vitamin c tablets

[skankinelves]

I know that guinea pigs need vitamin C and I read somewhere that I can crush human vitamin C tablets and put it in their water. Are they okay to give to them, or should I just but the drop that are made for piggies? Thanks.

[Clover]

Most of the time a guinea pig gets enough vitamin C from their vegetables and pellets, so generally a supplement of Vit C isn't needed. A healthy guinea pig needs roughly 25 to 30 mg a day.

I usually only give my piggies a vit c supplement when they are poorly. If say they have diarrhea, all fruit and veg need to be witheld until the diarrhea has cleared up, so they will need extra vit c. Extra vit c for poorly piggies and pregnant piggies helps with their immune system to as well as preventing scurvy.

Avoid putting vit c in their water bottle or bowl as the strength of the vitc alters to a lesser extent when exposed to light. Often guinea pigs don't enjoy strange tasting drinking water, so they may drink less of it or ignore it completly.

I use Oxbows vit c tablets for when one of my piggies is poorly. They come in 50mg tablets, so I dissolve half a tablet daily in a little water and syringe feed it them. I believe yo can buy drops, but I've never been able to find them.

Just a reminder to never give guinea pigs a multivitamin as , excessive amounts of certain vitamins may cause serious problems.

Here are the tablets I use.



Let us know if you need any help about suitable vit c veggies for guinea pigs

[skankinelves]

Thanks for the info. What are some veggies that are rich in vitamin C? So far I've been giving them cucumbers, baby carrots, romain lettuce and a little of orange.

[Janet]

Parsley is a good source of vitamin C.

[Clover]

Romaine and like Janet has mentioned, parsley is also good. Red or green bell peppers are what I call a very safe food and full of vitamin c, red being higher than green. Gassy foods like broccoli and Kale should be given in moderation.

Heres a very helpful list that originally came from Cavies Galore.
Guinea Pig Shopping List

HIGH Vitamin C foods:
- Guinea pig pellets with stabilized vitamin C - alfalfa based for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows, slim or sick pigs; timothy based for healthy, grown, chubby pigs (do not substitute rabbit or chinchilla pellets; avoid mixes with nuts, seeds or coloured bits)

- Parsley - curly or plain (high in calcium)
- Cilantro / Chinese Parsley / Coriander greens
- Celery leaves
- Collard greens
- Mustard greens / Leaf Mustard
- Water Cress
- Garden Cress
- Swiss Chard, Red Chard
- Beet greens
- Spinach (feed in moderation, linked to formation of kidney & bladder stones)
- Carrot tops / leaves
- Peas in pods, Pea Shoots (not dried)
- Dandelion greens
- Grass - wheat, winter rye (grown in pots from seed)
- Kale - curly or plain
- Broccoli, Broccolini (stems are liked better than flowers)
- Broccoli Rabe / Rabe / Rapini
- Cauliflower / Broccoflower
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
- Tuscan Cabbage / Cavolo Nero
- Savoy Cabbage
- Kohlrabi leaves
- Bell / Sweet Peppers - red, green, yellow (not hot or chile)
- Tomato (sores around mouth can develop; leaves poisonous; artificially grown can be low in vit C)
- Tamarillo (leaves poisonous)
- Orange (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Tangerine / Mandarin (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Grapefruit (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Lemon, Lime (home-grown best, otherwise feed cautiously)
- Cantaloupe Melon
- Honeydew Melon
- Currants - yellow, red or black (leaves also edible)
- Gooseberries
- Strawberries
- Kiwi Fruit
- Mango
- Guava
- Feijoa / Pineapple Guava
- Papaya / Paw Paw / Tree Melon
- Persimmon - american or oriental
- Rosehip


LOW Vitamin C foods:
- Hay - timothy, meadow, alpine and others (must always be available)
- Alfalfa - green or dried (high calcium & calories - good for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows)

- Romaine Lettuce
- Lettuces - red, green, butter, Boston and other (avoid iceberg)
- Frisee Lettuce
- Arugula / Rocket / Roquette / Rucola
- Green Endive
- Belgian Endive
- Radicchio / Italian Chicory
- Treviso Radicchio
- Salad mix (without iceburg lettuce)
- Artichoke
- Asparagus
- Anise
- Basil
- Dill
- Mint
- Thyme
- Chives (caution, feed in moderation)
- Green Onion tops (caution, feed in moderation)
- Green Leek tops (caution, feed in moderation)
- Sweet Onions (caution, feed in moderation)
- Celery stalks (cut into small pieces)
- Corn on the cob (strings, leaves & stalks are edible too)
- Green Beans in pods / String Beans (not dried)
- Carrots (feed in moderation, vit A in carrots said to cause liver problems)
- Yam / Sweet Potato (high in vit A? - leaves edible)
- Beets
- Celery Root / Celeriac
- Kohlrabi bulbs
- Radishes (if mild)
- Turnip
- Parsnip
- Rutabaga
- Parsley root
- Cucumber (fresh only, not pickled)
- Squash - acorn, banana, butterhorn, spagetti, and others (feed in moderation)
- Zucchini
- Pumpkin
- Pineapple - fresh (sores around lips & mouth can develop)
- Apple (avoid seeds; if too tart, sores around lips & mouth can develop)
- Crabapple
- Pear
- Asian Pear
- Plum, Prune (dried high in sugar - as treat only)
- Nectarine
- Apricot
- Peach
- Cherries (remove pits)
- Cranberries (whole fruit, not concentrate or juice)
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Bilberries
- Blueberries
- Watermelon (can cause diarrhea - high water content)
- Banana (feed in great moderation - can cause constipation)
- Passion Fruit / Granadilla
- Grapes (in moderation, high in sugar)
- Figs (dried high in sugar - as treat only)
- Dates (dried high in sugar)


EDIBLE wild grasses, plants and herbs:
(make sure you know what you are picking! be sure to pick from places free of contaminants such as pesticides , exhaust fumes or animal urine ; pick plants that are healthy looking, without insect damage, fungus spots, breakage, or wilting)

- Grass (common grasses are edible, avoid ornamental grasses)
- Clover (Trifollium repens or Trifolium pratense)
- Dandelion (Teraxacum officinale) - pick leaves, stems, flowers (even root OK)
- Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
- Blackberry leaves (Rubus plicatus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots
- Calendula (Calendula officinalis) - leaves and flowers
- Caraway (Carum carvi)
- Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
- Chickweed (Stellaria media)
- Cleavers / Stickyweed / Goosegrass / Bedstraw (Galium aparine)
- Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
- Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeae) - berries, leaves in moderation
- Cow Parsley (Anthiscus sylvestris)
- Dog Rose (Rosa canina) - ripe fruits
- Duckweed (Lemna minor) - aquatic
- Fennel (Foeniculum capillaceum)
- Field Violet / Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor)
- Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)
- Lemon Mint / Melissa (Melissa officinalis)
- Linden / Lime Tree (Tilia cordata or Tilia platyphyllos) - flowers with pale yellow leaflets
- Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
- Pepermint (Mentha piperita)
- Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago lanceolata)
- Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots
- Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
- Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
- Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)
- Vetch (Vicia x)
- Yarrow (Achllea millefolium)
- Whortleberry / Heidelberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) - berries, leaves in moderation
- Wild Chamomile (Matricaria chammomilla)
- Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) - berries and leaves



AVOID Danger foods:
- Iceburg Lettuce (low nutrition, high water)
- Hot Peppers / Chiles / Paprikas
- Hot herbs and spices
- Pickled veggies (dills, capers, sour krauts)
- Garlic or pungent onions (will not poison pigs, )
- Tomato leaves & stalks (poisonous)
- Tomatillo leaves & stalks (poisonous)
- Rhubarb (poisonous)
- Seeds (choking hazard)
- Dry beans and peas
- Nuts (too high in fat)
- Avocado (too high in fat)
- Coconut (too high in fat)
- Horseradish (leaves probably ok, root too pungent)
- Mushrooms
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted) - sweet potatoes / yams are ok
- Taro (dangerous if eaten raw / unprepared)
- Jams, jellies and fruit preserves (too high in sugar)
- Fruit juices (sugar-free, or unsweetened juices are OK)
- Teas, coffee, colas
- Fried, cooked and otherwise prepared foods
- Peanut butter, cakes, cookies, baked goods
- Milk and milk products
- Wild grasses, plants and herbs that you are unsure of, or that look different from ones you know
- Flowers (commercially grown decorative plants contain preservatives & pesticides)


QUESTION foods:
(just don't know much about them, or unsure if ok for pigs to eat)

- Canned veggies

Asian Fruit and Vegetables: (I tried to include names in various languages when possible)

- Abiu / Caimo / Canistel / Dan Huang Guo
- Bamboo Shoots
- Banana Leaves
- Betel Leaves / La Lop
- Bitter Melon / Bitter Gourd / Balsam Pear / Balsam Pod (must remove seeds)
- Chinese Broccoli / Gai Lum / Kai Lan / Kairan
- Chinese Flowering Cabbage / Choy Sum / Sawi Manis / Saishin
- Chinese Cabbage / Wong Baak / Kubis Gna / Hakusai
- Pe-Tsai Cabbage
- Chinese Chard / Bok Choy / Pak Choy / Pak Tsoi / Pechay
- Baby Bok Choy
- Chinese Spinach / Amaranth / Een Choy / In Tsoi / Bayam / Santonsai
- Chinese Mustard / Gai Choy / Kaai Tsoi / Mustaa / Ha Karashina / Cai Xanh
- Chinese Keys / Khao Chae / Suo Shi / Temu Kunchi (like ginger)
- Chinese Long Beans / Yard-Long Beans / Asparagus Beans / Dau Gok
- Chocolate Fruit / Black Persimmon / Black Sapote / Kaki Noir
- Durian / Dourian / Lau Lin
- Ginger Root
- Hairy Melon / Moa Gua
- Jute / Jew's Mallow / Meloukhia / Meloukhiya Sheitaani
- Kaffir Lime Leaves
- Longan / Litchi Ponceau / Loon Ngan / Lengkleng (like Lychee)
- Lychee
- Mangosteen / Saan Jook / Manggis
- Sin Qua / Luffa - smooth and angled
- Soursop / Guanabana
- Star Apple
- Taro / Woo Tau / Dalo / Sato-Imo leaves (leaves ok? raw taro root poisonous )
- Water Spinach / Convolvulus / Ung Choy / Yeung Choy / Kang Kung
- White Radish / Daikon / Loh Baak / Mu
- White Sapote / Casimiroa
- Winter Melon / Wax Melon / Dong Gua
- Yam Bean / Jicama / Di Gwa / Sinkamas / Seng Kuang / Kuzuimo (root ok?, leaves & stems poisonous)
- Yam / Shuyu / Ubi / Yama Imo (this tuber is safe for guinea pigs to eat)

Other Fruit and Vegetables:

- Acerola- West Indian, Pitanga, Surinam, Sour, Sweet
- Babaco
- Borage
- Breadfruit
- Burdock
- Cardoon
- Cassava / Yucca Root
- Catus
- Chayota
- Cherimoya
- Custard apple
- Dock
- Eggplant
- Fern bracken - Fiddlehead Fern shoots
- Ginger
- Jujube (high vit C)
- Kailan
- Kiwano
- Komatsuna
- Kumquat
- Lemon Grass
- Longan
- Loquat
- Mizuna
- Okra
- Opuntia Cactus
- Oregano
- Plantain banana (needs cooking, high starch)
- Pomegranate
- Quince
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Sakata
- Salsify / Oyster plant
- Sapodilla
- Sorrel
- Soy beans and soy products (too high in protein?)
- Star fruit
- Sugar Cane (too high in sugar?)
- Tapioca (too high in starch & calories?)
- Yucca

[skankinelves]

Wow...thanks a lot! I don't even know what some of those veggies are haha

[cocospiggysmommy]

Thats what I use to do my piggy grocery shopping with. I try different things out and find the ones they really like. So far they love everything new I have given them.

[cavy13]

Wow! What a huge list Clover! Thats very useful. I use the same oxbow vitamin C tablets as you do and I actually give her one everyday along with her fruits and veggies so I know for sure she's getting enough 'C' everyday. What I do is break the little tablet into four quarters and feed her one at a time. I got them the same time I got her and but would never eat them until just about a week ago. She expects her apple flavor tablet tablet in the morning and her veggies at night.