Sunlight, uv light

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nlkiser198343

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What do people think of using uv light to help guinea pigs get vitamin d. I read mixed results about it being great source of vitamin d and energy but also that it can possibly cause skin spots or maybe skin cancer. I bought one that I really only shine in there cage 1 hour a day tops in 10-15 minute spurts and whenever I need light in there cage. Most days are very cloudy now and it's winter so I can't really get them sunlight without a window in between and I read they should have 10 mins a day.
 
Are your guinea pigs indoor or outdoor? If outdoor, they will be getting enough sunlight, if indoor, make sure that they’re in a room with a window and that should be enough. My guinea pigs are in a room with a small window and they get plenty of sunlight. Personally, I think natural sunlight is better than artificial
 
Hi, I don't know if uv lights are helpful or not but sufficient vitamin D shoukd be found in their diets, most importantly in hay, especially traditionally sun dried hay and is added to most guinea pig nuggets. Also while natural sunlight through windows is important to their wellbeing, vitamin D can not penetrate the glass.
 
Claire W said:
Are your guinea pigs indoor or outdoor? If outdoor, they will be getting enough sunlight, if indoor, make sure that they’re in a room with a window and that should be enough. My guinea pigs are in a room with a small window and they get plenty of sunlight. Personally, I think natural sunlight is better than artificial
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Space is kinda tight around my house. They have a big cage across my whole coffee table tho. There's 3 windows but the only light shining in really is reflected of the house next door. That's really the best lit area I can find.
 
Do furry animals need sunlight for vitamin D? I assumed they got it from their food, as the fur will block the sunlight from their skin. Grass and hay is a good source of vitamin D.
 
Idk really. It was my first day looking. It said they need 10 mins of sunlight a day. I thought that meant direct sunlight but I think as long as the rooms lit up there getting some. I don't think they need it but new studies are showing it could be beneficial but to much could be bad. The box says reptiles use only but I saw this guy on YouTube scottysanimals who works at a guinea pig rescue and has tons of guinea pigs. He was using one to help one of his piggies that had a bone problem I think. Check out his channel.
 
nlkiser198343 said:
Space is kinda tight around my house. They have a big cage across my whole coffee table tho. There's 3 windows but the only light shining in really is reflected of the house next door. That's really the best lit area I can find.
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Very little UV light will pass through glass (particularly UVB) because of it's shorter wavelengths.
As others have already said piggies have evolved to need very little Vitamin D - if you think about their natural habitat (long grasses and bushes/ground cover), combined with their naturally crepuscular activity cycles, even in the wild they would be unlikely to be in direct sunlight for anywhere near 15 minutes a day.

They get the small amount of vitamin D that they require from pellets, grass and hay.
Despite extensive searches by several members with a strong scientific background (who have access to a multitude of professional journals) we have never come across any properly conducted and peer reviewed studies that were done recently enough to be of any value.
 
Scotty of Scotty's Animals is a pretty good source for info, I think, but note he was only using UV as a treatment for an existing problem, not as a preventative. I've never come across rickets (bone problems caused by vitamin D deficiency) in guinea pigs, but I can imagine it could happen if the pig was malnourished for a long time, and Scotty deals with rescue pigs that are often badly neglected.
 
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