Guinea pig diet — mandatory dietary vitamin C; no endogenous synthesis
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted professional veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.
Claims
*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* All guinea pigs need vitamin C in the diet; they cannot make it themselves because their L-gulonolactone oxidase gene is mutated, and deficiency damages type IV collagen, laminin, and elastin. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Overgrown or misaligned teeth are usually linked to poor nutrition (e.g., lack of vitamin C or fibre, or other husbandry gaps), though trauma and genetics can also play a role.