladder stones.

[Paula]

What's the name of the Vitamin drops?

[missbunnyminaj]

Some of the vitamins and such that could be in it, such as Calcium, that is only one example though, there are tons of others that can harm them. If they have too much Calcium, they can get bladder stones, which have to be surgically removed. My Phoenix actually died trying to pass bladder stones.

Im so sorry PigP, I thought about getting them vitamin drops to, until I heard this Im glad I didnt

[PigPandemonium]

Thanks very much. She didn't actually get them from vitamin drops, I'm guessing they were from the small amount of alfalfa pellets I was feeding at one time (Less than 1/8 a cup) However, anything with calcium in it such as vitamin drops can also give guinea pigs bladder stones.

[GuineaPigs530]

What's the name of the Vitamin drops?

I'll say everything on the front of the bottle, Vita-Drops, High potency multivitamins for guinea pigs provides 25mg daily vitamin C, Water soluble vitamin concentrate, provides vitamin C essential for propper growth and health maintenance in guinea pigs.

[GuineaPigs530]

Thanks very much. She didn't actually get them from vitamin drops, I'm guessing they were from the small amount of alfalfa pellets I was feeding at one time (Less than 1/8 a cup) However, anything with calcium in it such as vitamin drops can also give guinea pigs bladder stones.

It dosen't say calcium on anything, the bottle or the paper.

[PigPandemonium]

Yes however I was only giving a reference to one of the vitamins/minerals that can be bad for guinea pigs that some drops my have in them. There are many many other things that can be harmful for guinea pigs that drops may contain.

[Paula]

I'll say everything on the front of the bottle, Vita-Drops, High potency multivitamins for guinea pigs provides 25mg daily vitamin C, Water soluble vitamin concentrate, provides vitamin C essential for propper growth and health maintenance in guinea pigs.

Is there a listing of ingredients or analysis on the back of the bottle or package?

[jacqueline]

@Paula - i think that's a problem with pet products, no? they aren't regulated the same way human products are, and i didn't think they HAD to list all their ingredients. makes buying for our animal friends tougher!

[ThePigAlchemist]

Regardless of what's in the drops, there's no point to using them. If you're feeding the right diet, the pigs are getting the vitamins they need. You're just wasting money that you could use on hay or something else that is provably helpful.

[Paula]

Sure, it's a problem; but it's also problematic to simply assume that they might contain a harmful level of anything and make blanket statements that they do without knowing anything about the product.

Guinea pigs don't need vitamin drops, they need a good, fresh source of Vitamin C. BUT, it's better to know what's in the product in question before asserting that it's problematic because you'll overdose your pet on something that may or may not even be in the product. I'm not a fan of simply assuming something must be bad without specific knowledge of it, although in general, anything purchased at a pet store is probably unnecessary and possibly harmful.

What I'm getting at is that I'd need more specific information before deeming something unsuitable, and I've not really seen that thus far.

[PigPandemonium]

@Paula In my mind, all vitamin drops are bad, and just plain not needed no matter what they contain even if it's just vitamin C, they are not needed, and have almost no vitamin C left by the time the pig takes a drink, the only thing they can do is make a pig drink less if they taste bad to them, they can also be hurtful if they were to contain something like calcium. (Not trying to argue, just voicing my opinion )

[Paula]

They aren't needed; that doesn't make them all harmful. To make a statement that one might be overdosing one's pig, it would be better to see a lineup of ingredients and nutritional analysis before doing so.

The same is true of a lot of things. My point is just that you need to have some facts behind statements that imply potential harm, and isn't specific to vitamin drops (which I am in agreement are unnecessary and generally can be harmful and at the very least, useless).