How Do I Know If My Guinea Pig Is Dehydrated?

[TrisFrayPotter]

Hi! My guinea pig's companion died about a month ago, so now she lives inside for most of the time. We have not seen her drink out of her water bottle at all, and the water level in her inside hutch has not gone down (I think she drinks a lot at a time from her outside bottle, then doesn't drink much for a couple of days. Her urine also dries a very white colour. She has a lot more fruit and vegetables than she used to, and she eats a LOT of bamboo. Other than her urine being a white colour, everything else is normal, and she hasn't lost or gained any weight. I'm just wondering if it would be a good idea to syringe-'feed' her water, or if I should just leave it and see how she goes.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! My guinea pig's companion died about a month ago, so now she lives inside for most of the time. We have not seen her drink out of her water bottle at all, and the water level in her inside hutch has not gone down (I think she drinks a lot at a time from her outside bottle, then doesn't drink much for a couple of days. Her urine also dries a very white colour. She has a lot more fruit and vegetables than she used to, and she eats a LOT of bamboo. Other than her urine being a white colour, everything else is normal, and she hasn't lost or gained any weight. I'm just wondering if it would be a good idea to syringe-'feed' her water, or if I should just leave it and see how she goes.

Hi! The white in her urine is excess calcium, not a sign of dehydration. You may want to check your diet and if possible switch to a diet that is lower in calcium in order to avoid the build up of bladder stones. Our sample diet in the diet guide is a good example for a balanced low calcium diet with plenty of vitamin C, magnesium and other trace elements.
If she eats more veg and fruit, then she won't need to drink as much; the temperature may also play a role in her drinking less. Please be careful to not overfeed fruit, as it can cause cheilitis, a nasty lip infection. Watery veg is a better and safer source of fluid. Please make sure that she still has got access to unlimited hay at all times.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes

Do you know that there are two good guinea pig rescues in the wider Brisbane area that allow you to take your guinea pig for letting it find a new rescue mate of its choice? That would be the best thing you can do for your bereaved girl. A guinea pig is never too old for companionship.
Queensland Guinea Pig Refuge in Bracken Ridge: QLD Guinea Pig Refuge | Facebook
The Fox Residence Guinea Pig Sanctuary, Mt Cotton area: The Fox Residence Guinea Pig Sanctuary | Facebook

 

[Kylie80]

Sorry to hijack your thread but thanks for the refuge links Wiebke, I didn't know they were there but it will come in handy for if i want to get a new Guinea Pig or replace one

My piggies do white pee's sometimes and I was concerned ( more like freaked right out) too at first until I read up on what caused it. They also never drank from their bottle up until recently because it's been so hot here in Australia and because of the aircon but I think before they were getting the fluid they needed from their veggies.

 

[gizzy]

One of the easiest ways to check for dehydration is the eyes!
Difficult to explain , but if you gently ease down the bottom lid with your finger and look at the gap between the eye ball
And the socket (bone) if there is little or no gap then your pig is probabaly not dehydrated ,
But the wider the gap gets between the eye ball and socket the greater the level of dehydration

A good way to judge is to look at the eye/socket gap of a known healthy pig. There should be little to no gap.

NB an elderly pig in good health that is more than 9 years old "may" have a slight gap

 

[Freela]

It's possible to do the 'pinch' test... if you gently pitch the skin at the nape of the neck and watch how quickly it goes back to normal. Dehydrated animals have skin that takes a long time to go back to normal.

 

[TrisFrayPotter]

T

Hi! The white in her urine is excess calcium, not a sign of dehydration. You may want to check your diet and if possible switch to a diet that is lower in calcium in order to avoid the build up of bladder stones. Our sample diet in the diet guide is a good example for a balanced low calcium diet with plenty of vitamin C, magnesium and other trace elements.
If she eats more veg and fruit, then she won't need to drink as much; the temperature may also play a role in her drinking less. Please be careful to not overfeed fruit, as it can cause cheilitis, a nasty lip infection. Watery veg is a better and safer source of fluid. Please make sure that she still has got access to unlimited hay at all times.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes

Do you know that there are two good guinea pig rescues in the wider Brisbane area that allow you to take your guinea pig for letting it find a new rescue mate of its choice? That would be the best thing you can do for your bereaved girl. A guinea pig is never too old for companionship.
Queensland Guinea Pig Refuge in Bracken Ridge: QLD Guinea Pig Refuge | Facebook
The Fox Residence Guinea Pig Sanctuary, Mt Cotton area: The Fox Residence Guinea Pig Sanctuary | Facebook

Thank-you so much! We've been worried about her, as it's been really hot here, but she has had a lot of lettuce, ect, and that she did have a lot of water-filled foods did occur to us, but I just wanted to make sure.