Hi!
What most people are not aware and what has been constantly overlooked because it is not part of a human diet is that fresh grass is actually high in vitamin C and the reason why piggies never had the need to make any vitamin C themselves in the first place.
Dry grass (hay) still contains plenty if it is the mainstay of the diet (ca. 80% of the daily food intake whereas a small bowl of preferably green veg (ca. 50g) and 1 tablespoon or 1/8 cup of pellets per piggy eper day (they are the same amount) to prevent any piggy in good care from ever suffering from scurvy (i.e. vitamin C deficiency).
We only see perhaps one case of scurvy per year on here and the majority were the result of overdosing on vitamin C and not from underfeeding it - and we see several thousand enquiries in this section alone in a year. Key to long term health and a longer life is the correct diet and unlimited grass hay; the closer you can keep your diet to what guinea pigs have evolved on (fresh and dry grass supplemented with the odd bit of forage but very little if any fruit or root veg), the better.
Filter your water and stay off overfeeding on too much high vitamin C foods as that can cause bladder stones in piggies with a disposition for them.
Keep in mind that the support product industry is there is make money by luring well meaning owners into buying all sorts of 'helpful' supplements that aren't necessary.
Both the piggies in my avatar picture on the left have lived to around 8 years old without being on any supplements; just a normal diet - just to prove a case in point.
Please take the time to read our comprehensive diet guide, which looks at diet as a whole and at each food group in practica detail:
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
