Piggie refuses to take Vitamin C?

[Maxellnimons]

Ok so this is becoming really dramatic.
My little girl refuses to take her vitamin C! I'm going nuts! What should I do?!

I took her to the vet about two weeks ago and he told me she has a vitamin C deficiency (she come from a VERY bad environment, she was TINY but already 2 month old) and so gave me human Vitamin C pills (the kind with orange flavor that you chew) and he told me to break into 8 pieces and give her one 1/8 piece each day. He told me to crush it and sprinkle it over her food: she refused to eat (or just precisely ate the parts with no vitamin) I tried apples, cucumbers, bell peppers...even oranges, no luck.

Then i thought I'd mix the crushed pill with water and give to her in a syringe. It worked at first (the poor thing was scared so she just out up with now) now she knows I'm coming for her when she smells the vitamin and squirms like I'm gonna murder her and am a sensitive person, I don't have the heart to FORCE her into anything (what if I break her ribs? Oh god no I cant force her)

But while at the vet he showed me how to do it. He got her whole face in his fist then forced a crushed pieces of pill in her mouth and then kept her mouth shut with his hands until she swallowed. This sounds like animal abuse I know but my little drama queen was very calm and did not even make that "wheeeeek get away from me" sound during this procedure. However, there is NO way I can do that, I cant even open her mouth >.< and honesty I don't want to, poor thing would go crazy if that whole pill-eating happens everyday.

Sorry this is such a long post but what should I do? If I sprinkle I'll never know how much of the stuff she really gets. What do you do? Help me?

P.s. now that I read this again, I think I made the vet sound like a bad one but I made sure he is the best in the whole country (my country has a population of 80 million lol) and probably the most expensive lol he really is good, he spent like 30 minutes just examining my 5th old baby

 

[Belinda Shute]

Hi. I manage to crush mine up and syringe with water or I sprinkle it on dry food. Dont give up. She will get used to it eventually.

 

[missybct]

You can actually get vitamin C drops in a bottle which you can squeeze over their food too - I know you are not in the UK but you may be able to import it from a supplier that delivers to your country?

Sometimes when we change our piggies food (hay or pellets) they take a while to get used to it, so keep trying. Eventually she'll get the hint that she has to eat it

xox

 

[piggyfan]

Maybe it is the orange flavour she does not like. I get my vitamin C from the hay experts. These are especially for animals. I crush one and spread it on cucumber and all mine take one a day. Perhaps you could try to get those?

 

[herriotfan]

Try to encourage her to eat lots of veggies and fruit that contain vitamin c.
I'm sure I saw a link that gave details of nutrients but I don't know how to add a link to a post. Maybe a mod or computer savvy member will know how to find and link it for you...

 

[Amanda1801]

I give my pigs extra vitamin c when unwell, and use the oxbow pro c tablets. They're specifically for pigs. I broke the tablet into 4 pieces, wrapped each bit in a lettuce leaf and hand fed it to Maggie, much as you'd wrap a tablet in ham for a dog. It worked perfectly!

I tasted them afterwards...they taste like pineapple, and apparently some pigs will just eat them!

 

[Maxellnimons]

Thanks everybody!
Ok, now I have a new question
First of all, we only orange flavored here
So I'm going to go look for a place that would be able to import those liquid C vitamin. Now how much should I order? Like how many packages/grams/cc s? (If I manage to find somebody, I'm pretty sure I have to pick out a brand a as well because these people are just illiterate smugglers lol)
What brand do you use and how long does it last for one piggie?
(i think its gonna cost at least two months rent so I better make sure lmao)