Otherwise Healthy Pig Started Drinking A Lot?

[bumbling-bambi]

So I obsessively check my two boys each day for any signs of illness or injury when I groom them each day (long haired piggy struggles!) and thanks to not only the lovely members of this forum but also the members of the Guinea Pig Advice and Support group on Facebook I'm confident that I can pick up any issues quite quickly!

Now in the past few days I have noticed that one of my boys water bottles has been emptying a lot faster than normal! I bought a new bottle thinking it might be leaking and since changing the bottle the problem still stands! I thought he might be playing with the spout too as he is one of those strange piggies who loves water (a blessing when it comes to the monthly bath time!) so he could just be dribbling some of it back out!

I also thought it may be something to do with his teeth however his fronts look to be in good shape and although I haven't been able to see the back molars he isn't displaying any of the tell tale signs of having teeth problems. I'm still monitoring his eating habits carefully just in case!
He hasn't lost any weight, he has in fact gained a little; something I'm not to worried about considering he came to be very malnourished and i have been slowly and carefully building his weight by the advices of our vet.

The issue has only been going on for a few days and I am keeping a careful eye on the pair of them just in case either of them should start to show signs of any illness.
He is eating as normal, he has a wide range of veggies daily as well we as a mountain of fresh good quality hay and 1/4 cup of pellets each morning. He is very active and spends much of his day running around an indoor run (we don't have any outside space unfortunately) or running about on my bed helping me with my uni work/paperwork or having a well deserved nap after all that running!
He's a very happy go lucky pig who has unfortunately had to be separated from my other boy and his previous house mate as they had a big fight and blood was drawn. They are only temporarily on their own however they can still 'Talk' to each other but no fights can break out this way!

If anyone has had similar experiences and may be able to help me solve this little mystery i would be hugely grateful to hear from you! These piggies are essentially my children and i love them more than they will probably ever know so i want what is best for them!

I will be calling my vet at some point tomorrow (she's a very busy lady!) to see what she thinks of the situation and will take both pigs to see her if she thinks its necessary (they have a 6-12 month check up regularly so she may say to reschedule that appointment anyway!)

Thank you for taking the time to read my little novel and If anyone has any suggestions i would love to hear them!

 

[rome_italy]

I have the same little worry as you about my piggie... I have two piggies who have never drunk a single drop of water in all their life (7 months). I was worried but both the rescue's vet and my vet told me it was okay, that I should worry if they started drinking too much, not too little, because drinking too much sometimes is correlated to something wrong in urinary system or a high glycaemia. I stopped worrying but I made every effort for understanding why they didn't want to drink. At the end they discovered the bottle (on my lap) and one of them is "drinking" very much now; the bottle is empty every day.
And you can imagine how easily I have started worrying again!!!
But the truth is simple: I have a cage with fleece and under the fleece there are newspapers. Everyday I change the wet newspapers and guess what? I always find out a real pool just under the bottle! The fleece is dry, but the newspaper is totally wet! also the towels behind the newspaper are wet! hence my piggie is not drinking that much.
You also should try to put a newspaper underneath and have a look once a day. Maybe in summer piggies like keeping their tongue and lips cool, but actually they don't drink that much.
My piggies follow a pellets free diet, just 5-6 pieces as a treat (usually) and they eat a lot of wet fresh grass and some pieces of vegs.
For this reason they don't drink. About your piggies, I think it depends on the climate and on the diet. Maybe the pellets are different, or the vegs are different. Or maybe also your piggie is simply playing with water!

 

[Wiebke]

Also always check your water bottle as to wether it is leaking or blocked first when there are changes in the drinking habit as the first step.

Please be aware that weather/temperature changes like the recent hot spells here in Britain can bring changes in the drinking habits.
You also have to factor in whether you have fed more fluid via feeding more veg/more lawn time recently.

Once you have excluded these extraneous and temporary issues, and the increased drinking is continuing, then please see a vet to make sure that there is no other problem (urinary tract infection, kidney issue or diabetes, which is not as common as initially diagnosed). If you are lucky, there is no problem.

Generally I would recommend to have your piggy checked when it drinks more than one bottle of water in a day, even if only to make sure that it is perfectly fine. Individual water intake can vary enormously from drinking nothing to drinking 300 ml or even more without there being any health issues. But it is good to have any extreme in drinking vet checked.

 

[Beans&Toast]

Agree with everything @Wiebke said.

The only other thing I'd say is that it could be a dental problem. Toast's back molars have over grown and has needed them burred down quite a few times now. The first sign of any dental problems, before any other signs, is that she'll start drinking a lot of water, like stuck to the water bottle all day. My vet has noticed this with other pigs too that sometimes the first signs is they will drink large amounts of water.

Might be worth having the teeth checked to rule anything out?

 

[bumbling-bambi]

Also always check your water bottle as to wether it is leaking or blocked first when there are changes in the drinking habit as the first step.

Please be aware that weather/temperature changes like the recent hot spells here in Britain can bring changes in the drinking habits.
You also have to factor in whether you have fed more fluid via feeding more veg/more lawn time recently.

Once you have excluded these extraneous and temporary issues, and the increased drinking is continuing, then please see a vet to make sure that there is no other problem (urinary tract infection, kidney issue or diabetes, which is not as common as initially diagnosed). If you are lucky, there is no problem.

Generally I would recommend to have your piggy checked when it drinks more than one bottle of water in a day, even if only to make sure that it is perfectly fine. Individual water intake can vary enormously from drinking nothing to drinking 300 ml or even more without there being any health issues. But it is good to have any extreme in drinking vet checked.

Hi, Thank you for helping me out with my little mystery pig! I have a feeling it was the heat! he's gone back to drinking his normal amount now!

I checked the new and old bottle and didnt find any blockages but did find a leak in the old one! I deep clean my bottles each week and clean them when i change water each morning so I'm fairly on top of the bottle situation!

I spoke to my vet and she doesn't believe that theres anything to worry about at the moment but i will be monitoring him and reporting my findings to her 3 times a week for the next 2 weeks! He's also had another hair cut to help him keep cool as he is a very fluffy texel! Thankfully down here on the south coast has cooled down and both boys will be taking a trip to their grandma's house for some time out on the grass this week weather permitting so that should help keep him cool too! (i unfortunately don't have any safe outdoor space where i live to allow them to be out on grass in their run so we have to take a little drive to my parents house who have a piggy proof garden with a semi permanent outdoor run especially for them!)
The piggy in question has a strange love for car rides and likes to sit up on my shoulder and look out the window at all the fields and trees he could probably eat in a matter of mere seconds if he was given half a chance! He popcorns like crazy when we get in the car (my mum drives!) his brother however isn't quite so keen but is quite happy to have a nap in his carrier while Mr Womble (piggy in question) does some sight seeing!

I've cleared all this with our vet, who doesn't think there is an issue at the moment as I have kept a food diary for him and been measuring his fluid intake and once she read this in the email i sent her she said that its more than likely to do with heat! I have an appointment for the middle of this coming week for their 6 month check up anyway so she will see him then!

As of this morning he is eating and drinking normally, his poops are still consistent and of a good shape and colour. His wee is still clear and not sweet smelling (I have been told by an admin of the Facebook group i follow that this can be an early symptom of a diabetic piggy!) and doesn't appear to indicate he may have urinary issues!
I've also observed him playing with the water as i suspected! I put a shallow dish into his cage while i was able to keep an eye on him with a little cool water in the bottom so he's been playing in that! So far thats stopped him wanting to play with the water bottle as a piggy paddling pool is apparently much more fun! (I take him out and fully dry him once he's done playing so no soggy piggies here!)

 

[bumbling-bambi]

Also always check your water bottle as to wether it is leaking or blocked first when there are changes in the drinking habit as the first step.

Please be aware that weather/temperature changes like the recent hot spells here in Britain can bring changes in the drinking habits.
You also have to factor in whether you have fed more fluid via feeding more veg/more lawn time recently.

Once you have excluded these extraneous and temporary issues, and the increased drinking is continuing, then please see a vet to make sure that there is no other problem (urinary tract infection, kidney issue or diabetes, which is not as common as initially diagnosed). If you are lucky, there is no problem.

Generally I would recommend to have your piggy checked when it drinks more than one bottle of water in a day, even if only to make sure that it is perfectly fine. Individual water intake can vary enormously from drinking nothing to drinking 300 ml or even more without there being any health issues. But it is good to have any extreme in drinking vet checked.

Hi, Thank you for helping me out with my little mystery pig! I have a feeling it was the heat! he's gone back to drinking his normal amount now!

I checked the new and old bottle and didnt find any blockages but did find a leak in the old one! I deep clean my bottles each week and clean them when i change water each morning so I'm fairly on top of the bottle situation!

I spoke to my vet and she doesn't believe that theres anything to worry about at the moment but i will be monitoring him and reporting my findings to her 3 times a week for the next 2 weeks! He's also had another hair cut to help him keep cool as he is a very fluffy texel! Thankfully down here on the south coast has cooled down and both boys will be taking a trip to their grandma's house for some time out on the grass this week weather permitting so that should help keep him cool too! (i unfortunately don't have any safe outdoor space where i live to allow them to be out on grass in their run so we have to take a little drive to my parents house who have a piggy proof garden with a semi permanent outdoor run especially for them!)
The piggy in question has a strange love for car rides and likes to sit up on my shoulder and look out the window at all the fields and trees he could probably eat in a matter of mere seconds if he was given half a chance! He popcorns like crazy when we get in the car (my mum drives!) his brother however isn't quite so keen but is quite happy to have a nap in his carrier while Mr Womble (piggy in question) does some sight seeing!

I've cleared all this with our vet, who doesn't think there is an issue at the moment as I have kept a food diary for him and been measuring his fluid intake and once she read this in the email i sent her she said that its more than likely to do with heat! I have an appointment for the middle of this coming week for their 6 month check up anyway so she will see him then!

As of this morning he is eating and drinking normally, his poops are still consistent and of a good shape and colour. His wee is still clear and not sweet smelling (I have been told by an admin of the Facebook group i follow that this can be an early symptom of a diabetic piggy!) and doesn't appear to indicate he may have urinary issues!
I've also observed him playing with the water as i suspected! I put a shallow dish into his cage while i was able to keep an eye on him with a little cool water in the bottom so he's been playing in that! So far thats stopped him wanting to play with the water bottle as a piggy paddling pool is apparently much more fun! (I take him out and fully dry him once he's done playing so no soggy piggies here!)

 

[bumbling-bambi]

Agree with everything @Wiebke said.

The only other thing I'd say is that it could be a dental problem. Toast's back molars have over grown and has needed them burred down quite a few times now. The first sign of any dental problems, before any other signs, is that she'll start drinking a lot of water, like stuck to the water bottle all day. My vet has noticed this with other pigs too that sometimes the first signs is they will drink large amounts of water.

Might be worth having the teeth checked to rule anything out?

This is something I discussed with my vet and she is of the opinion that a dental problem is unlikely, however both pigs have a check up appointment booked in for the middle of this coming week so our vet will have a good look then and see if he is having problems!
Thankfully as of this morning he is acting completly normal, he has gone back to drinking his normal amount and we have worked out he is defiantly playing with his water! He's a pig who really loves playing in water at bath time (every couple months or so - mostly when they get really filthy!) so we got him a shallow dish that we put a little water in to make him his own paddling pool! It keeps him cool and he popcorns like crazy for it! As soon as he sees me get it out he starts zooming around and wheeking! As soon as i open his door he jumps straight into my lap and then into his paddling pool!
He gets dried off when he's done and then goes for a well deserved nap! who knows i could have a olympic swimming piggy on my hands here!

 

[bumbling-bambi]

I'm

I have the same little worry as you about my piggie... I have two piggies who have never drunk a single drop of water in all their life (7 months). I was worried but both the rescue's vet and my vet told me it was okay, that I should worry if they started drinking too much, not too little, because drinking too much sometimes is correlated to something wrong in urinary system or a high glycaemia. I stopped worrying but I made every effort for understanding why they didn't want to drink. At the end they discovered the bottle (on my lap) and one of them is "drinking" very much now; the bottle is empty every day.
And you can imagine how easily I have started worrying again!
But the truth is simple: I have a cage with fleece and under the fleece there are newspapers. Everyday I change the wet newspapers and guess what? I always find out a real pool just under the bottle! The fleece is dry, but the newspaper is totally wet! also the towels behind the newspaper are wet! hence my piggie is not drinking that much.
You also should try to put a newspaper underneath and have a look once a day. Maybe in summer piggies like keeping their tongue and lips cool, but actually they don't drink that much.
My piggies follow a pellets free diet, just 5-6 pieces as a treat (usually) and they eat a lot of wet fresh grass and some pieces of vegs.
For this reason they don't drink. About your piggies, I think it depends on the climate and on the diet. Maybe the pellets are different, or the vegs are different. Or maybe also your piggie is simply playing with water!

I'm pretty sure he is just playing with it!

he's had a hair cut and now has a little paddling pool to play in on hot days when i can supervise him and dry him off when he's all done playing! He just seems to love playing in water!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, Thank you for helping me out with my little mystery pig! I have a feeling it was the heat! he's gone back to drinking his normal amount now!

I checked the new and old bottle and didnt find any blockages but did find a leak in the old one! I deep clean my bottles each week and clean them when i change water each morning so I'm fairly on top of the bottle situation!

I spoke to my vet and she doesn't believe that theres anything to worry about at the moment but i will be monitoring him and reporting my findings to her 3 times a week for the next 2 weeks! He's also had another hair cut to help him keep cool as he is a very fluffy texel! Thankfully down here on the south coast has cooled down and both boys will be taking a trip to their grandma's house for some time out on the grass this week weather permitting so that should help keep him cool too! (i unfortunately don't have any safe outdoor space where i live to allow them to be out on grass in their run so we have to take a little drive to my parents house who have a piggy proof garden with a semi permanent outdoor run especially for them!)
The piggy in question has a strange love for car rides and likes to sit up on my shoulder and look out the window at all the fields and trees he could probably eat in a matter of mere seconds if he was given half a chance! He popcorns like crazy when we get in the car (my mum drives!) his brother however isn't quite so keen but is quite happy to have a nap in his carrier while Mr Womble (piggy in question) does some sight seeing!

I've cleared all this with our vet, who doesn't think there is an issue at the moment as I have kept a food diary for him and been measuring his fluid intake and once she read this in the email i sent her she said that its more than likely to do with heat! I have an appointment for the middle of this coming week for their 6 month check up anyway so she will see him then!

As of this morning he is eating and drinking normally, his poops are still consistent and of a good shape and colour. His wee is still clear and not sweet smelling (I have been told by an admin of the Facebook group i follow that this can be an early symptom of a diabetic piggy!) and doesn't appear to indicate he may have urinary issues!
I've also observed him playing with the water as i suspected! I put a shallow dish into his cage while i was able to keep an eye on him with a little cool water in the bottom so he's been playing in that! So far thats stopped him wanting to play with the water bottle as a piggy paddling pool is apparently much more fun! (I take him out and fully dry him once he's done playing so no soggy piggies here!)

Sounds like quite a character!

My Minx also loved car rides and would sit outside in their travel cage as we took my piggies with us on our monthly weekend trips to my elderly mother-in-law in Wales. She's also sit on top of her hut in the vet's waiting room and happily stare down five frightened cats - it tended to cause quite stir! She only did a dive when she heard the vet's voice or a boisterous dog came in. Her companion preferred to hide.

Here are our hot weather tips as next week is going to be warmer again: Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes

 

[Wiebke]

I'm



I'm pretty sure he is just playing with it!

he's had a hair cut and now has a little paddling pool to play in on hot days when i can supervise him and dry him off when he's all done playing! He just seems to love playing in water!

Most piggies give water a wide berth, but there are a few that actually love water and water sports. If it is very hot, you can make him a little bath in a seed tray, as long as he only has a couple of inches of water max, and get in and out at any time.

 

[bumbling-bambi]

Sounds like quite a character!

My Minx also loved car rides and would sit outside in their travel cage as we took my piggies with us on our monthly weekend trips to my elderly mother-in-law in Wales. She's also sit on top of her hut in the vet's waiting room and happily stare down five frightened cats - it tended to cause quite stir! She only did a dive when she heard the vet's voice or a boisterous dog came in. Her companion preferred to hide.

Here are our hot weather tips as next week is going to be warmer again: Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes

He certainly is! he rules this roost!

But thats adorable! She sounds like quite the character herself!

Thank you for linking me to the hot weather tips! I was just about to make my way over there as I've just looked at the forecast for next week! Its a good job i have already done the boys hair cuts and frozen a bundle of water bottles! I'll wrap them in a sock and the piggies seem to love it! I often hide one under a big pile of hay too as that seems to keep them cool!

 

[bumbling-bambi]

Most piggies give water a wide berth, but there are a few that actually love water and water sports. If it is very hot, you can make him a little bath in a seed tray, as long as he only has a couple of inches of water max, and get in and out at any time.

This is exactly what we use! I found a shallow seed tray in the garden centre and i only fill it with 1.5-2 inches of cool water max! he can hop over the sides with ease and i supervise him with it at all times! its adorable to watch!