How Much Water Should Guinea Pigs Drink?

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Louise1473

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Hi,

I was just wondering how much water guinea pigs should drink? I got my 2 guinea pigs a couple of weeks ago, and I'm a bit concerned they are not drinking enough.

At first they had a water bottle, but didnt seem to touch it at all, so I thought maybe they dont know how to do it. So have introduced a bowl of water too, but it doesnt seem to go down, and they wee in it!

Should I be worried? And any tips on how I can get them to drink more please? Thanks ;)
 
Hi Louise

Some piggies drink more than others, I would leave the water bottles on as they are easier to keep clean than a bowl. Our first 2 piggies hardly drank it seemed, we always have gave veggies very wet so they got a lot of moisture from that. So it may be that is were your piggies are getting their fluid uptake from. You will notice that if the weather gets warmer you will find them drinking.
 
Drinking water is something that has to be learned. it is perfectly normal for youngsters not to know how; most will figure it out at some point. Until then, they get enough fluid from their veg. Don't worry; your boys are fine and (in my experience) they will drink if they are really really thirsty!

It is not at all unusual that piggies use a bowl of water as a WC! You need to change it at least twice daily.

The individual water intake can vary enormously from not drinking at all to drinking lots. It can also vary from day to day, depending on how much they get with their veg/grass or how hot/dry/muggy the air is.
 
I've found with both our groups of guinea pigs it has taken them about 2 weeks to use the water bottles even though they had the same bottles in their previous owners' homes.

I asked a similar question a few weeks ago. I'll find the thread and add the link to it for you.
 
I've read somewhere that guinea pigs get most of their moisture from their food and only need to drink a little to stop them getting the feeling of being thirsty. Also, are they having grass at the moment? That has lots of water in it.
 
Thank you all for your brilliant advice! They do have a lot of fresh greens, and have access to grass in their run most days so I guess thats where they are getting most of their fluid from. Also I hadnt thought of it, but the veg does tend to be wet from being washed, so I guess that makes a big difference too.

My mind is now at rest! Thanks guys :-)
 
My 3 tend to drink about half to three quarters of a 600ml bottle daily, however, I think some of that may be leakage from when they lap at the teat. ;)
 
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