13 week old male guinea pig drinking issues

[cashfield22]

I got my two male guinea pigs about a month or so ago. They’re about 13 weeks old. We’ve noticed today that one of their urines are quite dark and know that he’s not a fan of drinking much the other one will happily drink all the time ontop of the high water veggies. When we are out he may have a drink but as we aren’t there we can’t be sure. He gets plenty of high water veggies, is eating fine, not in any pain and there’s no other signs of dehydration other than the dark urine. Should I be concerned? Or is he fine?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

The amount an individual piggy drinks will vary quite widely - some barely drink anything, others lots. It’s also worth noting that they more fluid they take via their food then the less they are likely to drink from a bottle.
Generally speaking, as long as his intake is normal for him then there isn’t usually a concern. It is if there is a change from normal habits that you would definitely become concerned.
The need to drink comes before the need to eat so this means that if a piggy is eating normally (and is either gaining weight at each weekly weight check (if young) or maintaining their weight at each check (once stopped growing)) then they are drinking.

If you are worried though then we would advise you see a vet.
Equally we do advise that new piggies do have a vet check done so if you haven’t already had them seen since you got them, then do arrange an appointment and speak to them about his urine and drinking habits.

I’ve added a few guides below which can help further

All About Drinking, Bottles and Dehydration

Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones

Weight monitoring and management

 

[cashfield22]

I got my two male guinea pigs about a month or so ago. They’re about 13 weeks old. We’ve noticed today that one of their urines are quite dark and know that he’s not a fan of drinking much the other one will happily drink all the time ontop of the high water veggies. When we are out he may have a drink but as we aren’t there we can’t be sure. He gets plenty of high water veggies, is eating fine, not in any pain and there’s no other signs of dehydration other than the dark urine. Should I be concerned? Or is he fine?

He’s also very very happy. Still running around and playing with his brother. Just wanted a second opinion

 

[cashfield22]

Welcome to the forum

The amount an individual piggy drinks will vary quite widely - some barely drink anything, others lots. It’s also worth noting that they more fluid they take via their food then the less they are likely to drink from a bottle.
Generally speaking, as long as his intake is normal for him then there isn’t usually a concern. It is if there is a change from normal habits that you would definitely become concerned.
The need to drink comes before the need to eat so this means that if a piggy is eating normally (and is either gaining weight at each weekly weight check (if young) or maintaining their weight at each check (once stopped growing)) then they are drinking.

If you are worried though then we would advise you see a vet.
Equally we do advise that new piggies do have a vet check done so if you haven’t already had them seen since you got them, then do arrange an appointment and speak to them about his urine and drinking habits.

I’ve added a few guides below which can help further

All About Drinking, Bottles and Dehydration

Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/weight-monitoring-and-management.171577/

Hi thank you we check them over daily and we have a camera in the cage as well to monitor them closely as well to see if they’re eating. His intake in food hasn’t changed and is gaining a good amount of weight each week. Is the colour of his urine okay or should we be worried? I’m not concerned as he looks healthy and seems very content and happy I just wanted a second opinion as I’ve never owned piggy’s this young before

 

[Storm1974]

Mine don't drink from the water bottle at all!

So, I always spray water (low calcium spring/mineral water not tap!) onto their veggies and they always plenty of cucumber throughout the day as it's almost all water, and extra veg! This seems to work really well for our lot and they've basically been like this since we had them two years ago with no issues.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

Please read Wiebke's guide to Pees and Stones, which is linked above in Post 2. There are photos of different colour urines with an explanation of each. I hope you can find the particular colour there.