Vit C without sugary veg

BlueBird

BlueBird

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi there,

I've previously relied on bell peppers to get vit C into my Guineas. However, one of our piggies has a real sensitive stomach.

Our vet has recommended only feeding leafy greens. They they think it may be related to the sugar content and has ruled out bacteria/virus as they said our other piggie should have been affected. Which means bell peppers are out. Unfortunately we live in a flat which also means that grass feeding for vit C isn't possible either.

Any recommendations on how to feed my piggies on leafy greens but still ensure they get enough vitamin C? Don't fancy having to go and buy human vit C drops and having to force feed that via syringe on the regular.
 
BlueBird said:
Hi there,

I've previously relied on bell peppers to get vit C into my Guineas. However, one of our piggies has a real sensitive stomach.

Our vet has recommended only feeding leafy greens. They they think it may be related to the sugar content and has ruled out bacteria/virus as they said our other piggie should have been affected. Which means bell peppers are out. Unfortunately we live in a flat which also means that grass feeding for vit C isn't possible either.

Any recommendations on how to feed my piggies on leafy greens but still ensure they get enough vitamin C? Don't fancy having to go and buy human vit C drops and having to force feed that via syringe on the regular.
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Fresh growing grass is high in vitamin C (and the reason why guinea pig have never needed to make their own in the first place). You will have to to introduce it slowly, starting with a pinch and then a little more with every serving to allow the gut microbiome to get used to it. Always make sure that it is dog pee-free.
Green growing grass is source of vitamin C that is sadly persistently overlooked - even though guinea pigs as a species have actually evolved on it.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

A good source of of vitamin C and trace elements are fresh herbs. They are high in vitamin C, too, bit if you filter your water and only feed 1 tablespoon of pellets per day, then you will have the leeway for a sprig a day to help supplement the diet with all the little things that pellets are not reinforced with. The quantity is not enough to upset the tummy. It's what I am doing with my ca. 6 years old Dylan, who also has a tender tummy in his old age (his first half of life was spent in a hamster cage with just lettuce and carrots).
 
Our previous piggy had a bladder condition and was put on a hay and lettuce only diet by the vets. He was allowed grass but we couldn’t get very much of it.

The vet said he wouldn’t be missing out on any nutrients on just hay and lettuce, that it’s actually balanced.

So we fed a variety of hay - meadow, timothy and orchard, and a variety of lettuces as well.

Hays contain vitamin c so I think a variety would cover that fine.

Our boar did really well on it, as did his friend who had the same diet whilst he needed it. If anything, they seemed healthier for it with more energy which surprised me.
 
Spaniel said:
Our previous piggy had a bladder condition and was put on a hay and lettuce only diet by the vets. He was allowed grass but we couldn’t get very much of it.

The vet said he wouldn’t be missing out on any nutrients on just hay and lettuce, that it’s actually balanced.

So we fed a variety of hay - meadow, timothy and orchard, and a variety of lettuces as well.

Hays contain vitamin c so I think a variety would cover that fine.

Our boar did really well on it, as did his friend who had the same diet whilst he needed it. If anything, they seemed healthier for it with more energy which surprised me.
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Hay itself is not massively high in vitamin C. I would recommend to supplement with a sprig of fresh herb.

Most of the calcium in the diet comes via unfiltered water and via any pellets. We have done the maths and found out that weight for weight, even no added calcium pellets still contain a lot more calcium than the veg highest in it, kale. Most people sadly only look at the veg and completely overlook the other food groups.
 
I feed oxbow vitamin c chews a couple times a week, they love them. I love the summer months though. I go for a walk and pick clover, fresh dandelion leaves and grasses every morning. Our grocery store sells mixes of different lettuce types. You might want to visit different stores that sell produce. I buy a tub of mixed lettuce weekly for my pigs during the winter.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. As I say grass is totally not an option for us. We live in a city centre flat so the only nearby grass is grass verges at the side of busy roads and the only park nearby is actually an old Victorian graveyard that’s only open from 9-15.00 and since we both work full-time we can’t get out on time to get some for them. if I had a garden I wouldn’t worry so much because Id just get him some grass everyday form the lawn.
its eng]couraging thoigh that sprigs of herbs would help. They love herbs! But again I’ll watch the calcium intake on this diet. Having had a piggy with bladder stones we buy the lowest calcium pellets we can find any only give them a set amount each day.

Different lettuces is a but tricky too as our shops here only have a few types but I’ll try my best.
 
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