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Drinking loads?

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jnenbnb

jnenbnb

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Hi everyone, ive noticed lately that one of my 7month old sows, Bee, has started drinking loads. Its probably been about a week, she has never been interested in the water at all, their bottle was always full when i changed it. I havent fed them anything different and there's no way she is pregnant! She's lived with Bumble all her life and they are both 100% girls, she hasnt been with any boars except Ralfie for half an hour but he's castrated. Any ideas? are there any veg's that can make them drink more? there's no blood in her wee and she isnt squeeking when she wees. thanks for any help, I'm a bit worried :-\
Love Emma x
 
Thanks Sammy, I'm a bit worried, obviously thinking the worst like renal problems or diabetes :'( I'm off to weigh her xx
 
I think she is a bit young for diabetes to be honest.
She could have a cystitis though. is she peeing OK?
 
Lennie virtually ignored his water bottle for months and now he is drinking loads. Mine seem to suddenly drink loads and then dont for a while. No health probs with them except Lennie `s fungal has flared up a little again and sorting that out :-\
 
Aw hope it gets better soon fiona, ive just got her in the run waiting for her to wee so i can check it but she's not working with me ::) ive fed her melon and cucumber to try and help her along lol! really hope its nothing serious, couldnt have anything bad happening to my little Bee, she's my baby, always there for a stroke and to lick my hand :smitten:
 
One of mine is the same one day she will drink half a bottle and the next day hardly anything!
Hopefully it's nothing to worry about :)
x
 
I find that some veg makes my pigs drink more...celery might have that effect as it's a diuretic. Is you're guinea maintaining her weight ok? Is she otherwise behaving as normal?

I've had a diabetic guinea pig at just a few months old, but she didn't have any of the typical symptoms of diabetes, only the fact that her wee was full of glucose! We treated her by putting her on a strict diet off cabbage oats and hay for almost a year, and she's back to normal now.

I think some of the dry food mix can contain glucose which some guineas find it difficult to handle so check the ingredients on the back of your dry food. A good dry food brand is oxbow cavy performance if they are under a year old or oxbow cavy cuisine if they are older than a year. Science selective is also good. :)

here's the link for urine test strips you can buy in the UK: http://www.midmeds.co.uk/bayer-multistix-p-231.html
 
Before you do any tests make sure your guinea food does NOT contain colourings. Colourings can give a false positive reading for diabetes and if Insulin is given when it isn't needed it could be harmful!
 
Yes definitely. And even if she does turn out to be diabetic I would say try the cabbage oats and hay diet first before resorting to insulin injections.
 
Patchwork_Alice said:
Yes definitely. And even if she does turn out to be diabetic I would say try the cabbage oats and hay diet first before resorting to insulin injections.
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Per chance did you post this advice on another forum too? I couldn't believe it when I heard it the first time. It might have worked for your pig but I'm surprised it didn't suffer from severe malnutrition from having such an unbalanced diet. Cabbage is far too gassy and can be ridiculously high in calcium and oxalates depending on the type used. A pig not used to it and then thrown onto a diet composed of cabbage as their main vet staple could also end up with serious bloat. The last thing a diabetic pig needs is bladder stones and bloat. Oats are almost pure carbohydrate which is useless for them.

Urine tests can rule out bladder stones and diabetes and they're very simple to get done.

There are, however, piggies that just like to drink and/or play with the bottle.
 
I think it depends on the type of cabbage you use with reference to bloat, and if you make sure it's fresh and new cabbage and don't give too much at once it should be OK. Cabbage in this case includes all brassicas so that's broccoli too and other greens. We've given cabbage to our pigs for years and had no problems with bloat but like people all pigs are different and some are more susceptible to certain things than others. Yes monitor for bladder and kidney problems, but a younger pig will be less likely to suffer from these. You have to take the pig off the diet regularly anyway to see if she is back to normal otherwise she'll be on that diet all her life!

The point of this diet is that it does not contain any glucose, but carbohydrates (in the oats) which are broken down slowly and therefore do not upset the balance of glucose in the system.

Like I said my guinea pig was on that diet on and off for almost a year with no ill effects. But I would definitely recommend getting advice from Vedra about this as she was the person who suggested it. :)

No I don't think I've mentioned this anywhere before.
 
and this advice is only something to try IF she has diabetes before going on to insulin which can be harmful. It's true that some pigs just like to drink more than others, though, so let's hops she's one of those. :)
 
She is behaving normally, she's a small piggy and has slowed down with weight gain lately and so has her sister, i just thought that was because they're nearing being adults and dont need to put it on as fast, she weighs 2lb (920g) and has been around that mark for a few weeks. She has pellets, they dont have colourings in. Are there any other signs of diabetes other than drinking a lot? What would you define as a lot? Its just that she was never really interested in it and now she drinks quite a bit. How would i change her diet and not her sisters? What are the consequences of diabetes? :( really hope she's ok she's only a baby! x
 
Please do not worry too much! 920g is a healthy weight. As long as she maintains that weight and does not start to lose weight then I would not be too concerned. If you are anxious about diabetes though, do take a urine test.

To do this, buy the urine test strips... (I use bayer multistix) syringe feed the piggy some water and/or give her some cucumber and put her in a super clean plastic box which has no residue of anything in it whatsoever. (to ensure this rinse well with water) and wait until she wees. Then put her back, take up the wee in a different syringe (marked so that you know which one has had the wee in it) and drop one drop on the square on the strip that tests for glucose. Follow instructions but with bayer multistix the colour should not change if negative. Although they don't like being in the plastic box very much it is the only way to do it!

If she is positive then I would suggest taking her to a piggy savvy vet or consulting Vedra before allowing anyone to give her insulin injections.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks, she seems ok, wondering why i keep picking her up and asking if she is ok lol! She seems to take a little mouthful then leave it, rather than big gulps for ages? She seems to either put on about 20g or lose a couple, never lost a dramatic amount x
 
Pigs with diabietis normally eat more as well as drink more and lose weight.I would wait afew days before rushing to a vet.As other members have said,piggies will often start drinking more for a few day for no obvious reason.
 
Ok thanks, she eats like a pig lol but always has!she hasnt lost weight though, well no more than a couple of grams in a week. i will keep my eye on her and see how she goes for a few days xx
 
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