Hello- we are somewhat new guinea pig owners. Our piggy is 5 mos old and I am wondering what is normal water consumption? We give her plenty of fresh veggies, but she often finishes 16 oz of water in less than 48 hrs. There is constantly so much wet bedding all over the place that we a) can't keep up with spot cleaning & b) are going to go broke buying bedding.
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How Much Water Does Your Pig Drink?
- Thread starter OreoLove
- Start date
Is the wet bedding under the water bottle? If so, she is probably not actually drinking that much, she is playing with the water bottle. My guinea pigs don't do this much, but my hamster is obsessive about it! We only fill her water bottle a small amount at a time or she will run the entire bottle out on the bedding! If it's urine, she likely is drinking a lot and I have found pigs drink varying amounts... I had some that were constant water guzzlers and some that barely seem to drink at all. If your pig really is drinking all that, the vet might want to check for diabetes (though I had my water-chugging pig checked and she was not diabetic.) Hope this helps a bit!
TheLottiediarys
Teenage Guinea Pig
Is it also possible that the water bottle is just leaking?
I've had some of the plastic bottle leak the water all over the place!
I've had some of the plastic bottle leak the water all over the place!
JenniferG
Teenage Guinea Pig
My piggles rarely drink water. I had one who would drink a lot but I wonder how much she just liked making a noise.
*kate*
Adult Guinea Pig
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Neither of mine ever drink any water!
That's a good point too! I have also had water bottles leak for no real reason... big mess resulted!
flowerfairy
Senior Guinea Pig
My two have a ceramic rabbit bowl full of water which I change each day. I see each of them drinking out of it a couple of times a day and the level doesnt go down much at all.
They have a lot of fresh grass and a few veg daily as well.
They have a lot of fresh grass and a few veg daily as well.
Thanks for the response. The wet bedding is all over her cage. I tied down the water bottle so she could no longer rattle it. I suspected she maybe was playing with it, but the water consumption appears to be the same.
my piggies don't drink at all. Only in these last weeks they learnt how to use the bottle but I am sure they are not drinking, they are only playing. In fact the newspapers I use as an absorbent layer underneath the fleece is totally wet below the bottle, hence no water is drunk by the piggies...
If you want to save money and are using fleece as bedding, replace puppy pads with free newspapers (or flyers from supermarkets). The absorbant quality is just the same and papers are free (you can ask some friend/neighbour).
My piggies eat few vegs, no fruit, no pellets (only 5-6 pieces as a treat) and a lot of fresh grass (I spray some water on it before serving)
If you want to save money and are using fleece as bedding, replace puppy pads with free newspapers (or flyers from supermarkets). The absorbant quality is just the same and papers are free (you can ask some friend/neighbour).
My piggies eat few vegs, no fruit, no pellets (only 5-6 pieces as a treat) and a lot of fresh grass (I spray some water on it before serving)
I would love to use fleece, but she urinates all over the place (except for her hideaway). I placed a litter box in the corner with hay hanging above, but she hasn't taken to it despite it being there for three months. I wish she'd choose one spot as it'd make life a lot easier.
you can use newspapers as well, but I would cover it with something because sometimes piggies eat newspapers and I don't know if it is safe.
My cage has a normal piece of fleece fabric and underneath there are newspapers and flyers from supermarket. Once a day during floor time I remove the fleece with all the poo and leftovers, I shake the fleece, I hang it out to dry and in the meanwhile I remove the wet spots and the wet papers. It is cost-free and easy to do. On the fleece, in a corner, I put also a pile of fresh hay, just for giving them some fun...
I add some pictures, maybe you can get some idea for your cage
(under the papers there are old towels which are never dirty/wet; I use them only for getting a thicker floor)
as you can see the fleece is only a piece of fabric, in some minutes it is perfectly dry
Kylie80
Adult Guinea Pig
One of mine has only started drinking water recently since changing their plastic bottle over to glass, I know it leaks a little sometimes but i've seen her drink from it a lot too. The other hardly ever drinks at all but they get quite a few watery veg so she gets her water from her veg.