GP with scurvy

She needs vitamin C. You have three options.

One, get some Oxbow Vitamin C from a pet store. This is what you're looking for, but don't wait to order it online from here: (broken link removed)

Or two, get some Oasis Vita Drops Vitamin C for guinea pigs. This is the stuff, and it's available from Petco: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...centrated-high-potency-pure-c-for-guinea-pigs

Or three, go to a pharmacy and get some plain vitamin C tablets. Children's chewables are good if you can find them, because the pig will often eat them by themselves. But an adult tablet will do. See if you can find one that's 100 mg of vitamin C or less.

Give your pig 100 mg of vitamin C daily for a week. You should see a drastic improvement in that amount of time. At the end of a week, drop the dosage back to about 35 mg per day.

You need to change her diet so that she gets enough vitamin C from vegetables. Her pellets should have stabilized vitamin C in them. And bell peppers are the best vegetable source of vitamin C.

What exactly are you feeding her? What kind of hay? And how much does she get? What kind of pellets, and how many does she get? What kind of vegetables, and how many of each.

For the gas, if you've got a vibrating pillow, put her on that for about 20 minutes at a time several times a day. Or you can use an electric toothbrush under a towel, or stand beside her and hold her while you put her on the top of a running clothes dryer. Infant simethicone (available at any pharmacy) would be better than Mylicon.

Let us know what you decide to do, and how she gets along.

I forgot to say, don't put the vitamin C in her water bottle. Vitamin C degrades very quickly in light, and within just a short time you've got nothing but water again. Besides, it changes the taste of the water, and the pig may not drink it anymore.

If you get the Oxbow, you can offer it to her and see if she'll take it. If not, or if you get the plain vitamin C tablet, you can crush it very well and sprinkle it over some lettuce. You can also sprinkle the drops on the lettuce.

Or, you can get a free needleless syringe from almost any pharmacy if you tell them it's for a sick pet, and you can dissolve the tablets in water, or add the drops to water, and give it to her by syringe.

I feed her Kaytee Timothy hay and Kaytee pellets (plain) she just recovered from having pneumonia several days ago. She loss her use of her legs 3 days ago and I've been using vitamin C tablets with the syringe I don't think I've been giving her enough. I won't be able to get the pet store so I ordered the Oxbow Vitamin C online its coming on Wednesday. I will start using the vibrating toothbrush method.

Don't wait on the Oxbow stuff to come. Increase what you're giving her with the syringe. She needs at least 100 mg. per day for a week, then cut it back.

If she eats veggies, give her bell pepper. If she doesn't, start feeding them to her and see if she'll eat them. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/105287-How-to-teach-a-guinea-pig-to-eat-vegetables. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List for what they can have, and how often. She needs veggies in addition to her hay and pellets.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

ok thanks a million

How do you know it's scurvy and not a spinal injury? Have you been to a vet?

she hasn't fallen and lack of vitamin C can cause the hind legs to be temporary paralyzed

How much of the oxbow tablet would you give daily to a piggie that doesn't have scurvy in addition to their normal hay and veggies?

If they're getting an adequate amount of veggies with vitamin C, they don't need a supplement.

Guinea pigs need about 35 mg. of vitamin C per day, if they're not ill.

xmakaylaaxx said:

she hasn't fallen and lack of vitamin C can cause the hind legs to be temporary paralyzed

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Osteodystrophy has the same symptoms and it could possibly be due to nerve damage. You should have her checked out by a vet to determine exactly what's wrong so you're treating her properly. I had a guinea pig I thought had scurvy but an xray showed it was osteodystrophy.

pinky said:

Osteodystrophy has the same symptoms and it could possibly be due to nerve damage. You should have her checked out by a vet to determine exactly what's wrong so you're treating her properly. I had a guinea pig I thought had scurvy but an xray showed it was osteodystrophy.

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ok thanks for the info I will have her checked out

Thank you so much for the information her stomach has gone way down she still feels a little bloated but it should be gone in a couple of days. Her feeling in her legs are also coming back she is able to move them just not walk yet.

*Question- since she is still not upright and walking could her stomach have moved up since she is not using the lower half of her body. (I hope my question sounds clear)

No, her stomach hasn't moved anywhere.

Her bloat has gone down and her tummy feels firm (like my other piggies) but her tummy are still looks out of place on her right side is that normal?

Is there any possibility that this pig is pregnant? Depending on her age, it might be an ovarian cyst.

Can you take a picture from the top? Make sure her spine is straight.

She less than a year old

It could even be a tumor. Has she seen a vet yet?

I think that guinea pig needs a good exotic vet. If her problem were scurvy and if you've upped the vitamin C, you should be seeing some improvement by now. The shape of her abdomen isn't normal, so if there's no possibility of her being pregnant, there may be a cyst or a tumor. Has she been with a male pig?

She had a visit at the vet about 3 weeks ago when she had pneumonia they did full physical,x-rays and hospitalized her for 2 days