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Any Tips To Encourage Water Drinking?

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Pinki

Pinki

Junior Guinea Pig
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I have one guinea who just never seems to drink from the bottle and recently there has been a bit of sludge in her bladder. So now we are syringing an egg cup of water every day to flush the bladder which helps….but it would be great if she started drinking herself!
Someone recommended a drop or two of concentrated cranberry juice (no sugar version) in the water bottle. Anyone tried this?

Any other ideas to kick start the drinking?
 
Is this new? It sounds like you should consult with a vet, since obviously water is very important. Do you add any vitamins to her water? That can alter the taste and throw them off their drinking. Maybe offer both a bowl and a bottle? Still, I would see a vet.
 
:agr: With piglet_and_rogers_mama. A vet trip is in order.
You could try putting the water bottle next to dry nuggets. My boys drink more when eating their nuggets to make them softer.
 
On my visit to John Chitty this week he told me to make sure Rodney has plenty of fluid & that I can add flavours to His water - apple, carrot, anything he likes as long as it is very dilute so just a trace.

That may have just been a short term thing tho.

There is something called citri something that can be added to which they apparently love & it helps ward off bugs. Let me get you the proper name hold on....
 
Some piggies seem to get enough water from their veggies & others need to drunk from a bottle. If this piggy has never drank from a bottle then it's just the way she is. If it's some recent change then a visit to to vets would be advised especially as you mention sludge.
 
Sorry I should have said this is not a recent thing so it's not a vet visit situation…this is how she has been for the last 3 years!

Guss it's just the way it is...
 
Some days my boys seem to not drink at all, other days they drink more & amazingly on a weekend when I am trying to have a lie in - they drink loads! Haha
 
Instead of a bottle you could try having a bowl of water, she may not understand or like the look of a bottle it might just be worth a try but make sure you clean it out regually if there is too much sawdust grass hair or old food in it :) hope it helps
 
Have you shook the bottle for starting the vacuum?
Try testing by touching the bottle mouth piece with your finger.
 
All my pigs are good drinkers and they have a drop of Citricidal in their water to ward off infections. I don't know if it makes them drink more, but some have started to drink more since having it.

I don't usually recommend cranberry juice as if a pig has Interstitial cystitis it has been known to make their symptoms much worse. There are very mixed opinions on this though, but hearing about a pig that haemorraged blood after having it was enough to convince me. Humans with Intersitial cystitis are also advised against having it by their doctors.
 
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