Excess Vitamin C in a rabbit's diet?

[Flashy]

What would happen to a rabbit if it got say 16 times (or a very large amount) the amount of vitamin C in the diet than is recommended?

Related to that, does anyone happen to know what happens to a guinea pig if it is vitamin C deficient and is missing a huge chunk of vitamin c from it' diet?

(by the way, this is not for me, this is, let's call it research).

 

[pamnock]

Vitamin C is water soluble, so the body easily discards excess vitamin C. Megadoses have been linked to cancer, but this would take a LOT of vitamin C over a LONG period of time.

Vitamin C deficiency is a more serious concern. Like humans, cavies develop scurvy from vitamin C deficiency. Symptoms include thrifty appearance, stiff joints, and paralysis.

Some mammals, like rabbits, are able to synthesize their own vitamin C in addition to to obtaining the vitamin from dark leafy green veggies. For this reason, it is not as important to provide a vitamin C supplement to rabbits. Humans, like guinea pigs have a genetic mutation that interferes with the body's ability to synthesize vitamin C, so it is an essential vitamin that must be provided through diet.

Pam

 

[Flashy]

Thanks for the info Pam, that's awesome.