[Gpdd] [CARE] Vitamin C content

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

I just wanted to correct an error made by Penny, who said that peppers and  
tomatoes had a lower vitamin C content than cauliflower and carrots. According  
to Seagull's Guinea Pig Compendium 
_http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/VitaminC.html_ (http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/VitaminC.html) ,  RED 
peppers and summer tomatoes have fairly high levels of vitamin C - certainly  
more than carrots! Of course, one must be careful with acidic fruits like 
apples  and tomatoes, as too many can cause mouth sores. Dandelions are high in 
Vitamin  C, but contain oxalic acid, so could cause the formation of bladder 
stones in  excess.
 
Has anyone been able to ascertain the Vitamin C content of fresh grass?  Like 
Penny, I feed this almost every day, and it is a great favourite, but I  have 
never known how much vitamin C it contains. 
 
I only give mine a vitamin C supplement in their water when they appear  
slightly under par - well, to be honest, it's usually if they have lost a little  
weight on two consecutive weigh-ins, or if they have been under stress, like  
when they are first moved indoors for the winter or a cagemate goes to The  
Bridge. I'm sure I read somewhere that if one gives a constant supplement, one  
raises their need for vitamin C and they will develop scurvy if ever the  
supplement is withdrawn. Like Penny, I try to rely on fruit and veg.
 
Are runner beans and peas really okay for guinea pigs? I thought I read  
somewhere they had too high a fat content? I give a very few as a special treat  
when I have them in the garden, but not otherwise. They do like the leaves of  
the pea plants though!
 
Condolences to any one who has recently lost a piggie and not received  
condolences from me - a cat piddled on our computer keyboard and destroyed it,  so 
we could receive emails but not write them.
 
Debbie and the 14 Dolly Mixtures