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Vitamin C for Guinea Pigs

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vitamin c for guinea pigs

What should you feed a guinea pig?

As an owner of a guinea pig, one of your most important responsibilities is feeding your guinea pig. Not only do you have to remember to feed your guinea pig twice a day, but you also need to ensure you guinea pig is fed a balanced diet.

If you have already done some research, you probably learned that guinea pigs are herbivores. This means that they only eat plants. In order to keep your guinea pig healthy, they need three basic types of food: pellets, hay, and leafy vegetables.

One of the most essential vitamins for a guinea pig is vitamin C. In today’s article, we will cover everything you need to know about vitamin C and how to make sure your guinea pig gets enough of it.

Vitamin C for guinea pigs: Why do they need it?

Similar to humans, guinea pigs are not able to produce vitamin C naturally in their body. Therefore, they must rely on food sources to get the adequate amount of Vitamin C.

Guinea pigs need Vitamin C for a wide range of processes including:

  • Maintaining healthy skin and muscles
  • Dental health
  • Healing wounds
  • Fight infection and viruses

Now that you know the importance of Vitamin C, you probably want to know the best way to add vitamin C to your guinea pig’s diet.

Best food for guinea pigs with Vitamin C

Vitamin C is found in both guinea pig pellets and in leafy vegetables.

Guinea pig pellets: Most pellets for guinea pigs are made out of alfalfa hay or timothy hay. Both of these have high concentrations of Vitamin C.

Leafy Vegetables: Some popular vegetables that are high in vitamin C are broccoli, carrots, kale, spinach, spring mix, zucchini, and asparagus. Your can feed all of these to your guinea pig on a daily basis.

What happens if you guinea pig doesn’t get enough vitamin C?

If your guinea pig doesn’t get enough vitamin C, they will likely develop a condition called scurvy. Essentially, when your guinea pig develops scurvy, many of their bodily functions and features will start to deteriorate.

Vitamin C deficiency in guinea pigs symptoms

If your guinea pig is not getting enough vitamin C, they will likely start to develop some of the following symptoms:

  • Weak muscles
  • Inflammation of joint
  • Guinea pig skin issues
  • Poor dental health
  • Trouble chewing food
  • Hair falling out
  • Swelling near the mouth
  • Loss in mobility
  • Diarrhea
  • Change in appetite

What to do if your guinea pig is not getting enough Vitamin C

If your guinea pig is not getting enough Vitamin C, you have two options. You can start by feeding your guinea pig a lot of leafy vegetables listed in the section above. If you don’t see any improvement, you can purchase guinea pig vitamin C supplements online from Amazon.

The key to helping a guinea pig with a Vitamin C deficiency is spotting it early. This requires you to closely monitor your guinea pig on a daily basis. If you notice any of the symptoms listed above, it could be a sign that you are not feeding your guinea pig enough Vitamin C. As a reminder, it is best to feed your guinea pig two times a day: once in the morning and once in the evening.