Guinea Pig is damp to touch?

[Mystic_Willow]

So i haven't posted on here for some time as i have had pretty good health with my guineas. However i noticed today and yesterday that my male guinea pig Echo who is 2 years old is damp to touch. He is damp on his stomach and also round his back end.

I clean them 3 times a week and make sure there is no soiled/wet bedding for them to sit or lie on so really not sure why this could be happening. I cant make an appointment for the exotic/small animal vet at the minute as they are all isolating due to a multiple positive cases within they clinic....however i will be able to make on in 3 days.

Has anyone ever experienced this before or know what could be causing it.

Thanks in advance

 

[Wiebke]

So i haven't posted on here for some time as i have had pretty good health with my guineas. However i noticed today and yesterday that my male guinea pig Echo who is 2 years old is damp to touch. He is damp on his stomach and also round his back end.

I clean them 3 times a week and make sure there is no soiled/wet bedding for them to sit or lie on so really not sure why this could be happening. I cant make an appointment for the exotic/small animal vet at the minute as they are all isolating due to a multiple positive cases within they clinic....however i will be able to make on in 3 days.

Has anyone ever experienced this before or know what could be causing it.

Thanks in advance

Hi!

Please have him checked when you can get an appointment. Increased urination can have different causes.

Please switch to weighing him daily at the same time in the feeding cycle to see whether there is a noticeable weight loss/downhill tendency. Also keep an eye out whether as to whether he is drinking more/more often than usual.
Switch to spot cleaning the area he sleeps in daily and to to give him a gentle bum/belly wash/wipe with baby warm water to prevent urine scald.

 

[Mystic_Willow]

Hi!

Please have him checked when you can get an appointment. Increased urination can have different causes.

Please switch to weighing him daily at the same time in the feeding cycle to see whether there is a noticeable weight loss/downhill tendency. Also keep an eye out whether as to whether he is drinking more/more often than usual.
Switch to spot cleaning the area he sleeps in daily and to to give him a gentle bum/belly wash/wipe with baby warm water to prevent urine scald.

Thanks for the advise. I do all of the above as you have said. It is just a nightmare at the minute as that is the only exotic/small animal vet near me but hopefully a few days will be ok for him and then i will get him an appointment once they re open. He is pretty huge (not overweight by any means) so i dont think he is loosing weight to make him skinny but i will check to see if he looses some at the times which you have said above and if so then even take him to a normal vet and see if they can possibly do anything.

He also does seen to drink quite a bit. A lot more than my other male Darwin. What could cause that?

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the advise. I do all of the above as you have said. It is just a nightmare at the minute as that is the only exotic/small animal vet near me but hopefully a few days will be ok for him and then i will get him an appointment once they re open. He is pretty huge (not overweight by any means) so i dont think he is loosing weight to make him skinny but i will check to see if he looses some at the times which you have said above and if so then even take him to a normal vet and see if they can possibly do anything.

He also does seen to drink quite a bit. A lot more than my other male Darwin. What could cause that?

You use your kitchen scales for weighing. Cheap supermarket scales are perfectly OK for the job.
Please take the time to read and watch these guides here. A once weekly weigh-in together with a body check are part of the recommended life-long health monitoring regime to pick up on slowly developing problems early on. In the case of health concerns, you switch to weighing daily.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?

More on suddenly increased drinking in this guide here: All About Drinking And Bottles

Increased peeing usually comes with increased drinking. It can be a cystitis (bladder infection with or without a bladder stone) that starts with rather stale smelling pees but increased drinking/peeing can also be caused by kidney trouble or - fairly rarely but it does happen - by diabetes. The latter two are often connected with a marked weight loss. In sows, the leakiness can also originate from a fluid filled infected womb.