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Supplements Vitamin C Suggestions Please

karwask

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Hi All,

I have my pigs now for just over 2 weeks and have a bunch of issues. Most importantly, about how to get them their vitamin C. I bought the high quality Cavy Cuisine pellets but, perhaps, made the mistake of mixing them in with a big bag of (who knows) pellets that the original owner gave me. Her pellets seem to be shorter than mine. Point is that they are hardly eating any pellets. I still leave a dish there in case they acquire the habit of eating them. So, first query, wondering if bothering to buy a new bag of Cavy Cusine and trying that straight will be more enticing to them and help me get them their C.

Vet gave me vitamin C pills but, of course, they wouldn't just eat those so right now crushing those up and trying to sprinkle on lettuce. Giving them romaine (high in C) each day. Also trying to give them each a small strip of red pepper or a very small sliver of orange every few days. They both eat the orange, the red pepper varies about getting eaten or not. They both eat the romaine but BJ is a very picky eater and often seems to eat not so much lettuce at all.

Any other suggestions about helping them get their vitamin C, is most appreciated.

thanks again
 
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pinky

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1/8 of a bell pepper per day will give them their daily vitamin C requirement. The red ones are higher in sugar than the others.
 

sdpiggylvr

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You don't need to mix in the old stuff so that their tummies don't get upset. You can just switch cold-turkey. It is best to throw out whatever junk they were eating before since it probably wasn't that great. Feed straight Cavy Cuisine. Pellets are a small part of their diet, so no need to be alarmed that they haven't eaten much at this point.

I prefer knowing that my guinea pigs are getting plenty of Vitamin C, so I supplement their daily-1-cup-of-veggies routine with about 25 grams of C using the Oxbow Vitamin C tablets. They are pineapple flavored, so once they learn that the tablets taste oh-so-good, they gobble them up like candy! They come in 100 gram tablets, so you just split it into fourths. These are the ones I use: Oxbow Animal Health | Daily C. You can buy them at Petsmart or online at Pet Food Direct.

Obviously feeding a variety of vegetables (see the vegetable charts if you haven't already done so: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...g-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html) is the best way to satisfy their vitamin C needs, but if you want that little extra boost you could try the tablets. If at first they won't take the tablets, shove the tablet behind their incisors, and then they usually grind it down with their molars.

Are you free-feeding pellets? Try giving only an 1/8 cup and see if it makes a difference with how much they eat. make sure it's only Cavy Cuisine though.
 

Ly&Pigs

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sdpiggylvr said:
I prefer knowing that my guinea pigs are getting plenty of Vitamin C, so I supplement their daily-1-cup-of-veggies routine with about 25 grams of C using the Oxbow Vitamin C tablets.
This really is overkill as all veggies contain Vit. C. It's really not necessary to do that.

The best source of daily C is green/yellow bell pepper. Orange and red can be substituted once or twice a week but aren't good daily as they are high in sugars.
 

sdpiggylvr

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I'm not trying to contradict you, Ly, but this is what I read on Guinea Lynx:
VITAMIN C: Guinea pigs cannot manufacture their own vitamin C and require 10 to 30 mg/kg daily to prevent scurvy. While many guinea pigs receive adequate vitamin C from fresh vegetables and pellets, you may wish to ensure your cavy gets adequate vitamin C by giving a quarter of a 100 mg chewable or plain vitamin C tablet, or provide a small amount of liquid vitamin C drops to each cavy.

Guinea Lynx :: Diet

I just feel better knowing they are for sure getting enough C. It's hard to feed a huge variety of vegetables to up to five guinea pigs. I guess I can stop if you really think it's a waste of money. :confused:
 

pinky

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I give each of mine their piece of bell pepper first thing in the morning. Once they finish that, they get their other morning veggies.
 

Paula

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I just feel better knowing they are for sure getting enough C. It's hard to feed a huge variety of vegetables to up to five guinea pigs. I guess I can stop if you really think it's a waste of money.
If you're feeding a high quality pellet, like KleenMama's, and veggies, especially if you are giving bell pepper daily, you probably don't need to supplement with extra C. However, I don't think you're hurting anything by giving it, either. I feed bell pepper, one or two types of lettuce, and small pieces of carrot daily. They sometimes get extras like cucumbers, zucchini, tomato, parsley, cilantro, etc., but that's about it and I haven't ever had a problem with C deficiencies. If you are truly feeding a full cup per pig per day, they are getting enough without supplementation.
 

karwask

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Thanks everyone. Vet suggested the Oxbow pellets for young pigs which has Alphalpha, yes, but they don't have any problems with stones and, so far, they both are eating more pellets now so getting some C that way. They still don't eat that much in the way of pellets so I am leaving dish out for now but will watch out in case they start eating too much. In addition, giving some small orange slivers, red pepper, other peppers alternating days and romaine lettuce. I agree that just to be sure I feel better if I know they get their C every day so I'm grinding up C pills and sprinkling it on their lettuce and that's working just fine.
 

sdpiggylvr

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How old are your piggies? Even if they haven't had any problems with stones you shouldn't feed alfalfa-based pellets - unless they are under six months of age.
 

karwask

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They are both over a year old and I know, I'm not supposed to feed the pellets for younger pigs due to alfalfa. But, for now, anyway, they were not eating their pellets at all and my vet conjectured that it's because they were used to a lower quality brand with alfalfa, most likely from the former owner so starting them on the higher-quality version with alfalfa might get them eating pellets again and I'd worry about weaning them off of those at a later date.

In fact, she was right and they are starting to eat pellets again but not very much so will monitor the situation and adjust accordingly. But I understand and appreciate the warning about alfalfa and adult pigs.

thanks
 

Helena29

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Is the following a good or terrible idea? Effervescent Vitamin C? ...
Anyone ever try Redoxon - effervescent vitamin C? One pill dissolves in water but it contains way too much Vitamin C for a piggy!! Would it be possible to dissolve the vitamin c in a huge thing of water, and keep it in the fridge, and only give each piggy a little bit of water with the vit. c in it each day? Would the vitamin C last in the fridge, or would it weaken? I'm also curious about syringes & mouth feeding (just out of curiousity!!)
 

Paula

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It would be a far better idea (and wiser expenditure of money) to just make sure you're feeding a diet of quality veggies that contain suitable amounts of C.
 

stellas_mama

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I agree with Paula's post above. Vitamin C is also water soluble, so whatever their little bodies don't need for the day, they'll just pee it out anyways.
 

skinnyguineaus

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Ok- My Skinnies get plenty of fresh veggie and most likely are getting enough vitamin C. However, I rather error on the side of caution and supplement their diet 3 times a week (bonding time) with a small 0.5 ml of organic sweet potato baby food mixed with crushed vitamin C.
Take a look at my 2 month old skinny taking his :) Isn't he adorable?
Esteban taking vitamins - YouTube They all love it!!! And the organic kind does not contain any crazy additives. It is safe in small quantities as Sweet potato is high in sugar. I sometines use mixed veggies baby food as well. Just make sure nothing else is added to the food.
 

PiggyMommyWendy

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I feed Oxbow Cavy Performance Young Guinea Pig Food pellets to my 2 young female piggies. I was told by a few very reliable sources that this was a very good food to feed young piggies. I also give them Oxbow Daily C supplement tablets (1/day). My bigger piggy (Angelina) eats it like a treat, and I split the tablet into quarters for my baby piggy. They both love romaine lettuce, carrots, red bell peppers and seedless mandarin orange slices. Hope this info helps! Good luck! :)
 

karwask

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Thanks everyone for the advice and the video and everything. It's great. Yeah, I'm feeding them foods rich in C but, just to be sure, crushing a tab for each of them and sprinkling on lettuce each day. I am shocked to see that some pigs will actually eat the tabs straight up. Mine didn't do that in the beginning but that was true for many things that they are eating now. With the sprinkling situation, I'm not sure how much they actually get so will give the hand feeding of flavored tabs a try again.

Funny, I have reason to be giving them some anti-inflammatory meds, Metacam, a liquid, and where it used to be a problem to get them to take it from the dropper, nowadays one of them, BJ, just drinks it up and wants to chew on the dropper when she is done.

cheers and happy holiday to you all
 

sdpiggylvr

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Sweet potato may be high in sugar, but it is also high in oxalates and vitamin A. I don't believe it is a good idea to feed sweet potato baby food, no matter how free of additives and yuckies, unless you've been directed to by a cavy-savvy vet or someone experienced with guinea pig diets. If your guinea pigs are healthy, I don't see a reason to feed baby food.

My guinea pigs get an extra 25mg of C three times a week to ensure they are getting enough, but it's only a precaution and they *don't* rely on the supplement as their only C source.
 

skinnyguineaus

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Sweet potato may be high in sugar, but it is also high in oxalates and vitamin A. I don't believe it is a good idea to feed sweet potato baby food, no matter how free of additives and yuckies, unless you've been directed to by a cavy-savvy vet or someone experienced with guinea pig diets. If your guinea pigs are healthy, I don't see a reason to feed baby food. <br>
<br>
My guinea pigs get an extra 25mg of C three times a week to ensure they are getting enough, but it's only a precaution and they *don't* rely on the supplement as their only C source.

I breed and care for guinea pigs for the past 9 years. I have been advised by my exotic vet (highly specialized in Skinnies) that 0.5ml of sweet potato 3x a week is not harmful and far better than a cavy that does not receive enough vitamin C. As I mentioned I treat this as a "treat"! No fruit is given that same day...
All my piggies receive fresh vegetables daily and are most likely meeting the amount required of VC but I give extra as well as probiotics. It just ensures health! My oldest is 9 and I am a proud owner of 9 HGP
 

bpatters

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Regardless of whether they need the extra vitamin C, the .5 ml of sweet potato shouldn't hurt them. The nutrition chart in this section allows 100 grams of sweet potato up to twice a week, and half a milliliter three times a week doesn't even come close to that.
 

Ly&Pigs

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Regardless of whether they need the extra vitamin C, the .5 ml of sweet potato shouldn't hurt them. The nutrition chart in this section allows 100 grams of sweet potato up to twice a week, and half a milliliter three times a week doesn't even come close to that.

Just to clarify for everyone, the amount in grams on my nutrition charts are not portion sizes. They are merely a reference point to say how much of X is in that many grams of the food.
 
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