Not drinking water

[Plumbo97]

Hey All,

My guinea pig Ginger is not drinking water and I am really concerned as it heatwave week

I tried giving her tap water, no
I tried giving her a bottle water as I thought she does not like the taste of tap water, no
I tried changing the bottle, no

I give her a guinea pig freezer bottle, she has no interest in it
I then tried giving her a cold towel, she did not even lay in it

I have been giving her cucumber as that the only thing she will eat that hydrated. She does not like bell peppers. She is eating normally and happy

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please don’t worry!

The need to drink comes before the need to eat so as she is eating then she is getting enough fluid. A healthy piggy will not deliberately dehydrate themselves.
Piggies aren’t like us, they don’t sweat so they don’t need to drink more than their usual needs just because it’s hot - the best thing you can do is refresh the water regularly so it is cool but she won’t drink anymore than she needs to.

If you give additional veggies above and beyond normal diet, then that will further negate her need to drink from the bottle.

A frozen bottle (I assume you mean just a cold bottle for her to sit against) and a cold towel : the fact she ignores them means she is not feeling hot. You actually want your piggies to ignore such items as it means the room is cool enough.
If you ever find your piggy sitting on or near frozen bottles then that is actually a bad sign as it can often mean they are already overheating and room cooling measures are not working

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Heatwave warning for the UK - How to combine lots of little measures to save lives.