My guinea pig drinks about 1000ml every day. He often has puddles on the bottom of his cage when I clean it. He is also not as interested in fresh vegetables as my other guinea pig. What could cause this? Does it sound like diabetes?
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Beans&Toast
Adult Guinea Pig
1000ml, not 100ml? 1000ml is definitely far more than a guinea pig should be drinking in 1 day.
Are you sure the bottle isn't leaking or broken? I'd check that first especially if you're saying there's puddles in the cage when you clean it, could that be the water leaking?
How long has this been going on?
Drinking a large amount of water could be a dental issue, if he is infact drinking that much. One of my pigs who has recurring dental issues, the first sign is she starts to drink far more water than normal.
A sudden drastic water intake can also possibly indicate diabetes, although as far as I'm aware it's not all that common in piggies.
If you're absolutely certain it's not due to a leaking water bottle I'd definitely get your piggy to the vet for a check up.
Are you sure the bottle isn't leaking or broken? I'd check that first especially if you're saying there's puddles in the cage when you clean it, could that be the water leaking?
How long has this been going on?
Drinking a large amount of water could be a dental issue, if he is infact drinking that much. One of my pigs who has recurring dental issues, the first sign is she starts to drink far more water than normal.
A sudden drastic water intake can also possibly indicate diabetes, although as far as I'm aware it's not all that common in piggies.
If you're absolutely certain it's not due to a leaking water bottle I'd definitely get your piggy to the vet for a check up.
Thanks for the answer! We have changed his bottle once after thinking his old one was leaking but there was no change. It has been going on for a while now but we didn't realize it wasn't normal. I will definitely work on getting him to a vet.
Beans&Toast
Adult Guinea Pig
Yeah a vet check is definitely needed. There is a vet locator at the bottom of the page to help find a good vet - unfortunately not all vets are very knowledgeable when it comes to guinea pigs.
Do you weigh him weekly? Has he lost weight? If not start weighing him daily for now to check if he is loosing weight, especially as you said he's not really eating veg. Does he eat lots of hay?
Hi!
Please check firstly your bottle as to whether it is leaking and if necessary replace it with a new one or a drip dish to make sure.
Any guinea pig that is drinking more than 300 ml or whose water intake is suddenly rising and staying up without any change in climate (heat waves, air conditioning or the onset of indoors heating) needs to be vet checked.
Please weigh your boy daily instead of the regualr weekly weigh-in as hay makes around 80% or more of the daily food intake, and you cannot control that.
A sudden high water intake/loss of weight is usually indicative of kidney problems or diabetes and requires vet care.
Mild diabetes can generally be controlled with the diet.
Beans&Toast
Adult Guinea Pig
It's recommended to weigh guinea pigs once a week as any changes could indicate any possible issues. For any pig that is unwell for any reason/loosing weight it would be better to weigh daily to monitor how much they are eating. Although it may look like they are eating plenty of hay, it can be deceiving as they may not actually be eating enough to maintain their weight. Good luck in getting to the bottom of this, keep us updated!
D
DM030819
The wet cage suggests that the bottle is leaking or he's making it drip when he drinks.
I have a pig who drinks alot, at least 200ml a day. On occasion I notice the water bottle has emptied during the day and the bottle of the cage is wet. It's either him messing with it but I think the position of the bottle changes sometimes when he uses it and that allows it to drip.
I have a pig who drinks alot, at least 200ml a day. On occasion I notice the water bottle has emptied during the day and the bottle of the cage is wet. It's either him messing with it but I think the position of the bottle changes sometimes when he uses it and that allows it to drip.