Do Guinea Pigs Need Special Water?

[PeculiarPiggies]

I wanted to know if any specific water should be given to guinea pigs. I researched this topic, but couldn't find any exact answers, so I came to the forums. What are your suggestions?

 

[Lexipiggie]

I just refill their water bottle with regular tap water. I'm pretty sure they don't need anything special unless they have particular requirements

 

[acapae]

The only specialness would be if you chose to supplement vitamin C in there - @rome_italy does this.

Otherwise bog standard tap water is the way to go. The only time I potentially wouldn't give tap water is in the rare instance of your water company warning you of issues and telling you as a human to drink something else for X period of time while they fix things. In this situation, depending on the specifics, I may move animals over too.

 

[Louise's Zoo]

The water in my area is very hard so I use a Brita filter for myself and also for all my pets water inc the pigs.

 

[Betsy]

I have recently change over to Brita filtered water too. It stops the algae forming in it. I learnt that from someone on this forum. Sorry but I can't remember who it was. But I will always be grateful to whoever it was!

 

[flowerfairy]

I am so glad to see this thread. Was wondering what people did who lived in hard water areas. Brita filta here I come!

 

[Louise's Zoo]

I am so glad to see this thread. Was wondering what people did who lived in hard water areas. Brita filta here I come!

I just got a basic jug style one that I saw in Lidl for £10 (I mention Lidl way too much on this forum lol). The cartridges are super cheap on eBay/Amazon.

 

[rome_italy]

Actually I don't put the supplement drops into the bottle of course; I use a little syringe: 3 drops of water+2 drops of vit C and immediately given to the piggies.
For doing this and for filling the bottle (although the piggies only play with the water of the bottle, I don't think they drink it) I use the water for our tea. Rome has a very hard water which ruins the kettle, therefore I buy the water for newborns which has a very low fixed residual and is cheap and good for our kettle.
I had a filter long ago, but it did not work very well and my kettle and pots always had residuals...

 

[rome_italy]

I don't know if in UK there are bottles of "minimally mineralized" water, the one which here is suggested for preparing formula milk for newborns. Here in the land where strange things happen, we have riddles even about water! Look at this pic:


The "Sant' Anna" is the one recommended by pediatricians and it cost a double price than the "Blues" which is the one I buy from a discount supermarket (similar to Lidl). The water is THE SAME; it comes from the same mountain, springs from the same source, is checked by the same Univeristy Labs, it has the identical values, but Blues 1.5 liters costs 0.25€ (0.22£) and Sant' Anna costs 0.50€...
Anyway for me buying the Blues for our afternoon tea, giving a little amount also to the piggies, is cheaper than any filter...
(But we all drink water from the tap)

 

[Betsy]

I am so glad to see this thread. Was wondering what people did who lived in hard water areas. Brita filta here I come!

The water is very hard in Hampshire I agree with you there @flowerfairy!

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

I just use standard tap water, but some piggy slaves who have pigs who have bladder problems (cystitis, stones etc) filter the water to reduce the amount of calcium they are getting.

 

[Flutterby]

piggies prone to stones etc benifit from filtered water if you live in an area with particularly hard water. Otherwise tap water is fine. Please don't add anything to the water as it's highly likely to put your piggy off drinking it due to the change in taste. Vitamin C can be added through correct diet management if needed.

 

[Freela]

It depends on the quality of tap water where you are. If your pigs have bladder stone issues and you have a lot of calcium in your water, you may choose to give it filtered to remove minerals. We run it through the Brita because we previously had a pig with stone issues and now it's just a habit.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

i just use tap water but rinse out the bottles everyday so it is always clean and fresh.

 

[PeculiarPiggies]

Thanks for all the facts guys! I think I'm going to stick to Brita filtered water because I don't wanna risk any bladder stones. Also, the tab water where I live is super strong and doesn't taste good. I never trusted tab water.