Q. WE HAVE acquired a pair of guinea pigs and a friend has advised us to supplement their diet with ...

1. Pampered Pets: Should you give your guinea pig vitamin C? |
Nature | News
Q. WE HAVE acquired a pair of guinea pigs and a friend has advised us to supplement their diet with
vitamin C as low levels can lead to illness. Is this true and what signs should I look out for?
A. GUINEA pigs, like primates, cannot produce vitamin C or store it in the body for any length of
time, so need a constant supply in their diet.
A deficiency is not uncommon and happens in one of two ways. Either their diet is insufficient or the
guinea pig stops eating for whatever reason.
Vitamin C deficiency can lead to scurvy and the signs of this disease include swollen joints, a rough
coat, lethargy, poor appetite and bleeding under the skin.
These are all treatable but best prevented. Guinea pigs need a daily dose of 10 to 30mg (per
kilogramme of body weight) of vitamin C in their diet.
When fed on fresh hay, alongside good quality guinea pig pellets, deficiency is unlikely. In addition
spinach, broccoli, dandelion leaves, peppers and tomato fed in small quantities all offer high levels of
vitamin C.
With a good diet, supplementation is not necessary, unless the guinea pig stops eating, in which case
a veterinary examination is required.
As you have only recently acquired them, I would advise a check-up anyway which would include a
physical examination, with particular attention paid to the teeth and general advice on diet.
David Grant MBE was a vet at the RSPCA Harmsworth Hospital for Animals. You can write to him at
Express Yourself, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN. He is unable to reply to any readers'
letters.