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Finally have some Connie answers

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Claire W

Claire W

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Well, the specialist has just phoned and it appears that Connie may be lacking vitamin C so we are going to try her with more vitamin c. Also, she said that there is no infection there any longer and doesn't seemed concerned about her urine colour. She said that this is probably just the colour of her wee now and it may never change :( She just said to keep doing what we're doing and keep a close eye on her. If she starts to squeek again or get uncomfortable in anyway, she will be tried on Septrin. Because there is no squeeking or any other abnormalities e.g. weight loss, lack of appitite, there is no sign of infection. If she gets worse or anything, they will flush her bladder. She also said that Connie will probably have bladder problems for life now e.g infections but just to cross this bridge when and if we come to it. Any advise on how I can boost her vitamin C levels? I just feel bad that she is now going to suffer with bladder issues for the rest of her life :(
Thank you for your help and support everyone x
 
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Glad it was good news for Connie.

I gave Joey liquid Vit C from Holland and Barratt, quite reasonable price by the bottle, when he was poorly. He wasn't drinking much so I couldn't be sure that he would get any benefit from Vit C put in his water.

I syringe fed it each day but you could pop a few drops on to Connie's food, especially things like Cucumber and Tomato as they are moist and absorb the liquid.

Fingers crossed that Connie feels better very soon. x>>
 
You shouldn't put anything into a piggie's water bottle as it can put them off drinking from it. I would cut half a chewable vitamin c tablet in half and either crush it and sprinkle it on to her veg like cucumber or tomato or my sow used to eat it herself. Another option is to lift the side of her mouth and put the half of tablet into the back of her mouth (where the gap is separating her front and back teeth) and she may eat it that way. Kiwi and tomato are high in vitamin c and celery is good for flushing out the kidneys. Hope this helps :)
 
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Hi Claire, sort of good news, as in it is not life threatening, maybe you could crush a vitamin c tablet into a small amount of water, and draw it up into a syringe and perhaps give that to her once a day. If she is going to be prone to bladder infections she may benefit from you giving her more water this way anyway, or even unsweetened cranberry juice cos that will have vit c in. My guineas love kiwi fruit, which has more vit c in that oranges. Glad that it is not gloomy news so to speak, hope you go on alright. Let us know how you get on.x>>
 
Sorry that a few people have disagreed to putting Vit C into her water bottle.
To be honest I have done this with no problems.

Maybe Syringe feeding her Vit C is the best option as if sprinkled on her food, she may just not eat it.

You have been given a few suggestions, hope they help.
 
Glad things are not too bad.

When Riff had bladder problems I syringed water in to make sure enough fluid was going through.
 
Hope it works for Connie, Claire :)

I've always given my piggies half a 60mg Vit C tab (Asda's own), i just pop it into their mouth & they've quite happily munched it :)

Need to add i've only given them it when they've been ill, i don't routinely give Vit C tabs :)
 
Well, I'm glad you've finally got some answers Claire, and I don't think the news is all "doom and gloom". So she might need a little more care and attention than other piggies, but she seems to be happy in herself, and you'll be able to give her what she needs in the way of any "piggie nursing" required, I'm sure of that.
 
I agree with everyone else, certainly could be worse news. I'm sure increasing her fluid intake will help (certainly can't do any harm at the moment) and I would try offering Connie the vit C tablet initially, if she won't take it sprinkle it over her veggies or crush it and suck it up in a syringe with a little water.
 
Glad it is something that can be sorted Claire! I would syringe the vitamin c if it were me. :)
 
Hi, I'm not sure about how the guinea pig takes up Vit C, but in humans you can help to absorb vitamin c by splitting the daily dose so that there is a more continuous stream of it, taking it with vitamins e and a and with a flavinoid complex (available from health food shops).

I should imagine that feeding extra veg should cover the extra vitamins, it is possible to over do the vitamin a, so be careful.

I am actually a fish nutritionist, so do not know the internal processes of the guinea pig, and I would check with the vet before giving too many heavy duty supplements.
 
The GTN tablets I mentioned are 50mg per day. I split the tablet in half, half in the morning and half in the evening :) It is tricky getting human vit C tablets that low a dose I think!
 
I've just caught up with your thread Claire, but I'm so pleased it wasn't something more nasty:.... At least you FINALLY have some answers.

I know that kiwis are very highy in vitamin C, so you could perhaps give them a go. I haven't had any experience with this, but I know you are more then capable of keeping a very close eye on Connie, and you will be there to give her all the help she needs:).

Good luck honey, give her a big squeeze from me x
 
I went to asda tonight and all they had were extra strength ones (which i didn't get) and flavored ones. What dosage should I be looking at as I don't want to cause her more harm x
 
Hi Claire,

So glad to hear you know what is wrong with connie now.

Sending lots of hugs and kisses your way

Louise
xxxxxxxxx
 
Claire W said:
I went to asda tonight and all they had were extra strength ones (which i didn't get) and flavored ones. What dosage should I be looking at as I don't want to cause her more harm x
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No more than 50mg per day I would say on top of her veg. I remember you saying she was fussy with her vegetables, but this should be ample although some may disagree!
 
Claire W said:
I went to asda tonight and all they had were extra strength ones (which i didn't get) and flavored ones. What dosage should I be looking at as I don't want to cause her more harm x
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Hi Claire
I give mine 1/2 a 60mg tablet, orange flavoured ones as these were the only flavour they had :)
 
Glad to hear the exotic vet could help, hope the vit c tablets work ok, sending wheeks to connie xx
 
lavenderjade said:
No more than 50mg per day I would say on top of her veg. I remember you saying she was fussy with her vegetables, but this should be ample although some may disagree!
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My pumpkin has bladder problems and my vet has said she needs 100mg of vit c a day!?!
 
Missbonbon said:
Sorry that a few people have disagreed to putting Vit C into her water bottle.
To be honest I have done this with no problems.
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The main issue with this is, unless they drain the entire water bottle, they aren't getting the full dose. Vitamin C degrades in light, I think, so this would also pose a problem.

Glad you've got some idea of what you're dealing with now Claire. Hope Connie is feeling much better soon.
 
Hi Claire. I used the same ones as Niki and half a tablet. I put the tablet just behind her front teeth. At the side of Connie's mouth there is a gap between the front and back teeth. Pop it in there and she should chew it. Hope the vitamin c works for Connie :)
 
Once you get the hang of it it's fairly easy to get a tablet into their mouth. I have to give Skye a tablet daily for her heart problem, and it takes seconds to just pop it into her mouth. As long as you get it in far enough she will just chew it.

I'm so glad you have finally got some answers as to what's been happening with Connie.
 
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