Guinea pigs not drinking

[KateD]

Hi,
We are the brand new owners of 2 x 5 female guinea pigs. We collected them today & are letting them settle in their new cage. My concern is neither appears to have had any water from the two water bottles attached to their cage (pictures attached). Is there any way we can encourage them to drink? We would rather not use a bowl for their water if we didn’t have too. Is there any way we can encourage them to use the water bottles? Any advice much appreciated. Kate.

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. Welcome to the forum. I have two boy piggies and they have two bottles and a water bowl. They NEVER DRINK from any of them. As they get fresh veggies morning and evening and are definitely peeing then they are obviously getting enough fluids. It’s early days with your new piggies. Give them time to settle in and if they want to drink I’m sure they will. They are gorgeous

 

[Piggies&buns]

The amount piggies drink varies widely. They will drink what they need and will also get water from their veggies. Don’t worry.

Cover their cage and leave them to settle in for a week, only giving them plenty of hay (limited pellets and veg) and spot cleaning their cage. Then you can start To sit by their cage and talk to them, offer food from your hand and let them learn to trust you.

Ensure they have only one tablespoon of pellet per pig per day (never allow them to have a full bowl constant access to pellets as they are the least important and least healthy part of their diet). Veg is one cup per pig per day. The only food they need all the time is hay.

Also, the cage looks to be quite small. What size is it? The minimum cage size for two females is 120x60cm but 150x60cm is recommended. They will also need another few hideys in the cage - you need provide at least one of every item in the cage.

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

 

[KateD]

The amount piggies drink varies widely. They will drink what they need and will also get water from their veggies. Don’t worry.

Cover their cage and leave them to settle in for a week, only giving them plenty of hay (limited pellets and veg) and spot cleaning their cage. Then you can start To sit by their cage and talk to them, offer food from your hand and let them learn to trust you.

Ensure they have only one tablespoon of pellet per pig per day (never allow them to have a full bowl constant access to pellets as they are the least important and least healthy part of their diet). Veg is one cup per pig per day. The only food they need all the time is hay.

Also, the cage looks to be quite small. What size is it? The minimum cage size for two females is 120x60cm but 150x60cm is recommended. They will also need another few hideys in the cage - you need provide at least one of every item in the cage.

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

Thank you for the advice. We have hay in the cage, plus some pellets (I will take note of the volume to feed them) plus I had put some cucumber in there today both have been eating with the pellets & the hay (for food & bedding).

The cage yes may be small at this stage, but they are only small themselves (5 weeks) & we will in the future as they get bigger look at larger cage.

Is there any way I can encourage Slick & Soco to drink from the water bottles though ? Or they’ll figure it out & as you said, will drink when they need.

 

[KateD]

Hello. Welcome to the forum. I have two boy piggies and they have two bottles and a water bowl. They NEVER DRINK from any of them. As they get fresh veggies morning and evening and are definitely peeing then they are obviously getting enough fluids. It’s early days with your new piggies. Give them time to settle in and if they want to drink I’m sure they will. They are gorgeous

 

[KateD]

Thank you. Yes both Slick & Soco are very cute aren’t they
I had given them cucumber pieces along with the pellets & hay & had noticed just before that one of them (not sure which) has urinated which is a good sign right? But that might have been from eating the veggies & not drinking the water. I will keep an eye on their water bottle levels as I’d rather encourage them to drink from those (if they do) then a bowl. As you have said, best just to let them settle in first.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you. Yes both Slick & Soco are very cute aren’t they
I had given them cucumber pieces along with the pellets & hay & had noticed just before that one of them (not sure which) has urinated which is a good sign right? But that might have been from eating the veggies & not drinking the water. I will keep an eye on their water bottle levels as I’d rather encourage them to drink from those (if they do) then a bowl. As you have said, best just to let them settle in first.

Yes urinating is good, but it doesn’t matter if its due to eating the veg or drinking the water. Many piggies get the vast majority of their water from their veg and don’t ever drink from bottles. They won’t dehydrate themselves, so please don’t worry.
One small slice of cucumber each is enough, so don’t give them a bowl full of watery veg. They need a wide variety of veggies totalling one cup per day including a vit c rich veg daily such as bell pepper or coriander. The guide below will help and has a sample plate of the sort of veg and quantities they should be eating each day. Any new veg needs to be introduced slowly so as to not cause a digestive upset. They should not have constant daily access to veg or pellets - they are simply a snack and should be kept limited. The only food they should have constantly and in large quantities is hay
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Piggies&buns]

The cage yes may be small at this stage, but they are only small themselves (5 weeks) & we will in the future as they get bigger look at larger cage.

I’m afraid this isn’t entirely a good plan - they really do need the right size cage from the very beginning, I appreciate the logic, but it doesn’t work that way. If the cage is below 120x60cm (the minimum for a pair of sows) then it also doesn’t meet welfare standards anyway.
Changing cage constitutes a change in territory and and while it’s more of a problem with boars, you should keep territory changes to a minimum for any piggies.

 

[Siikibam]

Have a read of the guides in the link below, especially the food one. You need to put in another hide in there as well. Are you giving them plain pellets or muesli? Sorry, it’s a little unclear in the photo. As mentioned, the more hay they eat the better. They won’t do so of pellets are available to that volume. They’re the chocolate of the piggy world

Please get them a bigger cage as soon as possible and get them booked in with a vet for the week after they’ve been home. Remember to start weighing weekly after that as well.
New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

 

[KateD]

I’m afraid this isn’t entirely a good plan - they really do need the right size cage from the very beginning, I appreciate the logic, but it doesn’t work that way. If the cage is below 120x60cm (the minimum for a pair of sows) then it also doesn’t meet welfare standards anyway.
Changing cage constitutes a change in territory and and while it’s more of a problem with boars, you should keep territory changes to a minimum for any piggies.

I’m afraid this isn’t entirely a good plan - they really do need the right size cage from the very beginning, I appreciate the logic, but it doesn’t work that way. If the cage is below 120x60cm (the minimum for a pair of sows) then it also doesn’t meet welfare standards anyway.
Changing cage constitutes a change in territory and and while it’s more of a problem with boars, you should keep territory changes to a minimum for any piggies.