Drinking

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My two piggies hardly seem to drink. Their bottle is changed daily but it always seems to be nearly full. I know they can reach it and I have seen them drink once. Is this normal? They have a lot of veggies and love cucumber so I can only assume they are getting what liquid they need from these.
 
The reason why we do not have a sticky thread on drinking is that there is such a difference - some piggies drink loads and others won't drink at all. If they have a diet of fresh veg and also access to grass they won't dehyrate.

Persist with the bottle - you can show them by moving the ball how to operate the bottle once they are comfy with your hand moving around.

Many young guinea pigs haven't learned to use the bottle yet when they are being rehomed.
 
If they know how to use it then I wouldn't worry. If you think they don't know then you can put a few drops of orange juice (or ribena, but not too much!) in the water and put a little OJ or ribena on the outside of the spout so they can smell and taste it. Someone recommended that for my rabbit who didn't know how to use a bottle and it worked. Once they know how to use it though, just give them water instead. :)

They probably get so much veggies that they don't need water though so don't worry. Mine only seem to drink water in the summer (they're outdoor piggies).
 
Mine don't bother with their water bottle either- though i am trying to make sure they know what it's their for- i know they had one before i got them but didn't have as much veg as they do now.

Obvoiusly not a problem but i'm doing what Wiebke recommends so that as the weather warms up they know where there is a source of water- i don't want them to have to wait for their veggies if they get thirsty.
 
Mine don't drink a lot. I change their water every day and between the three of them they have usually just downed a cm or two. They seem to drink mostly when they eat hay, it's quite funny. They'll be chomping down hay and then one after another they go for a drink, then back to the hay, then another drink :) I always think it must be like eating really dry biscuits, you want some tea in between :)
 
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