Overdose guinea

[AClemmons]

I gave my guinea pigs to much vitamin C today. Will this hurt them?

 

[Betsy]

Why do your piggies need extra vitamin C? Did your vet prescribe it? Mine don't get anything extra apart from medication prescribed by a vet. My 3 girls get all they need from a good diet and plenty of hay.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Vitamin C is not toxic and an excess will be harmlessly peed out dont worry.
But piggies do not usually need vit C supplements, and giving high levels of excess vit C regularly may affect the way they metabolise it normally from the diet.
Vit C needs can easily be met through daily veg intake- a slice of bell pepper daily and a few stems of coriander/cilantro or other fresh herbs is plenty to meet their vit C needs as part of a healthy diet!

 

[Wiebke]

I gave my guinea pigs to much vitamin C today. Will this hurt them?

Hi!

No, a one-off vitamin C dose won't hurt (the excess will be excreted in the pee) but long term high dosages of vitamin C will ironically put your piggies at a much higher risk of developing scurvy symptoms because their body will get used to those high levels and will in turn react with scurvy (i.e. vitamin C deficiency) symptoms whenever that level drops for some reason even though the actual level is still well above normal levels.

Please be aware that vitamin C is already present in most foods that guinea pigs eat; in the greens, herbs and cavy pellets that replace the supplementing role of wild forage in their natural diet; fresh growing dog pee-free grass is very high in vitamin C and is the reason why guinea pigs never have the need to make their own in the first place and even good quality hay still contains a little when it is fed as the mainstay of a piggy diet. Recovery formulas and probiotic products are also enriched.

In the 15 years this forum has been running with literally several tens of thousands of piggies passing through here, we have hardly ever had scurvy issues. A few have come from private rescues of piggies with malnutrition but the rest have been overdosing cases. What we have not seen in either our own piggies or in forum piggies on a good hay/grass based general diet that they have ever had any issues with scurvy despite not being supplemented with vitamin C because they are quite obviously getting enough in a normal balanced diet and despite often living a health life span or even beyond.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[AClemmons]

Vitamin C is not toxic and an excess will be harmlessly peed out dont worry.
But piggies do not usually need vit C supplements, and giving high levels of excess vit C regularly may affect the way they metabolise it normally from the diet.
Vit C needs can easily be met through daily veg intake- a slice of bell pepper daily and a few stems of coriander/cilantro or other fresh herbs is plenty to meet their vit C needs as part of a healthy diet!

Thanks for the info

 

[AClemmons]

Hi!

No, a one-off vitamin C dose won't hurt (the excess will be excreted in the pee) but long term high dosages of vitamin C will ironically put your piggies at a much higher risk of developing scurvy symptoms because their body will get used to those high levels and will in turn react with scurvy (i.e. vitamin C deficiency) symptoms whenever that level drops for some reason even though the actual level is still well above normal levels.

Please be aware that vitamin C is already present in most foods that guinea pigs eat; in the greens, herbs and cavy pellets that replace the supplementing role of wild forage in their natural diet; fresh growing dog pee-free grass is very high in vitamin C and is the reason why guinea pigs never have the need to make their own in the first place and even good quality hay still contains a little when it is fed as the mainstay of a piggy diet. Recovery formulas and probiotic products are also enriched.

In the 15 years this forum has been running with literally several tens of thousands of piggies passing through here, we have hardly ever had scurvy issues. A few have come from private rescues of piggies with malnutrition but the rest have been overdosing cases. What we have not seen in either our own piggies or in forum piggies on a good hay/grass based general diet that they have ever had any issues with scurvy despite not being supplemented with vitamin C because they are quite obviously getting enough in a normal balanced diet and despite often living a health life span or even beyond.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Thanks for the info. The guineas are my daughters and I gave them vitamin C instead of the other. I wonder if there is changes that I can look for in the guineas that would requires seeing a vet? I'm probably overly concerned.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the info. The guineas are my daughters and I gave them vitamin C instead of the other. I wonder if there is changes that I can look for in the guineas that would requires seeing a vet? I'm probably overly concerned.

You are overly concerned.

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin; any excess that is not absorbed by the body is simply passed on and out through the urinary tract. Just giving a double dose is no problem for the body to handle.