Piggies keep peeing in food bowls

[StevieWanda]

Hi everyone!
since I got my two ladies about 2 months ago, they’ve been regularly peeing in their food bowls. Initially they only had one for dry food and one for veggies, so I assumed it was a territory thing, since there’s two of them. However I have gotten them bowls each, which are regularly topped up with dry food but they keep weeing in them.

Is there anything I can/should do regarding this? It’s wasting quite a lot of dry food since it goes all soggy overnight and I have to bin it all in the morning.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Their bowls should not be filled with dry food constantly, they should not have constant access to pellets as they are the least healthy and least important part of their diet.
They only need one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day. Once they have had their portion, remove the bowls from the cage And don’t give them back until the next day. Mine get half an hour per day with their pellets and that’s it
The alternative is to not use bowls at all. Simply scatter feed veg and pellets in the cage of amongst big piles of hay. This is brilliant enrichment for them as it means they have to use their natural foraging abilities and it means they are working for their food.

 

[Free Ranger]

Mine usually poop in the food bowl rather than pee so I've not heard of this before. Do they pee elsewhere too or have they decided this is actually some sort of potty? You could have the first pair of house-trained piggies I've ever heard of!

I started gradually reducing pellets when I did the bowl in the evenings but what might have actually worked better was giving the smaller amount throughout the day and spacing it out a bit for them rather than just giving it in one go. Something to think about...?

 

[StevieWanda]

Their bowls should not be filled with dry food constantly, they should not have constant access to pellets as they are the least healthy and least important part of their diet.
They only need one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day. Once they have had their portion, remove the bowls from the cage And don’t give them back until the next day. Mine get half an hour per day with their pellets and that’s it
The alternative is to not use bowls at all. Simply scatter feed veg and pellets in the cage of amongst big piles of hay. This is brilliant enrichment for them as it means they have to use their natural foraging abilities and it means they are working for their food.

That’s really interesting to hear. I was told that up until they are 6 months old (they are currently about 3 months old), they should have dry food available at all times. I’ll definitely trial scattering food, sounds like something my girls would get on with

thank you!

 

[StevieWanda]

Mine usually poop in the food bowl rather than pee so I've not heard of this before. Do they pee elsewhere too or have they decided this is actually some sort of potty? You could have the first pair of house-trained piggies I've ever heard of!

I started gradually reducing pellets when I did the bowl in the evenings but what might have actually worked better was giving the smaller amount throughout the day and spacing it out a bit for them rather than just giving it in one go. Something to think about...?

They have 3 spots around the cage where they tend to pee, but sadly I don’t think they are potty trained by any means! Wouldn’t that be convenient!
thank you for your suggestion, I feel like I need to make some changes for sure, so worth a shot!

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s really interesting to hear. I was told that up until they are 6 months old (they are currently about 3 months old), they should have dry food available at all times. I’ll definitely trial scattering food, sounds like something my girls would get on with

thank you!

This isn’t the case. Pellets should always be limited, you don’t want them ever filling up on pellets causing them to eat less hay as this risks overall health but also dental health. Pellets often contain unhealthy fillers and are a main contributor of calcium into the diet which at too high level or out of balance levels can lead to bladder problems such as stone formation.
They can have two tablespoon of adult pellets until four months of age but equally sticking to one tablespoon is absolutely fine.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Juleso4]

Their bowls should not be filled with dry food constantly, they should not have constant access to pellets as they are the least healthy and least important part of their diet.
They only need one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day. Once they have had their portion, remove the bowls from the cage And don’t give them back until the next day. Mine get half an hour per day with their pellets and that’s it
The alternative is to not use bowls at all. Simply scatter feed veg and pellets in the cage of amongst big piles of hay. This is brilliant enrichment for them as it means they have to use their natural foraging abilities and it means they are working for their food.

But this means some will miss out if you have a few.

 

[Piggies&buns]

But this means some will miss out if you have a few.

They don’t miss out if they are scattered - each piggy has opportunity to forage throughout the cage and get some. Equally, given pellets aren’t essential, if they don’t get as many one day then it won’t do them any harm

 

[Betsy]

My 3 old gals love foraging for their pellets so much that when I say "breakfast time girls" they start looking around for them before I have even got the tablespoon measure in the pellet tin! I scatter feed the evening veggies too and they love that. They like to choose what they want from the bowl (which I hold) first and then they go look for it. All except Pretty Patsy who is a bit of a diva and likes to be hand fed the first few pieces.