Drinking Water

[Piggielover150]

My guinea pig has suddenly started to drink a lot more water. At night, after they’ve eaten their veg, one of the piggies starts to constantly drink water for 10/15 minutes and the bottle has become louder :/ she keeps going back to drinking after every few minutes, I’ve only noticed this after she’s eaten veg at night, the other piggie isn’t has been drinking normally. Should I be worried? and if there a way to make the water bottle more quiet some how?

 

[Thepiggieshuman]

No advice for more water but I'm sure somebody will be along soon. Maybe try a bowl of water at night

 

[mindlessruffian]

I have a special needs guinea pig who does this strictly at night time. I bought him one of those bottles with the lever instead of the ball in the end where he drinks from. I bought mine in a Petco, but they sell them on Amazon as well.

 

[mindlessruffian]

I searched through Amazon quickly and couldn't find one, however I would suggest taking another look. This is what the end looks like

The downside is that it does leak and I have to place a bowl underneath it to save the bedding.

 

[gizzy]

Have you changed your pigs dried food?
What dried food do you feed? Maybe the salt levels are higher!
But as you have other pigs l would have thought thay also would have started to drink moor!
Other causes
bladder infections
Diabetes and kidney disease.

Bladder infections, often the wee will start to smell , and /or become thicker, sometimes containing blood
Bladder infections can be quickly taken care of with a course of antibiotic, but can cause other serious health complications if left unattended, so an examination at a guineapig savy is the best thing to do.


If vets evaluation of his bladder does not reveal anything, there are a few other things to consider:

Some Guinea Pigs are sensitive to the chemicals in cedar and pine bedding. These sensitivities can cause seveal differant symptoms. Changing to a paper-based bedding can help.

Guinea Pigs are sensitive to the sugars in root vegetables and tree fruits. Switch to treats like asparagus and berries as replacements for carrot and things like apple and pears.

 

[gizzy]

Urine Infection 10 Parameter Professional Urine Dip Test 100 DOCTOR GP HEALTH | eBay

You could test your pigs wee yourself

 

[Piggielover150]

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[Piggielover150]

Urine Infection 10 Parameter Professional Urine Dip Test 100 DOCTOR GP HEALTH | eBay

You could test your pigs wee yourself

Thank you! I give them muesli type guinea pig food which I’ve always given them, I know pellets are suppose to be better but I gave my previous piggies that type of food and had no problems

With the wee, I haven’t noticed any changes but I will keep a watch. I’ve started to give them leafy greens now (kale and cabbag) instead of carrots which I used to give daily.

 

[Lady Kelly]

It's worth doing a urine test to check for things like diabetes but also might be worth a vet check. Increased drinking can be a symptom of many things including ovarian cysts if I remember rightly. I remember my late Bea started drinking a lot more (and it was obvious it was her as she was the noisiest drinker I've ever heard). She had ovarian cysts and the start of renal failure which isn't uncommon in older piggies