Drinking water alot

[Banton213]

ok hey guys. I'm new to the forum here, good to see other people have guinea pigs. I'm mainly into female guinea pigs because I want them as gentle as possible. whether thats true or not I dont know. I had my past guinea pig shelby pass away for strange reasons. she just died one day...i think they treated her bad at the pet shop because she would always be on her guard beyond needed. how do I know this? because my new guinea (Chloe) is acting alot better, isnt so scared and is behaving right. Ok, here's my question...I notice chloe like to drink alot of water...so much that she hurt her snout and was bleeding and grew a scab but its healed over now. Now my question is, what leads her to drink alot? I hope she's not sick or anyhting. Its gone down some but still there. Could it be this Cali heat? hmm i dont know. but i have so many guinea questions!

PS: Chloe is now 7 weeks old. We got her when she was 4 weeks old. About how long does it take them to get super fat like the ones in the movies and pictures? just wondering. thanks!

 

[kaoskat]

First, congrats on your new piggy. She could be drinking alot for a number of reasons. I have a few who just drink more than the others and that's how they are. You may want to have her see a vet though as it could be a sign of a serious illness, among them, diabetes and kidney problems.

Well, ideally she won't be a fat piggy but a nice healthy one. Her build and body shape as well as how quickly she grows has alot of contributing factors and it really can't be said if she will ever get very big. How much she eats, how much exercise she gets, as well as genetics, stress levels and many other things factor in. I even have 2 females from the same litter who were treated and fed just the same on opposite ends of the spectrum. Anya is 1 1/2 lbs and Little Soli is 4 lbs (yes I know she's huge). They have a large mother and their grandfather (on their mother's side) was 1 1/2 lbs. They just took after different family members. Both are healthy (except Soli really is too fat), just built very differently. She should reach her full size at about 16 months though. If her eating or drinking habits suddenly change or she starts rapidly gaining or losing weight, she should be taken to the vet to make sure nothing is wrong and to fix it if there is a problem. Sudden changes in weight or food and water intake are often the first signs of trouble.

 

[michellemuffin]

hi you out of my 16 girls they are all different sizes and shapes and as already said a lot of it depends on genetics, lilac is a skinny but calm and happy little girl but all 6 of her babies (2 litters) have been hugh compared to her, her only daughter is in with her and is a cuddly fat if you know what I mean while lilac is skinny, both get the same food adn excercise etc, so genetics makes a hugh diffrence, as for the drinking a lot, if she has been near a boy the other option could be pregnancy, but diabetes and kidney probs are a strong sign, but to be honest my pigs all 34 of them are drinking non stop with the heat,
welcome to the forum hope you get all your answers here, I'm sure you will

 

[starshine]

For now I would just keep an eye on your little one and her drinking habits.

All my pigs drink different amounts - Arthur hardly drinks anything but some of my others like Ernie and Treacle get through lots of water. It could be that drinking a lot is normal for your Chloe. It is a change in drinking habits that you need to watch out for as it can, as others have said, indicate health problems. Does she get much veg to eat? Pigs that eat a lot of fresh foods often drink less from their bottles as they get some of their moisture from their food.

It will take a while for your baby to get big and fat as piggies keep on growing until they are around 9 months old in my experience. They grow to all shapes and sizes. I have some adults which are tiny like Ernie who is over a year old but is smaller than the 6 month old foster pigs I have had recently and then I have pigs like Sumo and Oscar who are really huge! I'm interested that you chose a girl for gentleness - I have always found my boys to be most gentle!

Also - would you consider a friend for your little girl? Piggies are very social creatures and do best with a cage mate. Girls are also very easy to introduce after you have quarantined a new pig.

I look forward to hearing more about Chloe soon and maybe seeing some pictures!

 

[Banton213]

For now I would just keep an eye on your little one and her drinking habits.

All my pigs drink different amounts - Arthur hardly drinks anything but some of my others like Ernie and Treacle get through lots of water. It could be that drinking a lot is normal for your Chloe. It is a change in drinking habits that you need to watch out for as it can, as others have said, indicate health problems. Does she get much veg to eat? Pigs that eat a lot of fresh foods often drink less from their bottles as they get some of their moisture from their food.

It will take a while for your baby to get big and fat as piggies keep on growing until they are around 9 months old in my experience. They grow to all shapes and sizes. I have some adults which are tiny like Ernie who is over a year old but is smaller than the 6 month old foster pigs I have had recently and then I have pigs like Sumo and Oscar who are really huge! I'm interested that you chose a girl for gentleness - I have always found my boys to be most gentle!

Also - would you consider a friend for your little girl? Piggies are very social creatures and do best with a cage mate. Girls are also very easy to introduce after you have quarantined a new pig.

I look forward to hearing more about Chloe soon and maybe seeing some pictures!

Yeah, I'll be posting pics a plenty! I just got done bathing her right now. Yeah I'm actually considering a cage mate but the only problem is that I know how much they'll be squeaking here and there so I gotta think about that. lol

 

[pipercat23]

Vash uses his water bottle for attention sometimes I know when he does it because he gets really loud. I have caught he lets a good bit of it run down his chin. I would watch them it might be something simple or like someone else said it could be an early indicator of something more serious.