Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

General vitamin c drops

rachelappel

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Posts
138
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
138
i'm wondering if anyone knows where you can buy larger amounts of vitamin c drops for guinea pigs. all i can find are those tiny little bottles and they last me only a couple of days. i've been buying a lot of other stuff in bulk lately to save some money, and this is probably one of the most expensive things for my piggies besides fresh fruits and veggies. if anyone knows of a place, please let me know :)

ps: i know that a lot of people in this forum are anti-drops, however, my pigs won't touch the tablets and my vet (who is a small animal expert) reassured me that they're fine to use. i only put enough drops in enough water to last them the day, their water bottles are changed and cleaned daily, so there's no need to comment on this aspect of it. i'm just curious if anyone else has found a place to buy larger amount of vitamin c drops.

thank you!
 

LithiumRiot

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Posts
377
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
377
The thing is, they're just pretty much useless. The drops will degrade in the sunlight very very fast. And the taste will most likely make your pigs not one to drink the water. I think they'd just be a waste of your money.

If you give each pig 1/8 of a bell pepper, they're set for vitamin C for a day. As long as you're giving your pigs a good variety of veggies and some that contain vitamin C (pepper being the best) then you dont have to provide any supplements. I dont, and my piggies are healthy as can be :3
 

rachelappel

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Posts
138
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
138
like i said, their water is changed daily, i've been using the drops for almost a year now and not once have i had an issue getting them to drink water (between the three of them, they drink almost an entire bottle in a day). their cage isn't affected by sunlight and as mentioned before, my vet has reassured me that they are just fine to use. its better than them getting nothing. so...like i said, i'm not looking for criticism from that aspect. just trying to stretch my dollar if i can now that winter's coming on around here is all. thanks though
 

rachelappel

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Posts
138
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
138
wow i've never put tang in their water, who would ever think about doing that?! their drops are straight vitamin c, not the multivitamin ones (according to the ingredients label anyways). idk, i haven't had any issues as of yet, and if my vet thinks its safe for them i trust her. she's really into hollistic/organic/non-traditional pet care, so i trust her more than i trust most vets around here, most don't know a whole lot about any small animals (around where i live anyways).
 

LithiumRiot

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Posts
377
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
377
The thread is about both vitamin C drops and Tang. Dont worry, I was not implying that you put Tang in your piggies water. I dont know anyone who would do that.
 

LithiumRiot

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Posts
377
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
377
And a comment by one of the mods made on that thread

The only time supplements like Oxbow C tabs or other plain chewable vitamin C or a liquid C that you syringe directly to the pigs should be given is if the pigs won't eat veggies or they are ill and off their food or have scurvy. If a person provides 1 cup of fresh veggies per day containing enough C, they really won't need a supplement.
 

Peggysu

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Posts
2,476
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
2,476
So your guinea pigs are drinking the vitamin C drops in the water. There is really no way to measure how much C they are getting. If you're really concerned I would suggest supplementing a Vitamin C tab as described above. The drops change the flavor of the water which can deter your pig from drinking. Three pigs may need to two water bottles in the cage not just one.

As long as your guinea pigs are getting a high quality pellet and a variety of fresh veggies and unlimited hay then there should not be a concern to supplement Vitamin C. To much vitamin C can cause problems as well.
 

Carissa6729

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Posts
849
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
849
just trying to stretch my dollar if i can now that winter's coming on around here is all. thanks though


If you want to stretch your dollar, don't bother buying them. Buy more veggies and add in different assortments. They truly are unnecessary in general, unless you have a sick and/or malnourished piggy at home but if it makes you feel better, serving them in pill/powder form or directly would be better. Your vet may be knowledgeable, but honestly, I would trust the people on here who have had guinea pigs for decades and the knowledge that they know. Small exotic animal care isn't a full course load generally during Vet school (otherwise we'd all have wonderfully cavy savvy vets) so many know what has been taught, passed down to them and if your vet is holistic (which I think is fantastic in itself), then they will lean more towards vit c but TBH, if you are supplying a good range of veggies like you mentioned, there is no need to worry about their vitamin C intake unless they stop eating but then you have a bigger concern on your hands.

But in an effort to try to answer your original question, no, I have never seen them for bulk sold anywhere unless you were buying vitamin C from an online vitamin source which may have cheaper prices from buying in bulk the bottles. I buy many of my vitamins online for buy one get one free or buy one get two free sales.
 

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Posts
297
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
297
Can these drops not be given directly to each pig? Mix how much each pig needs with water and syringe it to each pig seperately? This way they each get enough and the C isn't in water long enough to degrade. Plus by measuring this out to what each pig specifically needs, the bottle should last longer.
 

Peggysu

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Posts
2,476
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
2,476
Can these drops not be given directly to each pig? Mix how much each pig needs with water and syringe it to each pig seperately? This way they each get enough and the C isn't in water long enough to degrade. Plus by measuring this out to what each pig specifically needs, the bottle should last longer.

This is not necessary unless the pigs are ill and not eating. With a proper diet they don't need a supplement.
 

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Posts
297
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
297
This is not necessary unless the pigs are ill and not eating. With a proper diet they don't need a supplement.

opinions vary on that (even with a 'proper diet' there is no certain way to know how much a pig really eats unless you only have one or feed them all seperately), but I only answered the question as how to try and make it cheaper to feed the pigs the drops.
 

Peggysu

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Posts
2,476
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
2,476
My pigs are 4 and half years old and I have not once had to supplement vitamin C. It is not recommended by my vet.
 

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Posts
297
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
297
A very reputable vet clinic over here in the Netherlands recommends supplementing and following their logic I too supplement, but with tablets not drops. It is a choice I am comfortable with.
 

Peggysu

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Posts
2,476
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
2,476
I too supplement, but with tablets not drops.

Well a tablet is much better then just putting some in a bottle of water and hoping that they all drink the same amount. I don't recommend it and feel it's a waste of money.
 

CathiiPiggie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Posts
600
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
600
Yeah, get rid of the drops. Guinea pigs drink varying amounts, and you don't let the bottle run empty so you can't be sure how high the intake is. If you are giving them all 1 cup of veggies, unlimited hay and 1/8 pellets each daily, and been given a clean bill of health by your vet (which should an exotics specialist or cavy savvy) then they shouldn't ever need supplements. My piggies have always lived to good ages without vitamin drops.

Should you ever need to supplement your guinea pig with extra vitamin C, Oxbow do a really good tablet you can crush for them to eat.
 

SardonicSmile

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Posts
297
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
297
Well a tablet is much better then just putting some in a bottle of water and hoping that they all drink the same amount. I don't recommend it and feel it's a waste of money.

I agree on the not putting it in their general water supply, hence me saying that syringing it to the pigs is probably a better idea. The OP said no to tablets, so I am just working within the available options.
 

Carissa6729

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Posts
849
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
849
https://www.puritan.com/

This is the site I get most of my vitamins from, I know they sell larger bottles of liquid Vitamin C so you may find what you are looking for there and they usually have good sales and decent pricing. Just for the record though, I know NOTHING of what you can and can't have in your Vit C and how much, so I can't recommend any one product or even if any of them are safe. But maybe you might find something helpful.
 

TwistedHarls

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
Posts
38
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
Messages
38
I'd ask your vet if this is safe to use! It's just vitamin C, but it's for humans, so I'm not sure if it's safe. I'd think it is, since this is just vitamin c and not other vitamins, and it doesn't have the preservatives. It's a 16 ounce bottle, so it's pretty big (google: liquid vitamin c supplement). Something like that from a health foods store, if your vet says it's safe and you think it's safe, should last you a lot longer than that little bottle from the pet food store. I know you want to be able to buy more of your stuff, but maybe you could change the way you're giving them vitamin C, like how these guys use vitamin c powder that's been put on a piece of cucumber Guinea Pig Vitamin C Requirements ), as it could save money because you could buy this in bulk! Ask your pet store if you'd get any discount if you bought a lot of it at a time, they might sell you it in larger quantities...

Another thing, I would have to say, is if you could order some directly from the company, as if you were ordering for a store? You might be able to find a place that sells them in bulk for wholesale prices, as if they were vending to a store. You'd get a better deal and more at a time, but it's hard to find that sort of stuff. I wouldn't know where to begin finding one, but I'm sure there's one there!
That, or maybe some sort of pet store coupon would help?
 

Lord_aperture

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Posts
137
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Messages
137
Echcoing others here, there is no need for drops if they are on a good pellet, have lots of hay, and get plenty of veggies. Your vet may say its a good idea, but extra vitamins are useless if they are already getting enough from the food they eat. The excess is just excreted from the body as waste, so really you'd just be wasting money using supplements that aren't needed. Not to mention Vit. degrades really fast in water, changing it every day does nothing, as the vit.c is gone after only about an hour of being the water, leaving behind weird tasting water. Also too much of something can be a bad thing sometimes, I know people worry about not giving them enough Vit. C but too much of it can lead to possible issues as well.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

Top