Guinea pig wasting too much water

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SweetnSourDM

Post   » Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:13 pm


Hi Guinea Lynx!

It's our very first post, we have two 1 year old piggies and we have a question. One of our pigs has a drinking problem, he never learned how to use the drinking bottle properly, and instead of putting the entire spout inside his mouth, he licks the ball and lets the water trickle down. It wastes a lot of water and makes the bedding very wet very fast. We have to refill a nearly 1L water bottle sometimes once a day, and there's no way two pigs drink that much water.

Can we reteach the piggie how to drink water properly from the water bottle, or can we buy an alternative to the water bottle, like a kitten water fountain?

Thank you.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:55 pm


You could put something plastic under the water bottle like a tarp and put a towel or blanket on top of the plastic. Some on GL use a heavy bowl for water.

Five of our six girls(number 6 don't drink) tug at the water bottle and gets water like that. We had a rabbit who just like the sound the bottle made. I doubt you could retrain the piggy to drink. But I do feel for the mother pig if it drank like that! OUCH! Good Luck!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:27 pm


Hopefully someone will have just the water bottle for you. I seem to vaguely remember one that kind of had a "lid" at the end instead of a ball.

Ah, I seem to remember Lixit making something that did not use a ball at the end. Perhaps one of their products might help? I think they have some with "valves" at the end.
http://www.lixit.com/products/small-animal-bottles

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:24 pm


What kind of bedding are you using? We have one guy who allows a lot of water to dribble out of the bottle, but with paper bedding it is absorbed fairly well. I just spot-clean under the bottle as needed.

Didn't someone once mention using a small clay brick or clay dish (the kind that goes under flower pots) under their water bottles? I'm thinking I might have tried it myself a few years ago, but can't remember if it was effective. Thinking not, since I no longer have them.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:59 pm


You might want to check and make sure the water bottle isn't leaking. It's a common problem with the steel ball type.

SweetnSourDM

Post   » Thu Oct 17, 2019 1:07 am


But has anyone used kitten drinking fountain? Do they work for guinea pigs?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:16 am


Most of the models I see have a fairly large bowl to catch the water. You could expect to find all sorts of debris in there, including poop. I'd try a different water bottle, or check to make sure the washer inside this one is seated properly.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Oct 17, 2019 10:01 am


And maybe experiment with the height, too.

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