drinking urine

[Paulaluvpiggy]

I have looked everywhere to see if this is normal and havent found info on it. I have two piggies. when the first met they tried to kill each other after the 2nd week...drew blood chunks of fur and skin missing ear ripped in half. After 6 months they were placed in same cage on accident and now get along perfectly no fighting! i was rather surprised since i rread once they drew blood they could never bond. anyways since I reintroduced I see them mark territory by peeing and the younger on drinks it, if the older one pees in the empty food cup the younger one will drink it dry! they have plent water and food. he also both of their feces which i've read is normal just not sure about the urine. is this normal should i be concered...he also licks my neck and hands a lot. id appreciate ideas and info on this. thanks!

 

[Gia]

I have looked everywhere to see if this is normal and havent found info on it. I have two piggies. when the first met they tried to kill each other after the 2nd week...drew blood chunks of fur and skin missing ear ripped in half. After 6 months they were placed in same cage on accident and now get along perfectly no fighting! i was rather surprised since i rread once they drew blood they could never bond. anyways since I reintroduced I see them mark territory by peeing and the younger on drinks it, if the older one pees in the empty food cup the younger one will drink it dry! they have plent water and food. he also both of their feces which i've read is normal just not sure about the urine. is this normal should i be concered...he also licks my neck and hands a lot. id appreciate ideas and info on this. thanks!

I have no idea why they do that, but that's very strange...

 

[Dindypig]

Following. I know that guineas will sniff and like fresh wee to check it out.

 

[Reenie]

I've never heard of this, but I'm thinking perhaps he is low on some essential nutrient which is present in the other pig's urine. A bit like pregnant women wanting to eat strange things. Liking your hands could just be piggy kisses, but if my theory is right, it could also be for something in your sweat. (I don't mean that you're sweaty lol) it might be worth asking the vet. Hopefully someone will know more. X

 

[Little Piglets]

Reenie is probably right. It might be something in the urine that it's "needing".

While a complete shot in the dark here, I've read that high amounts of calcium can "sludge" up the urine, etc. If it eats a lot of say Alfalfa hay, and the calcium is somehow getting passed into the urine, maybe that's enough to get the other one to take it? Like say it's smelling it getting passed?

 

[SupertrampsBR]

Mine do that to.

 

[Piggyloves89]

I have two 5 days old piggies that are siblings.
Mother died few hours after birth and am now hand raising them giving small mammal milk (made for baby rabbits and guinea pigs) mixing some vitamin c liquid (also made for small mammals) as well.

I noticed since yesterday that they are chasing each other around to lick each other’s butt and drinking each other’s urine. They are not eating too much grass so they don’t poop as much right now.
I have pellets, grass hay and alfalfa cube in their cage but they only nibble on them occasionally. They seem to be spending a lot of their moving time on licking each other (or their own) and drinking urine.

If they are missing something, would like to know what that would be. I was giving them pellet slushies in a syringe since they wouldn’t eat their pellets...but once I found them their milk and vitamins, I stopped force feeding them the slushees. Not sure if I need to force feed them their pellet slushies again?

 

[Claire W]

I have two 5 days old piggies that are siblings.
Mother died few hours after birth and am now hand raising them giving small mammal milk (made for baby rabbits and guinea pigs) mixing some vitamin c liquid (also made for small mammals) as well.

I noticed since yesterday that they are chasing each other around to lick each other’s butt and drinking each other’s urine. They are not eating too much grass so they don’t poop as much right now.
I have pellets, grass hay and alfalfa cube in their cage but they only nibble on them occasionally. They seem to be spending a lot of their moving time on licking each other (or their own) and drinking urine.

If they are missing something, would like to know what that would be. I was giving them pellet slushies in a syringe since they wouldn’t eat their pellets...but once I found them their milk and vitamins, I stopped force feeding them the slushees. Not sure if I need to force feed them their pellet slushies again?

I'm afraid I can’t answer your questions but as this is an old thread, I’m going to tag our pregnancy experts so that they see this and answer your questions @Wiebke @pig in the city @VickiA

 

[Wiebke]

I have no idea why they do that, but that's very strange...

It is somewhat more uncommon but not unheard of that guinea pigs will drink another piggy's urine; they will sniff and lick it as the pheromones in it give them vital information about the status of the other guinea pig. As there seems to be an unusually strong latent dominance/territory component in your boars' relationship due to their initial meeting, this is likely just a stronger version of the more normal behaviour.

Please always give piggies time to settle and to get to know each other before introducing on neutral ground in order to minimise the risk of fear-aggressive overreactions during bonding; ideally that is several days of living alongside. Any guinea pig that is just put in the same cage is perceived/will feel as an intruder and the territorial aggression potential is very high (this goes for any gender) - not because the piggies are aggressive by nature but because you have put them into a dangerous situation they would absolutely avoid if they had any choice.

More about bonding and fear-aggression in this illustrated guide here: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

I would strongly recommend that you keep an eye out on your boys as there is an underlying conflict/dominance potential, which currently only expresses itself in overactive scent marking/scenting. It can flare up anytime your dominant boy is ill/older/there are changes to the territory, i.e. whenever the hierarchy is in question or needs to be re-established.

Unlimited hay should make over 80% of the daily food intake. The more you encourage your boys to eat hay, the healthier they will be and the longer they can live. A hay based diet with a limited but balanced amount of veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day more as daily treats than as the mainstay of the diet can add 1-2 years to a piggy's life, keep the teeth strong, boost gut health and through this the immune system and help minimise the risk of avoidable illnesses.
Food bowls, water bottles and hideys with only one exit can also become quickly flashpoints of fights, so please have anything in twos, spaced well apart from the other same item. Feed pellets and veg only in portions that can be eaten in one go and remove the bowls in between meals.
You can find more 'do/don't' tips to help stabilise your boar bonds in this guide here: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Our comprehensive diet guide, which looks at all food groups: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[pig in the city]

I have two 5 days old piggies that are siblings.
Mother died few hours after birth and am now hand raising them giving small mammal milk (made for baby rabbits and guinea pigs) mixing some vitamin c liquid (also made for small mammals) as well.

I noticed since yesterday that they are chasing each other around to lick each other’s butt and drinking each other’s urine. They are not eating too much grass so they don’t poop as much right now.
I have pellets, grass hay and alfalfa cube in their cage but they only nibble on them occasionally. They seem to be spending a lot of their moving time on licking each other (or their own) and drinking urine.

If they are missing something, would like to know what that would be. I was giving them pellet slushies in a syringe since they wouldn’t eat their pellets...but once I found them their milk and vitamins, I stopped force feeding them the slushees. Not sure if I need to force feed them their pellet slushies again?

Having just hand reared two baby piggies successfully l can strongly recommend Emeraid herbivore as a feed. I didn't use milk at all and both babies thrived and loved the taste of it.
I added extra vitamin C.
Both babies were eating veggies for themselves in small amounts from the early days. Its important to put them with an adult sow or two so they can learn how to be piggies, plus they get the healthy bacteria from the adults pooh.

 

[Piggyloves89]

Having just hand reared two baby piggies successfully l can strongly recommend Emeraid herbivore as a feed. I didn't use milk at all and both babies thrived and loved the taste of it.
I added extra vitamin C.
Both babies were eating veggies for themselves in small amounts from the early days. Its important to put them with an adult sow or two so they can learn how to be piggies, plus they get the healthy bacteria from the adults pooh.

We have an adult sow that is not their mother, but was unsure how to introduce her to the babies. Should I put the babies in the adult sow cage or or the sow in the babies’? Always afraid that the adult might bite them or hurt the babies so I haven’t tried either yet. But I know they should have an adult guinea around since they won’t try out the veggies I give them.

 

[pig in the city]

We have an adult sow that is not their mother, but was unsure how to introduce her to the babies. Should I put the babies in the adult sow cage or or the sow in the babies’? Always afraid that the adult might bite them or hurt the babies so I haven’t tried either yet. But I know they should have an adult guinea around since they won’t try out the veggies I give them.

You can do it either way. Usually the sow will naturally take the babies under her wing so to speak . Its most unlikely that she will harm them. Sometimes they are a little rough with them, the babies may try to suckle from her and she will not like that. But that's normal behaviour and the babies need to learn the rules.
I realise that we have hijacked this thread. Perhaps start a thread for the babies in the pregnancy section?

 

[Wiebke]

I have two 5 days old piggies that are siblings.
Mother died few hours after birth and am now hand raising them giving small mammal milk (made for baby rabbits and guinea pigs) mixing some vitamin c liquid (also made for small mammals) as well.

I noticed since yesterday that they are chasing each other around to lick each other’s butt and drinking each other’s urine. They are not eating too much grass so they don’t poop as much right now.
I have pellets, grass hay and alfalfa cube in their cage but they only nibble on them occasionally. They seem to be spending a lot of their moving time on licking each other (or their own) and drinking urine.

If they are missing something, would like to know what that would be. I was giving them pellet slushies in a syringe since they wouldn’t eat their pellets...but once I found them their milk and vitamins, I stopped force feeding them the slushees. Not sure if I need to force feed them their pellet slushies again?

Hi! Please open your own support thread in our specially monitored pregnancy/baby section. Advising two different members on two different topics at the same time is very confusing.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...pport-feeding-orphans-and-tiny-babies.159468/

 

[Piggyloves89]

You can do it either way. Usually the sow will naturally take the babies under her wing so to speak . Its most unlikely that she will harm them. Sometimes they are a little rough with them, the babies may try to suckle from her and she will not like that. But that's normal behaviour and the babies need to learn the rules.
I realise that we have hijacked this thread. Perhaps start a thread for the babies in the pregnancy section?

Apologies! Made a new thread https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/hand-rearing-orphans-introducing-to-a-sow.175663/

Still not sure why they drink each other’s pee though lol