Vitamin C supplements

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

hey i was just wondering what kind of Vitamin C supplements people seem to have the most luck with. i have a liquid kind that is by Oasis, that i tried to put in their water, but they didn't like the taste of the water, so to prevent dehydration i started putting it on their veggies or fruits, which they seem to tolerate better. does anybody know a good vit c supplement that the pigs actually like the taste of?

 

[Doeylicious]

Carrots, red pepper, greens...

Mine have never ever had vitamin supplements, a proper diet with daily veggies should give them all they need.

Pet shops are just quite fond of selling vitamin supplements seeing as they are rather pricey!

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

oh they get plenty of fresh fruits and veggies! i just like to give them a little extra, but then again I'm a piggy hypochondriac

 

[Wiebke]

We usually recommend feeding high vitamin C veg as part of their diet rather than artificial vitamin C. If you include either some slices of bell pepper of any colour, broccoli, parsley or dill every day, you will provide your guinea pigs with all the vitamin C they need. (50g/1cup of mixed veg per piggy per day.)
Here is a food chart - the last column is the vitamin C content in ascending order. http://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html#chart
Please don't feed too much veg; it can make their poo soft and their fur will be shinier with less.

The other measure is choosing good quality timothy hay based pellets instead of a muesli mix.

Up to 80% of the daily food intake should be hay. Timothy hay is the best to keep the guts going, but most piggies love a change in taste occasionally - they just need to eat a little bit more for the same effect.

With a good diet you won't need to add any artificial vitamin C. If you have a sick guinea pig, you can dissolve 1/8 of a human vitamin C tablet in a bit of water and syringe that to make sure that the vitamin is fresh and the piggy gets the full dose.

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

i dont give them too much veggies, however i must admit I'm afraid i give them to many oranges. they love them more than anyother food i've ever given them lol (it's so funny, roger is so sticky after eating them he needs to be wiped down like a little kid after eating spaghetti!). i've read that it's not good to give them too much citrus, (acidic?), but i'm not totally sure what an acceptable amount is. i just hate to deny them of what they love!

 

[Wiebke]

1 slice a week - please do not give them to much fruit; it can lead to mouth or lip sores and diabetes.

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

thanks roger won't be happy, but i'll definitely cut down on the fruit!

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Yeah I agree that there's no need to give supplements It's the same with us people, if we're eating well we don't need to take vitamin C tablets either