Guinea pig stopped drinking water beyond veggies (but otherwise seems fine)

[crn001]

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that my guinea pig seems to have almost completely stopped drinking from her water bottles, even though she used to drink multiple times before.

We do give her wet veggies (including cucumber), so it’s possible she’s getting all of her water needs from there.

But I don’t understand why she would suddenly stop drinking any supplemental water beyond that.

Other than not drinking as much, she seems to be totally fine. She’s still active and eating normally (squeaking when it’s veggie time and such).

She still seems interested and social, and she also does her tricks that we practice.

I don’t see any signs of strain/pain when she urinates and her urine and poop still look pretty normal, although maybe a bit less urine than before.

She has not lost any weight either.

Basically, other than suddenly drinking noticeably less water than before, I don’t see any change in her.

Is this a normal process of aging? She’s around five years old now. Or is there something else that I need to be checking for?

Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please do have her checked by a vet to be safe. Some piggies don’t drink much as that is their normal but any change in their normal should be an alert to a potential issue.
Perhaps it is just because she is getting enough from her veg but it’s not worth leaving any change in behaviour unchecked.

I hope she is ok.

All About Drinking And Bottles

 

[crn001]

Please do have her checked by a vet to be safe. Some piggies don’t drink much as that is their normal but any change in their normal should be an alert to a potential issue.
Perhaps it is just because she is getting enough from her veg but it’s not worth leaving any change in behaviour unchecked.

I hope she is ok.

All About Drinking And Bottles

Thank you. I will try to get her to a vet but it's hard because I live in a country that doesn't really have vets with guinea pig experience (Vietnam).

I read the link that you shared and feel a little bit better after this part - "The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and thirdly the need to eat!".

She definitely doesn't have issues eating. I work from home and I see her eating Timothy hay all day, as well as her Oxbow pellets. She also gets super excited when we give her veggies and inhales them as quickly as possible.

Of course as I'm responding to this post I just heard the sound of the water bottle and walked out to her drinking from it. She always seems to work that way. So now I'm not sure what's up haha. I know for a fact that she hasn't been drinking before because I've been marking the bottles for weeks now and I can hear the sound from my office.

So now I have my fingers crossed that she will continue to go back to her normal drinking habits.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Make sure you keep up with the lifelong weekly with checks so you can ensure your piggies are eating plenty of hay.

If you could wait your profile to add your country, then it will show up on every post and it makes it easier for us to advise you regarding what products you may be able to access and gives us an idea of what vet care might be available to you.

I hope she is ok

Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Wiebke]

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that my guinea pig seems to have almost completely stopped drinking from her water bottles, even though she used to drink multiple times before.

We do give her wet veggies (including cucumber), so it’s possible she’s getting all of her water needs from there.

But I don’t understand why she would suddenly stop drinking any supplemental water beyond that.

Other than not drinking as much, she seems to be totally fine. She’s still active and eating normally (squeaking when it’s veggie time and such).

She still seems interested and social, and she also does her tricks that we practice.

I don’t see any signs of strain/pain when she urinates and her urine and poop still look pretty normal, although maybe a bit less urine than before.

She has not lost any weight either.

Basically, other than suddenly drinking noticeably less water than before, I don’t see any change in her.

Is this a normal process of aging? She’s around five years old now. Or is there something else that I need to be checking for?

Thank you!

Hi

First and foremost, please check any waterbottles for a potentially blocked nozzle from both sides of it. It does happen.

As a rule of thumb the need to drink comes before the need to need to eat so as long as your piggy is eating normally and their weight is stable they are not thirsty.

Have her vet checked if you have concerns but pleae be aware that with warmer and very wet Spring weather this year, radiators are drying out the air in rooms much less, which can also impact on how much your piggies drink.

All About Drinking And Bottles (includes bottle and drinking problems)
Weight - Monitoring and Management (hay is usually the first food group to suffer if there are developing health issues. It makes over three quarters of the daily food intake and cannot be controlled by eye only)

Please see a vet for a health check if you have any concerns.