How Often Should I Fed Vitamin C Supplements?

[MorgansPets]

First, let me introduce myself. I'm Morgan. I own 3 hamsters and I will soon own 2 Guinea pigs. On July 23. My black Guinea pig is Lola (about 2.5 y/o)and my brown-white crested GP is Daisy (same age as Lola, about). I have a male Syrian hamster named Peanut (about 3 year. 4 mo.) who is BEAUTIFUL. I have a female white Syrian (with cream color near her bum, and dark gray ears) named Sierra (about 7 mo.) who gave birth to Milk, my pure white Syrian (not Albino, as Syrian hamsters cannot be Albino.
So! Onto my question! Lol. My mom and I are ordering Vitamin C supplements from Chewy.com (by OxBow) as GPs cannot produce their own Vitamin C. Some people choose to use veggies to bump up the VC, but I thought it would be less fattening to use supplements. So, often, pet companies will put incorrect instructions. These supplements are kind of like pills. (Look up OxBow Vitamin C Supplements for small animals.) I was wondering how much YOU guys think I should feed and how often. Any help is appreciated! (By the way, if you are not familiar with some of these companies, that may be because this is a European forum, as I am from the US. Either way, I will appreciate as much help as I can get!) Thank you in advance for your help and support.

 

[Anarchybmc]

Hi and welcome
As long as you are feeding your piggies a balanced diet which includes foods high in vit c like sweet peppers they shouldn't need any supplements. As for getting fat again as long as it's a balanced diet all should be well, I know my piggies would much prefer abit of sweet juicy pepper over a vit c pill any day

 

[Beans&Toast]

I agree, guinea pigs don't need any vit c supplements if they are fed a proper diet of fresh veg.

Bell peppers, spinach (also high in calcium so feed sparingly), parsley, dark leafy greens, green beans, strawberries, blueberriers, amongst many others are high in vit c and are much better than tablets.

Their diet should be 80-90% hay and the rest fresh veg/pellets so getting fat shouldn't be an issue

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

As long as you integrate vegetables and herbs high in vitamin C into your daily mix of veg (like a slice of pepper, a sprig of coriander and a strip of spring greens for magnesium and vitamin C) and feed a limited, age adjusted amount of vitamin C reinforced pellets, you do not need to feed a vitamin C supplement, especially at full recommended strength.
The key to long term fitness is - apart from offering space and daily roaming time - not to overfeed on veg/herbs and pellets and go for quality with a wide range of nutrients in a veg mix instead of quantity. Please do not add any vitamin C to their water.
The bulk of their diet should be unlimited timothy, meadow or orchard hay anyway - that will prevent your piggies from getting fat!

Overdoing vitamin C especially in young guinea pigs on a high dose can inversely lead to them delevoping scurvy as adults as they can process only so much vitamin C and have no capacity left for extra needs. It makes more sense to keep your guinea pigs on a reasonable level of vitamin C and then boost their health with a double dose whenever they are ill and really need more vitamin C short term.

You may find our diet recommendations helpful - they will help you to have healthy and fit, but not overfed guinea pigs, as they look at all the different food groups in detail.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

We have got an "other pets" section where you are welcome to talk about your hamsters with other hammy owning members.

 

[AuntyC]

Hello there, we have quite a few forum members from the USA, hope you find all the info on the forum really useful. I like hamsters too, some people underestimate how clever they are! Enjoy your guinea pigs when they arrive.

 

[MorgansPets]

Thank you all SO much! You have been a great help and I am so grateful. The company packaging says to feed a supplement every day, but I think I will probably just do one once a month, just in case (better safe, than sorry!) because I am "fostering" the GPs (as the former owner is dorming for 2 years for vet school). She then will be buying me new piggies which in my opinion is the sweetest thing ever. That, way I will have quite a few left over and won't have to buy more tablets constantly throughout the year, when I could only feed about 1/6 of the container in one year. Thank you all for your help! Any other advice regarding anything about Guinea pigs would be much appreciated. And yes, I have done my research. My girls (Daisy and Lola) are going to live in a 2' 9" x 4' 3" C&C cage with toys and decor. If you want, check out my YouTube channel! (MorgansPets Small Animal Care) I started recently, so I haven't had a chance to upload lots of videos or anything, but I hope you still take the time to check it out. If you can, subscribing would really help to support us! (Lol, self-promo up in heya--yes that means here in slang xD) Thanks again guys! Love you!