My guinea pigs don't like eating parsley, bell-pepper, kale, etc. The vet recommended feeding them Vitamin-C drops via syringe, but is there any other alternative? Any Vit-C rich pellets, or supplements that they can EAT?
Vitamin C
- Thread starter ishita
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What veggies do they eat? All veg contains vit c it’s just that some contain more than others.
Most of the major pellet brands such as oxbow are fortified with vit c.
Do your piggies get pellets?
As you have got a new baby piggy I would actually urge you to keep trying with offering veg. He may like them and it may encourage your older piggy to try.
Parsley and kale are high in calcium so shouldn’t be fed much anyway.
If your three year old piggy has never had scurvy in all the entire you have had him, then he will have been getting enough vitamin c for his needs up until now so we actually would not recommend that you use supplements . If you supplement over and above their needs, their bodies become used to unnecessary high amounts and any drop can actually cause scurvy.
Most of the major pellet brands such as oxbow are fortified with vit c.
Do your piggies get pellets?
As you have got a new baby piggy I would actually urge you to keep trying with offering veg. He may like them and it may encourage your older piggy to try.
Parsley and kale are high in calcium so shouldn’t be fed much anyway.
If your three year old piggy has never had scurvy in all the entire you have had him, then he will have been getting enough vitamin c for his needs up until now so we actually would not recommend that you use supplements . If you supplement over and above their needs, their bodies become used to unnecessary high amounts and any drop can actually cause scurvy.
He never had scurvy. And he eats lettuce, carrots, mint, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant(rarely).What veggies do they eat? All veg contains vit c it’s just that some contain more than others.
Most of the major pellet brands such as oxbow are fortified with vit c.
Do your piggies get pellets?
As you have got a new baby piggy I would actually urge you to keep trying with offering veg. He may like them and it may encourage your older piggy to try.
Parsley and kale are high in calcium so shouldn’t be fed much anyway.
If your three year old piggy has never had scurvy in all the entire you have had him, then he will have been getting enough vitamin c for his needs up until now so we actually would not recommend that you use supplements . If you supplement over and above their needs, their bodies become used to unnecessary high amounts and any drop can actually cause scurvy.
They have pellets too(not Oxbow as it isn't available here, but one with proper ratings).
But I read somewhere that pellets lose their Vitamin C if kept over time? They need 10-20 mg Vit C every day. So does he need supplements?
If he has not got any issues and never had any scurvy symptoms then he is clearly getting everything he needs and does not need supplements.
We do not see scurvy occur at all often on the forum. In the couple of cases a year that we do see, they tend to be in piggies who have been given supplements and it has then caused issues.
Please note that carrots should not be fed as they are too sugary - a very tiny piece can be given occasionally as a treat. Tomatoes should also not be fed more than once a week as they are too acidic and can lead to a potentially fatal lip infection called cheilitis.
They do over time but pellets can be kept open, I think, for six months without issue.
Thank you for the info! I don't feed him carrot often, and tomatoes aren't favoured by him either. I won't add Vitamin C to his diet for now as I see it isn't necessary.
My vet suggested that I give Becosules Syrup to my 3.5 year old boar. I'm not sure whether I should as it seems to be meant for human children. Can someone read the composition and let me know if its alright?
Hi
We do not recommend to give any medication and additives by water because it can put off guinea pigs from drinking (they have about twice the number of taste buds compared to us) and it mainly promotes the fast growth of algae in the bottle. Daily sugar can also contribute to dysbiosis - the overgrowth of the wrong kind of bacteria in the gut which can promote the risk of potentially fatal severe bloating attacks.
If you want to give it, please do so mixed into 1 ml of water by syringe to make sure that is actually taken in.
If you feed a slice of pepper daily, a bit of herb regularly, a little kale or collard greens once weekly and have a little vitamin C enriched pellets daily etc. you should not need to. While fresh growing grass is rich in vitamin C, hay isn't but there is still coming a little from the sheer quantity they take in, so vitamin C is basically in all food they eat on a good diet.
The problem with longer term vitamin C is that the body accustoms to the higher levels and basically ignores them but then reacts with scurvy symptoms as soon as those levels drop even though the actual level of vitamin C is still above normal. WE have seen very few scurvy cases on here over the years (about two handfuls in all in view of tens and tens of thousands of other enquiries but apart from a couple of neglect intakes with genuine malnutritional problems, they have all turned out to be the result of over-supplementation rather than real deficiency.
If you want to supplement with vitamin C, then do it as 2 weeks boosters so the body cannot adapt and only do so when your piggy is actually ill or their body is under major pressure.
Since we have changed our forum recommendation to exclude fruit, root veg like carrot and grain from a regular daily diet, and to use a very little only as a very occasional treat, we have seen less cases of proper acute dysbiosis (severe bloat) in our longer term regulars' piggies in recent years. Most of the bloating we are seeing from them is turning out to be secondary (i.e. caused by something else) or a twisted gut these days - those are things you cannot influence with diet. The symptoms are subtly different in each case but there are not the tsunami waves of severe bloating attacks that characterise dysbiosis.
What you have been given is just an additive; you can decide whether you feel it would help and do a little booster by syringe or just leave it be if your piggy is not showing any acute symptoms of scurvy. But please never add it to your water bottle.
Guinea Lynx :: Scurvy -- Vitamin C Deficiency in a Guinea Pig
Thank you a lot! I give them pellets which have Vitamin C, and they have lettuce which seems to have some amount of Vitamin-C. I'll try to introduce them to bell-pepper, although in the past they didn't like it.
My boar doesn't have any signs of scurvy, so I'll just give him the additive by syringe once/twice a week since the vet recommended it.
Again, thanks a ton! My paranoia when caring for them makes me research a lot before introducing anything new to them
My boar doesn't have any signs of scurvy, so I'll just give him the additive by syringe once/twice a week since the vet recommended it.
Again, thanks a ton! My paranoia when caring for them makes me research a lot before introducing anything new to them
Thank you a lot! I give them pellets which have Vitamin C, and they have lettuce which seems to have some amount of Vitamin-C. I'll try to introduce them to bell-pepper, although in the past they didn't like it.
My boar doesn't have any signs of scurvy, so I'll just give him the additive by syringe once/twice a week since the vet recommended it.
Again, thanks a ton! My paranoia when caring for them makes me research a lot before introducing anything new to them
Lettuce is comparatively low in vitamin C and nutrients but high in vitamin A which builds up in the liver so it should not be the only veg you are feeding. Please give them a slice of sweet pepper/capsicum once a day and also add a sprig of herbs like coriander /cilantro or parsley etc. when you cook with them as herbs are a great source of trace elements that are not in enriched pellets.
The same goes for kale, greens, a broccoli rosette etc: they are higher in vitamin C and are the veg that supply important magnesium, which again is not in the rest of the diet - but you do not do it more than once a week because they are also high in calcium. There is no low calcium veg with a higher level of magnesium.
Diet is not just about vitamin C or calcium; there are a whole other load of nutrients to be considered in a balanced diet.
I’m merging this with the thread you started on the same subject yesterday.
You only need give a two week booster if your piggy is actually unwell with any illness.
You’ve said your piggy does not have scurvy symptoms and has never had so he should be getting everything he needs from his diet meaning there is most likely no need to give vit c supplements at all - not even once or twice a week - it doesn’t matter that your vet recommended it.
You only need give a two week booster if your piggy is actually unwell with any illness.
You’ve said your piggy does not have scurvy symptoms and has never had so he should be getting everything he needs from his diet meaning there is most likely no need to give vit c supplements at all - not even once or twice a week - it doesn’t matter that your vet recommended it.
Thank you for the advice! He doesn't like capsicum much, but he doesn't mind coriander, broccoli, mint and cilantro. I'll try to cultivate new food habits in him, although he's pretty stubborn and won't try anything new! He's pretty used to lettuce and won't budge on it, so I try to agree with his taste. But if too much of it is bad for him I'll try introducing new veggies.Lettuce is comparatively low in vitamin C and nutrients but high in vitamin A which builds up in the liver so it should not be the only veg you are feeding. Please give them a slice of sweet pepper/capsicum once a day and also add a sprig of herbs like coriander /cilantro or parsley etc. when you cook with them as herbs are a great source of trace elements that are not in enriched pellets.
The same goes for kale, greens, a broccoli rosette etc: they are higher in vitamin C and are the veg that supply important magnesium, which again is not in the rest of the diet - but you do not do it more than once a week because they are also high in calcium. There is no low calcium veg with a higher level of magnesium.
Diet is not just about vitamin C or calcium; there are a whole other load of nutrients to be considered in a balanced diet.
I haven't given him a dosage yet, since he was declared healthy enough. If he doesn't eat the Vitamin C rich veggies I'll give him a booster dose!
Thank you!
Can they have cabbage by the way? I saw that it has 36.6 mg of Vitamin-C per 100 g of cabbage!Lettuce is comparatively low in vitamin C and nutrients but high in vitamin A which builds up in the liver so it should not be the only veg you are feeding. Please give them a slice of sweet pepper/capsicum once a day and also add a sprig of herbs like coriander /cilantro or parsley etc. when you cook with them as herbs are a great source of trace elements that are not in enriched pellets.
The same goes for kale, greens, a broccoli rosette etc: they are higher in vitamin C and are the veg that supply important magnesium, which again is not in the rest of the diet - but you do not do it more than once a week because they are also high in calcium. There is no low calcium veg with a higher level of magnesium.
Diet is not just about vitamin C or calcium; there are a whole other load of nutrients to be considered in a balanced diet.
They can have a 1 inch/2.5 cm slice of cabbage once a week, provided you introduce cabbage slowly and in very small and gradually increasing amounts to allow the gut microbiome to adjust and to grow the digestive specialist bacteria that can cope with it. If you just feed cabbage on an unprepared gut, you can end up with potentially lethal dysbiosis. That is the main reason why it doesn't feature in recommended diets.
Cabbages have same problem that all brassicas and cruciferas high in vitamin c and magnesium have: they are also very high in calcium (kale, collard greens, broccoli etc). Fruit is low in calcium but high in sugar instead, which can also lead to dysbiosis (fatal bloat).
The only food high in vitamin C that is both low in calcium and sugar is capsicum/sweet pepper (shimala mirch in hindi). Hence my banging on about it.
If we strongly recommend a specific food, then because we have done our research and have thought every single food through in all directions and with all short- and long-term implications. If it is not on our recommendations then are very good reasons for that.
A lot of avoidable health problems are down to people who are only looking at one nutritional aspect and unbalance their whole diet because of that. You can never look at one food just from one angle; everything comes with pros and cons that need to be balanced out by other foods in the diet.
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I really tried to get them to like capsicum but my older boar doesn't eat it. I have no idea how to get him to like the vegetable so I'm searching for alternatives.
Thank you for the advice! I'll slowly introduce him to small amounts of cabbage, and keep feeding him small amounts of other veggies.
Thank you for the advice! I'll slowly introduce him to small amounts of cabbage, and keep feeding him small amounts of other veggies.
You need to start with really just a little and work up to the 1 inch slice but you cannot feed it more than twice a week max - or you can feed a bit more cilantro/coriander herb instead of a slice of capsicum.
Thanks for the recommendation! I have some leftover capsicum that I'll try to feed him, but if it doesn't work I'll switch to coriander.
If you want to try cabbage or broccoli, this is how you introduce them safely:
1st day: just add a very little, more as a treat with other food to bolster. About a large fingernail.
2nd day: you feed double the size (about the size of the upper bit half of your thumb. Always as part of a mix they are used to.
3rd day: double again in size to keep stimulating the growth of the digestive specialist bacteria.
Etc. until you have reached the size you plan to feed but by giving the gut time to learn to cope with the new food.
From then on in you can feed it in the interval you want to.
PS: the same also goes for broccoli and fresh, green grass if they are new foods or haven't been fed for a long time.
All the best! Please keep reassuring yourself that your piggies are not showing any symptoms of a deficiency in the first place.
Thank you for the information! I'll make sure to try my best for them and help them adjust to new food.
Please be aware that cabbage, kale, collard greens and broccoli are all in the same veg group and that you can feed this food group - whichever veg - only so much and so often. The higher in calcium, the less often. But you can vary between those veg and cook for yourself with what you cannot feed. Keep in mind that the vitamin C content goes down the longer a veg is hanging around in the fridge.
I'll limit the amount of cabbage, and broccoli and get him accustomed to veggies lower in Vitamin-C concentration. Thanks!