Expert ReviewedHow to Feed Guinea Pigs Vitamin C Three Methods:Incorporating Vitamin C into your Guinea Pig’s DietAdministering Vitamin C SupplementsDealing with Vitamin C DeficiencyCommunity Q&A Like human beings, guinea pigs are not able to produce their own Vitamin C.[1] If they are not fed a sufficient quantity of Vitamin C, they will develop a deficiency and fall ill. Guinea pigs need about 10mg/day per pound of body weight; that rises to 30mg/day per pound of body weight during pregnancy.[2] There are several methods for incorporating enough Vitamin C in your guinea pig’s diet. Don’t rely on hay and grass alone. Although timothy hay, other hays, grasses and alfalfa are the foundation of a guinea pig’s diet, they are low in Vitamin C. [3] Supplementation of some kind is necessary. Provide unlimited access to hay for your guinea pig no matter what supplements you decide to use. You may add lucerne hay to a pregnant guinea pig’s diet to provide increased protein and calcium.
Choose a guinea pig food pellet that includes Vitamin C. Premium foods designed for guinea pigs will include Vitamin C, which is added during the manufacturing process. Don’t store the food pellets for more than a month.[7] Vitamin C degrades over time. While it will last up to three months in normal conditions, it may degrade faster in hot or humid weather. Follow the feeding instructions provide with the food. In general, guinea pigs will eat about 1/8 cup of pellets per day, supplemented by hay and vegetables. Add leafy greens to your guinea pig’s diet. Dark, leafy greens such as kale, parsley, cabbage, spinach, chicory, lambsquarter, and dandelion greens provide a good source of Vitamin C. If you feed dandelion greens or lambsquarter, be careful not to harvest ones from lawns that have been treated with pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides. Leafy greens should be the main vegetable supplement for your guinea pig. Provide about one cup per day. Feed fruits and other vegetables to your guinea pig for a treat.
[11] Peppers, guava, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberry, peas, tomatoes, and kiwi are good sources of Vitamin C for guinea pigs. Vegetables and fruits can be offered a few times a week. Since fruits are high in sugar, these should be given more sparingly. Never give your guinea pig poisonous foods. Common fruits and vegetables that are poisonous or dangerous for your guinea pig include: cereals, grains, nuts, corn, beans, onions, potatoes, beets, rhubarb, and pickled foods. Keep a watch on how much spinach you give it - while it's healthy and safe in and of itself, if your guinea pig consumes a lot of calcium, it can lead to stones forming. [13] If your guinea pig seems unwell after eating a treat, discontinue feeding that treat. Feed specially designed Vitamin C tablets directly to your guinea pig. These are supplements designed to appeal to your guinea pig by resembling a treat.[14] Be sure not to use supplements after their expiration date, since they are unlikely to have sufficient active Vitamin C by that point.
Offer Vitamin C tablets or liquids designed for children.[15] Be sure not to give too much. Guinea pigs are much smaller than human children and only need about 20-25mg/day of Vitamin C. Although Vitamin C does not stay in the body, it’s not good for your guinea pig to ingest too much of the sugar or other additives that may be included in products designed for children. You might add the supplement to a leafy green or other treat to encourage your guinea pig to take it. You can also administer liquids by a dropper or syringe, but try something else if your guinea pig resists this method. Don’t use a multivitamin designed for adults. It is likely to contain other vitamins and minerals that your guinea pig doesn’t need and that may cause harm in large quantities. Don’t rely on adding Vitamin C to drinking water.[18] Supplements may alter the taste of the water and discourage your guinea pig from drinking enough, leading to dehydration as well as Vitamin C deficiency.
In addition, Vitamin C breaks down quickly when exposed to light and water. After eight hours, the available Vitamin C in a water bottle may be no more than 20% of what was originally added. Recognize a guinea pig suffering from insufficient Vitamin C. An insufficiency can produce symptoms within two weeks.[19] Common symptoms include: [20], [21] poor appetite and weight loss bleeding gums and pain the teeth rough texture to the hair difficulty avoiding infections or healing from woundsIf you believe that your guinea pig isn’t getting enough Vitamin C, or if your guinea pig is showing symptoms of a vitamin deficiency, make an appointment with your vet. She will be able to assess your guinea pig. Always consult a vet if you think your guinea pig is pregnant. Guinea pigs often have difficult births, so medical supervision of the pregnancy is vital. Use a dropper or syringe to get Vitamin C into a sick guinea pig. When your guinea pig isn’t feeling well, even from Vitamin C deficiency, it may be reluctant to eat supplements or Vitamin C-rich treats.
[23] In this case, ensure that it’s getting enough Vitamin C by administering liquid Vitamin C in the mouth using a syringe or dropper. You will need to administer an increased dose of Vitamin C for 1-2 weeks if your guinea pig is recovering from a deficiency. Your vet will be able to specify a dose.Guinea Pig Vitamin C Requirements If you think this post deserves under 5 stars,please let us know why in the comment section! As many guinea pig caretakers already know, there’s much more to caring for your guinea pig than cage cleaning and cuddle time. Along with the cuddles and cleaning, healthy guinea pigs require a regular health-care routine that includes weekly weigh-ins, sight-and-touch “physicals,” ear cleanings, nail trimmings, daily floor times, and, of course, daily doses of Vitamin C. Like Humans, guinea pigs are not able to produce Vitamin C on their own, and so they must be given a Vitamin C supplement each day. While your guinea pig can get much of its daily Vitamin C requirement through a diet of high quality hay and pellets, the exact amount of dietary Vitamin C that your guinea pig will absorb cannot be known.
Therefore, it never hurts to supplement its diet with a dose of Vitamin C each day. Like Humans, guinea pigs are not able to produce vitamin C on their own and so they must be given a vitamin C supplement each day. While your guinea pig can get much of his or her daily vitamin C requirement through a diet of high quality hay and pellets, the exact amount of dietary vitamin C that your guinea pig will absorb cannot be known. Therefore, it never hurts to supplement a your guinea pig’s diet with a dose of vitamin C each day. In fact, providing daily doses of vitamin C each day is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your guinea pigs stays happy, healthy, and strong. This is because vitamin C helps guinea pigs maintain and develop healthy bones, blood vessels, and connective tissues while promoting the development and strength of many other vital health functions. Vitamin C is so important for your guinea pig that a Vitamin C deficiency can result in a myriad of health problems, such as: weakness, lethargy (laziness), diarrhea, and even internal hemorrhage.
OK, so guinea pigs need Vitamin C. But what’s an easy way to give your guinea pig its daily required dose? And what type of Vitamin C supplement should you use? In our opinion, the best way to supplement your guinea pig’s diet is to prepare a daily treat by applying a small amount of Vitamin C powder to a favorite watery snack. HappyCavy uses Swanson Brand 100% Pure Vitamin C Powder. A 16oz container of it will last you quite a long time. Jump here for the link! The HappyCavy sisters get their Vitamin C supplement each day during floor time. A Human will thinly slice several pieces of cucumber and apply a small amount of crystallized Vitamin C powder onto the slices. Vitamin C powder can be quite sour, and cutting the cucumber into small, super-thin slices means that there isn’t a lot of time for the pigs to notice the sour – they just get so excited to have a piece of yummy cucumber each day! By now, we have grown accustomed to our daily sour treat and we scream our little heads off to get it!
Don’t be a silly Human! Avoid using vitamin C water drops to supplement your cavy’s diet! When using water drops, you are not able to adequately judge the vitamin C dose that each guinea pig receives. Also, vitamin C is not water stable, meaning it will mostly likely break down before your guinea pig has a chance to ingest it.There's a How To Video that goes along with Hammy's Vitamin C post! — Happy Cavy (@happycavy) August 25, 2012 Guinea pigs should get 10 to 30 milligrams of Vitamin C each day. This is a relatively small amount, so the Humans aren’t too keen on exactly measuring the powder doses. (Guinea pigs can tolerate a generous amount of vitamin C. But keep the portion very SMALL, as too much vitamin can give your guinea pigs the runs…and we’re not talking about laps around the cage.) When applying Vitamin C onto the cucumber slices, the Humans use a butter knife to portion a small amount of powder, just enough to cover the tip of the knife. T
he Vitamin C is then spread over the top of each cucumber piece, making sure the power dissolves into the vegetable as thoroughly as possible. Once it is worked into the cucumber pieces, they are promptly fed to a gaggle of wheeking HappyCavy guinea pigs. The Humans find that vegetables high in water content work best for administrating Vitamin C in this way. The high water content helps quickly dissolve the powder, plus the HappyCavies love them cucumber snacks. Other vegetables that work well are tomato, bell pepper, and nearly any type of fruit. An additional note: Because the powder can taste sour, feed a small snack to your guinea pig after giving the Vitamin C treat. This will help to prevent the powder from irritating your cavy’s mouth. How do you give your guinea pigs vitamin C? What kind of vitamin C supplement do you use? We’d love to hear what you have to say! If you think this post deserves under 5 stars,please let us know why in the comment section! :