Guinea pig vitamin C: a need that comes round every day

Like humans and a handful of other mammals, guinea pigs can’t make vitamin C: they have to get it from what they eat. According to the RSPCA booklet, they can’t store it either, so they need some every day.

Vitamin C keeps the skin, joints, blood vessels and many other tissues healthy. According to the MSD Veterinary Manual, pregnant sows need more of it, and your vet will adjust their intake.

A deficiency develops when the diet is low in vitamin C, for example when pellets are too old. The MSD Veterinary Manual describes:

• loss of appetite and weight loss;
• a dull, rough coat;
• lameness and swollen joints, and a guinea pig that moves less;
• dental problems;
• bleeding under the skin or into the organs, diarrhoea, weakness and sometimes sudden death.

These signs aren’t unique to scurvy: only a vet can make the diagnosis. A lack of vitamin C also leaves guinea pigs more vulnerable to respiratory infections.

Guinea pig pellets

They are fortified with vitamin C, but it breaks down over time and with air, heat and damp, sometimes heavily within a few months. Buy small bags, close them tightly and use them within 3 months, as the PDSA advises.

Peppers

One of the vegetables richest in vitamin C, mentioned by both the PDSA and the MSD manual; they can be given every day.

A variety of fresh vegetables and herbs

Celery, cucumber, romaine or leafy lettuce, carrot tops: vary them every day, as the RSPCA recommends.

Parsley, kale, broccoli

Rich in vitamin C but also high in calcium, or gassy in the case of broccoli: small amounts, only a few times a week.

According to the PDSA, a guinea pig eating hay, fresh pellets and vegetables rich in vitamin C doesn’t normally need a supplement. If you’re unsure, or if your guinea pig is ill, pregnant or eating poorly, ask your vet which source and how much is right.

• Avoid adding vitamin C to the drinking water: it breaks down quickly there, and a guinea pig that drinks little gets too little (RVC, PDSA, MSD manual).
• Avoid multivitamins unless your vet recommends them: according to the MSD manual, some added vitamins can do harm.
• A guinea pig with a deficiency is treated daily as your vet directs, by mouth or by injection.

• Every day: a fresh portion of pellets, rather than topping up yesterday’s bowl.
• Every day: a variety of fresh vegetables, at least one of them rich in vitamin C.
• Write down the date you opened the bag of pellets.
• Weigh your guinea pig every week: weight loss is often the first sign that something is wrong.

Fresh pellets, vegetables rich in vitamin C: in MyArk, whoever serves the meal logs it, and everyone in the household can see it’s done. The weekly weigh-in is kept in the same place.

• Every meal logged with the time and who gave it
• A shared care log for everyone in the household
• A weight chart for each guinea pig
• The health record, with your vet’s advice