How do you give your guinea pigs vitamin c?

[silver73]

I have heard you can put vit c tablets in their water but not sure if that is ok

[twinklytroll]

Ours have vitamin c in their water.

[twinklytroll]

Actually not sure if it is specifically vitamin c, dp adds something to the water though.

[PestoCaffeinisto]

Can't they eat something like carrots or watercress?

[Summersoon]

Mine gets fresh water in his bottle every day but won't drink it (never has), so can anybody suggest any alternative ways of getting vitamin C into him?
He gets a fresh carrot every day but some other veg such as broccoli and/or curly kale - perhaps that is enough to cover his vitamin needs? What do you think?

[mumdad2kidsandadog]

Yellow pepper is really good for vit c apparently. Mine loves it. But then he loves all food and squeals if he hears a russle or the fridge door open.
:)

[alemci]

Mine is a lettuce addict and even lifts his paw like a dog to request some. really faddy and won't eat pepper or cucumber but does eat carrots so I think as long as they have fresh food the piggies should be ok.

[mablemurple]

parsley is an excellent source of vitamin C and my guinea pigs love it.

[Summersoon]

Parsley!! My gp practically swoons any time I hold any out to him!

[twinklytroll]

I will try parsley thanks

[LordOfTheFlies]

Mine won't touch water but I know they get plenty of fluid by the pee stains on their bedding

There's another thread on here (guinea-pig and cough/cold) that touches on Vit C. (Doesitwearingwellies DD has looked into it ) Vit C in water isn't a high enough concentration.
I put a crushed piece of tablet in cloudy apple juice and managed to get them to drink some.

But we go down the parsley route too- they hoover it up!

[ragged]

Diet: tomatoes, banana, brassica family veg, potato peelings (yes I'm careful to make sure it's good enough for me to eat), other fruit with dandelion leaves, peppers....

[soaccidentprone]

I always thought that Vit C was added to the GP food, which is why they should be fed GP specific food and not rabbit food!

[LordOfTheFlies]

the pellets do which is why the guinea-pig muesli isn't recommended, they eat the bits they want so it's not balanced.

i did read that all they need is pellets,water and hay don't know if that's the case, it makes for a boring diet

[LordOfTheFlies]

i had piggies when i was a child but they never had vit c.
they did have free-range grass and used to attack the raspberry canes and brussel sprouts, lettuce (though they weren't meant to have it ) and cabbage.
And we always gave hay- bog standard to bed in, sweet meadow to eat.
Our 2 Himalayans used to get crusty open skin patches if they didn't have hay- cleared up within a day when we re-introduced it.

[silver73]

Thanks everyone my piggies have parsley once every day and have expensive dried food with vitamin c but they don't drink much water either.

[DoesItWearingWellies]

DD gives her GPs brassicas, herbs, peppers, grass/dandelions as well as guinea pig nuggets with added vit C, as much hay (meadow and timothy) as they can eat, plus a couple of handfuls of readigrass.

She also gives them a mix of vit C powder mixed with Oxbows critical care a couple of times a week. With their mixed diet they probably don't need it, but she's taking the belt-and-braces approach.

Putting drops/tablets into the water isn't appropriate, as LotF said, as the amount of vit C in the water isn't enough, plus there is a very good chance that it is degraded by the chlorine in the water or by reacting with the metal of the spout.

[Methe]

Burgess pellets and an absolute bloody ton of broccoli and various other veg.

[KRITIQ]

I fresh vegetables, high in vitamin C every day. It makes me cross that the vet hospital recommends putting vitamin C in the water - the fizzy tabs you get at the chemist. Cambridge Cavy Trust and my previous absolutely excellent what-he-didn't-know-about-cavies-wasn't-worth-knowing vet in Cardiff said it was pointless as well.

Different pigs drink different amounts of fluid so there is no way to moderate dosage by putting any supplement or medicine in their water.

Flavourings in water can "put off" guinea pigs from drinking, which makes them more at risk of bladder infections and stones, particularly if they happen already to be prone to this for genetic reasons. I'd also heard that the acid in the Vitamin C can leech chemicals from a plastic water bottle, but I could see there being issues with the metal spout as well.

I think Oxbow make special tablets with Vitamin C that you can give. I've never had a pig who's keen, but at least you can tell how much they are getting and that they are getting it.

Have never had any problems with the 8 piggies I've had so far.

[racingheart]

I was told they need fresh veg and fruit, as well as hay and pellets or muesli, every day for the Vit C. Ours have sprouts, parsnip, cabbage, celery, peppers, apple, carrot and their favourites, parsley, carrot tops and fennel bulb. (Not all every day!) In summer they eat grass and dandelion leaves all day long and look very bloated. They seem healthier in winter eating mixed veg. (Though anything cabbage based, like broccoli stalks or sprouts makes the cage honk within a few hours.

[LordOfTheFlies]

I try to give mine a variety of colour with their fresh veg ( I *really need to get out more )

So a couple of green- rocket or spring greens
orange- carrots
red- tomato or pepper
apple and grapes (once a week or so)

They have parsley in the evening when they have cuddles

It isn't the veg that makes the cage honk in our house , it's GP2. He's windy and unrepentant

[KRITIQ]

Oh noes, fartypants pig!

[LordOfTheFlies]

The little black rough coat really is the sweetest tempered GP (to us anyway, he'll pick a fight with GP1 quicker than you can say 'knife') BUT his little intestinal tract outputs can be hard to bear.
He cuddles up, and I can feel movement and there's the tell tale smell. I expect to see half a dozen droppings, but there's nothing. Just air! And it's not as though he's secretly disposed of them.
He really can fill a room on a good day

[damppatchnot]

I put drops in thier water but tbh they get enough in the veg they have. They have carrots and spring greens every day but I add either spinach, kale or parsley to that on alternate days. They like apples and cucumber as a treat or cauli leaves and sweetcirn kernels when in season

Mine squeak as soon as they hear the back door open and by the time I reach the playhouse they are so excited they almost dive in the veg bag before I empty it!

[Dlamis]

Vitamin C in water also deteriorates very quickly.

Plenty of good veg is the bets way to do it