Do Guinea Pigs Excrete Excess Vitamin C Like Humans Do?

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JCLee

JCLee

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Today's question is brought to you by: reading and thinking too much! :-)

I know that opinions are mixed with regards to vitamin C. It sounds like the majority consensus of this forum is to balance diet, and then piggies don't need supplements. The other camp I've encountered is that, since balancing diets can be tricky, pigs should get supplementary C through tablets or in liquid form via oral syringe.

I'm new to pigs (but with loads of other animal care experience). I'm trying to balance diet, and I know there's already some C in the pellets I bought. IF pigs are like people in excreting excess vitamin C, and they can't overdose, I would like to give C tablets in addition to trying to balance their veggie diet. If I might OD them, then obviously I would rethink this.

Does anyone know for certain?
 
i don't know for certain but...

the best way in my opinion is to provide a balanced diet. certain vegetables contain high vitamin c, guinea pig pellets provide it, and hays and grass also contain vitamin c.

so feeding as recommended with hays, grass, a wide range of veggies (mainly leafy greens) and a small amount of pellets should more than cover the vitamin c. this then provides probably the best in terms of balance you will get.

if you want to be extra sure, then feed a small amount of a food that contains a high amount of vitamin c each day, like a slice of bell pepper, or small piece of broccoli (can be too gassy for some), or another leafy green known to be a good vitamin c provider :)

i have used the nature's own cherry vitamin c tablets before, and the oxbow vitamin c tablets, but this was during illness when extra was needed :)
 
Guinea pigs excrete excess Vitamon C through their urine, which leads to powdery white deposits. It's an efficient way of getting rid of it, but continuous high amounts of Vit C can cause something called 'Bladder sludge' which can lead to problems such as stones and infections etc.
 
Very helpful. :-)

I'd seen the powdery urine when I was feeding broccoli last week, and I wasn't sure what it was.

So... Maybe less than daily supplements using urine as a gauge?
 
JCLee said:
Very helpful. :-)

I'd seen the powdery urine when I was feeding broccoli last week, and I wasn't sure what it was.

So... Maybe less than daily supplements using urine as a gauge?
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powdery urine or urine that dries white is due to excess calcium. you may notice extra when you've fed a higher calcium food which is normal, however you don't want to be seeing alot of these white stains really. the powdery substance is again ok if not seen too often, however if it's gritty in texture this can be a warning sign of calcium crystals/sludge brewing :)
 
:agr: It's ok in small amounts without grit. Urine is a fab guage for adjusting the Vit C content in diet.
 
OK, so I'm hearing that more calcium, whatever form, is OK *until/unless* I start seeing the white urine. Then I should back off.

Sounds reasonable.
 
Calcium is an essential part of a piggies diet, but of course in moderation. If you go to the food section there are plenty of links and plans that you can follow so that you know you are feeding the correct amount of nutrients and vitamins. Watching Urine is a good way of telling if you are feeding too much calcium, but still, don't feed excessively until you reach the point of powdery urine, if you get what I mean? A small strip of pepper a day per pig is sufficient for Vit C requirements, it's so easy to overfeed on anything though :)
 
That was what prompted the question. I'm new to pigs, and still trying to sort out a reasonable diet regime that mixes things up while staying healthy. There are so many warnings about"too much this causes that" without quantifying what too much is... It gets me paranoid about bloat, diabetes, kidneys, bladders....

I was thinking that the vitamin C ,might help from time to time. Thus my original question.
 
JCLee said:
That was what prompted the question. I'm new to pigs, and still trying to sort out a reasonable diet regime that mixes things up while staying healthy. There are so many warnings about"too much this causes that" without quantifying what too much is... It gets me paranoid about bloat, diabetes, kidneys, bladders....

I was thinking that the vitamin C ,might help from time to time. Thus my original question.
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basically, feed as much hay as possible. preferably meadow and timothy - fresh grass if you have access to it, approx one cup of veggies per pig per day (mainly leafy greens with smaller amounts of non-leafy greens. rotate as much as possible once you have introduced each new food properly), and a small amount of pellets. this is recommended and will provide the best balance you will likely get and you shouldn't go far wrong :)
 
I'm much calmer about their food after reading something @biscandmatt posted the other day :)

Oh I didn't know vitamin c could cause white powder? I thought it was calcium that did that! (That's what I've seen on the internet).
 
Like wise.. I thought the white was calcium deposits not vit C deposits?!
 
Kerrie74 said:
I'm much calmer about their food after reading something @biscandmatt posted the other day :)

Oh I didn't know vitamin c could cause white powder? I thought it was calcium that did that! (That's what I've seen on the internet).
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That's my bad, It is Calcium, not Vit C. I have a habit of putting Vit C instead of calcium! What a pain! :P :P
 
Kerrie74 said:
LOL ok that's no problem :)

I think it was you that said you were advised to give your piggie lettuce @biscandmatt ?
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ah right :) yes, the vet said it's a good choice for bladder piggies and rabbits too! also good for weight loss apparently. i hope he was telling me that in relation to the pets and not hinting to me! :blink: :)):)):))
 
Calcium causing white, powdery output makes more sense. Since many of the high-C items are also high-Ca (broccoli, etc), I can see how that could be mixed up.

Well, if anyone knows of research on C excretion in guinea pigs, send it my way. I would be curious.

Again, my pet background is largely in reptiles and amphibians. Generally, with them, you feed ... whatever a given species is supposed to eat, often adding a powdered multivitamin and/or calcium as needed per species, and if you do those things, they generally don't get sick. Feeding the wrong prey item or pre-packaged food or skipping the required supplements is what will make them ill (metabolic bone disease is often the largest concern). It's a little odd to me that dietary illness (cysts, kidneys, bladders, bloat, etc) are so prevalent if/when diets are balanced.

Again, that's coming from the perspective of someone who has predominately kept reptiles and amphibians. I'm following the feeding guidelines of the forum, and I feel fairly safe in that regard. (In fact, I'm quite conservative with my fruit portions. :) ) So, if anyone eventually finds out about C excretion, just pass word my way.

An important follow-up note before anyone gets the wrong idea or freaks out: I've most recently had insectivores and piscavores/omnivores on salmon pellets. I never got into snakes, and there are few other reptile species for which it would be healthy to eat mammal meat regularly (larger monitor lizards were very impractical in my overcrowded apartment). My geckos ate bugs, and my heart flew into my chest when I reread my last post and thought that someone might think ... well... otherwise. I know I'm new to these forums and to GP ownership, so I thought I'd set the record straight. ;)
 
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