So my male guinea pig (4 years) had a Vitamin-C deficiency. He was tired and one of his teeth broke completely, while the other chipped a bit. With the doctor's advice, we started him on a dosage. This was around 1.5 months back. He got better. More energetic. The chipped tooth grew back, but the one which completely broken has just grown a bit. Around 2 days ago, he seems to be more lethargic once again. He's just lying about, zero interest in anything. He's eating and all, but mostly he's just lying down. Should I increase his dosage of Vit-C?
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Lethargy
- Thread starter ishita
- Start date
I’m sorry to hear this.
It would be safest for you to return to the vet and have him checked out - you cannot assume his lethargy is due to the vitamin c deficiency worsening as it could be due to any number of potential illnesses.
Do note that long term supplementing of vitamin c is generally not a good idea but its use going forward is going to depend on why he was deficient in the first place and whether the original issue (for example if it was a problem with his diet) has been rectified.
It’s something to discuss with your vet as most of us will never have experience of vit c supplementation due to scurvy as it’s a rather rare issue to come up against.
It would be safest for you to return to the vet and have him checked out - you cannot assume his lethargy is due to the vitamin c deficiency worsening as it could be due to any number of potential illnesses.
Do note that long term supplementing of vitamin c is generally not a good idea but its use going forward is going to depend on why he was deficient in the first place and whether the original issue (for example if it was a problem with his diet) has been rectified.
It’s something to discuss with your vet as most of us will never have experience of vit c supplementation due to scurvy as it’s a rather rare issue to come up against.
Hi
Please see your vet.
Switch to weighing daily on your kitchen scales first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison and step in with feeding support at the appropriate level if needed. Please be aware that hay makes over three quarters of the daily food intake, which you simply cannot control by eye. The less he eats and drinks, the more lethargic he will get.
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
As to vitamin C supplementation: Can you please remind us what is your daily diet (incl. whether your dry feed contains vitamin C or not and how much vitamin C are you supplementing daily and in what form?
Most of the very few scurvy cases that we have come across on here (less than two hands full in nearly 20 years) have actually come from long term over-supplementation. You have to be aware that the body accustoms to the higher levels and ignores them. Every little dip in the absorption will cause acute scurvy symptoms even though the actual vitamin C levels are above normal. With the exception of a couple of newly rescued neglect cases, all the other scurvy cases have had on here were caused by a dip in the over-supplementation.
That is why we generally recommend only to use 2-3 weeks booster courses.
Incisors are about 4 cm long; it depends on how deep down they snap and whether the root is affected or not as to whether they grow back.
(The picture is of an operated lower incisor from a piggy of mine with a rotted root)
There is also the possibility that the broken teeth and the current lethargy could be actually not caused by a lack of or dip in vitamin C but by something else going on. I would recommend that you speak to your vet before you up the vitamin dosage even further while you book him in for another health check, just to be on the safe side. Has there been any marked change in temperatures and how old is your piggy?
Guinea Lynx :: Scurvy -- Vitamin C Deficiency in a Guinea Pig
He has 60 mg Vit-C daily dosage. And he eats lettuce, celery, cucumbers etc. his diet is 80% hay and his pellet also has vit-c. There's no marked change in temp, and his weight and appetite is normal. I'll call up my vet. Thanks a ton!
The vet told us to continue the Vit-C cause when we stopped it before, Mochi (my pet) became lethargic again. I'll get him checked out again. Thanks!
When a pig has been given vit c for longer than 2-3 weeks you cannot just suddenly stop it - they have to be weaned off of it very slowly, reducing the amount they are given over several weeks until they are not getting any.
This is why, as wiebke has said, we tend to only see scurvy occur in piggies who have been supplemented - The long term supplementation itself is what causes the problem when you stop giving it.
Piggies with a good balanced diet do not need any supplementation.
Their diet does not sound like it is likely to be low in vitamin c if they are eating veg and fortified pellets.
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