The owners of the guinea pigs stay concerned about many things. There are several reasons that bother the piggy parents. It can be the diet, the behavior, the habitat, or the drinking habit and amount of the little pet. So we will be discussing the amount of regular drinking and the cause of abnormalities in the drinking habit of guinea pigs in this guide.
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Is it bad for the guinea pig to drink a lot of water?
Guinea pigs usually drink up to 100 ml of water every day. But their drinking need may differ depending upon their age, weather, and size. Also when they are much more active they drink more. They are usually regular drinkers and do not stay without water for a single day.
But when you see your guinea pig is drinking too much water and the water bowl is getting empty more than once a day, then you may need to seek the advice of the vets.
What is the amount of water necessary for the guinea pig?
As we have already mentioned, at least 100 ml of water is necessary for the guinea pigs. But when they fall sick by some kind of disease, then they may drink more or less amount of water. Use a measured amount of water to fill its drinking bowl so you can check if it is drinking more or less than the regular dose.
What kinds of drinks are bad for the guinea pig?
Aerated drinks are never suitable for any creatures, so definitely it is a no-no for the guinea pigs. Though not many owners think of providing their pets with carbonated drinks, some may think it’s fun and they want to share the experience of enjoying a cold drink with their guinea pigs.
Always remember, such drinks contain artificial sweeteners and thus, you should never try to make your guinea pig drink such human food or drinks. Other than that, you should also not dry to give chocolate or some other synthetically flavored drink, alcohol, or dairy product-based drinks, as these will never have a good impact on the health of your guinea pig.
How weather can affect the drinking amount of the guinea pig?
Like us human beings, guinea pigs also seek to drink more water when the weather is hot and humid. They do not drink as much water in the cold weather but when the temperature outside is rising and also it has a high level of humidity, then the guinea pig is sure to drink more water.
This is a temporary thing and the amount of water drinking will diminish once the weather turns cold.
Why the guinea pig drinks more when the weather is hot?
The hot weather overheats guinea pigs. These furry animals find it hard to get adjusted to the extremely hot weather. The fur layer on their skin also prevents their body from cooling by sweating.
Often in such conditions, they get dehydrated and start drinking too much water if this condition persists for some days. It is advised to keep the guinea pigs in the colder or moderate temperate areas only.
What can be the possible causes of the guinea pig drinking too much water?
There can be various ailments connected to the excessive drinking of your pet guinea pig. This is up to the vets to decide if the guinea pig is suffering from one problem or the other while it is drinking too much water.
There can be kidney problems or diabetes, which causes the guinea pig to drink more than the usual amount. Diabetes is a metabolism-related problem and it is pretty common among guinea pigs. Other than this, your guinea pig may also suffer from kidney problems or sometimes dental issues. All these can be the probable causes of the creature to drink more than usual.
What is the need for water in the guinea pig’s body?
Like all other mammal creatures, the guinea pig’s body consists of water in a great amount. They need water to consume food, to use the stored energy, and also to replenish the water that they eliminate through body functioning. They also need water to regulate the body temperature as well as dispose of the waste in their system.
Do the guinea pigs need to drink any specific kind of water?
This is a crucial question for many guinea pig owners. There is much debate about this topic. Some prefer to provide mineral water to their guinea pig which is availed through some commercial process, while others think the regular freshwater is enough to get their pets going.
Now you can provide the mineral water or the regular water to your pet guinea pig, but make sure to not give it different water on different days. The taste of the water, as well as the mineral quotient, varies in differently availed water and thus, your pet may not like to drink the water it was not used to.
The extreme experiment you can do with the drinking water of your guinea pig is, offering it the water with some ice cubes when the temperature is too high outside. The cold water may refresh the guinea pig and it would love its drink more.
How you can treat the kidney problem when your guinea pig is drinking too much?
If you are assuming that your pet one is having some problem in the kidney, then you should not give it commercial foods like pellets or grass like the alfalfa or timothy. These foods contain a good amount of calcium, which in turn creates kidney stones and makes the bladder work difficult. So these types of food should be avoided for adult guinea pigs.
How do you know that your guinea pig is drinking much due to diabetes?
All the diseases have some particular symptoms. If you can recognize the symptoms before handed then you will be able to track the ailment at the soonest. Likewise, we would like to state the symptoms of diabetes in a guinea pig which may explain the reason for its excessive drinking.
This problem is usually temporary among diabetes and can be cured with a proper dose of insulin. Other than drinking too much water, if you find your guinea pig to urinate too frequently and get lethargic, then it can be diagnosed with diabetes.
Among the other symptoms, there can be twitching, collapsing, or sudden unconsciousness. It is best to get it checked once by the vet to know the medicines and treatment for this disease.
Does the guinea pig drink more when they are distressed?
Yes, it has been seen that like humans, guinea pigs often tend to drink more when they are anxious or stressed for some reason. This is pretty similar to the human condition, as we also seek to drink water when we get nervous or tense.
When the guinea pig gets shocked or suddenly gets excited by the presence of some other pets or some loud sound or harsh light, they seek to drink more water. But this is a completely temporary phase and the creature gets over this situation much normally.
Does the guinea pig drink more from the water bottle or water bowl?
Keeping the water bowl and the food bowl clean in the shelter of the guinea pig is a challenge for the guinea pig owners. They are simply messy in this matter and you will often find food pieces in the water bowl and lots of water in their food bowl. So offering bowls can lead to this troublesome situation and to get rid of it, you may think of using a water bottle for your pet’s drinking.
Also, there is another problem with the water bowl and that is, as they sometimes love to take a dip in the water, they may run over or walk over the water bowl, and that way the water will become dirty. So if you choose a water bottle instead of a bowl, then you should take care of the drinking process of your guinea pig. If you let the bottle near it, it may choke the neck or the mouth of the bottle by putting small pieces of food inside it.
However, it has been seen that they prefer to drink water more from the bowl than the bottle, so it will be your regular duty to check over the water bowl or bottle and keep it clean so the water that the guinea pig drinks remains clean.
How can you control the drinking amount of your guinea pig?
If you are finding your guinea pig to drink too much water and yet there is no problem with its physique, then you may try these processes to lessen its drinking habit, as too much drinking may cause a set of problems in this small creature.
Make sure that the guinea pig is drinking only clean and pure water, no salt, sugar, or any flavor should be added to its drink. If it finds its drink tastier then it may drink too much water.
No supplements or vitamins should be mixed with the drinking water of your guinea pig. You may know that a small amount of some other products may change the taste and flavor of the water and the guinea pig may find it attractive. If you need to feed it some supplement, try to add it to their food.
Some owners found that their guinea pigs are not drinking a good amount of water from the water bowls so they changed the container to the inverted bottles. It may help your guinea pig to drink an adequate amount of water if they are drinking from such bottles and not from the regular flat bowls.
What harm can be done to the guinea pigs if they are drinking too much?
If there is no other problem related to the heavy water drinking of the guinea pig, then it itself is a disease called polydipsia. When any kind of creature drinks more than the necessary amount of water then it can be diagnosed as this disease.
Though it may sound harmless at first, this excessive drinking habit can lead to severe problems as there will be too much pressure on the kidney, and that way the kidney will start getting weak. Also, the water balance in the body will be disturbed and the digestion may fail. So it is highly necessary for the owner to get their guinea pigs checked by the vets when they find this problem in their pets.
Can the diet change cause the guinea pig to drink much?
The water that we drink is directly related to food digestion. So yes, if you change the guinea pigs’ diet suddenly, it will affect their drinking habit and amount as well. Not all food items need an equal amount of water to get digested. Also, the fiber part of the diet needs more water than the carbohydrate to get eliminated from their system.
Thus if you are changing the diet of your guinea pig, do it gradually. A sudden change in the food items containing fiber, protein, or carbohydrate will cause the creature to drink more water, so the food gets consumes by their body.
Also if you are changing its food to some new kind of commercially available food then make sure that this new food does not contain too much amount of sodium or salt. Guinea pigs are such small creatures and they need a restricted amount of salt to run their system healthily.
If the amount of salt exceeds the level, the guinea pig will suffer from dehydration. Salt in the food gets diluted and uses the body water to get eliminated from the body by several body functions. So when the salt amount increases then the guinea pig will need to drink more water to keep the balance of liquid in their body.
The number of vegetables and greens provide a good amount of water in the body of the guinea pig and other herbivores animals. When you suddenly decrease the number of greens and vegetables from their diet and increase other items, they will need to drink more water to keep the water level balanced in their body. This way it will increase its drinking amount.
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