[Gpdd] [HEALTH] <Joy Wong - How much water should my guinea pig drink?>

[Alison Varndell]

Normally it's a case of struggling to get piggies to drink enough.  It is vital that guinea pigs drink at least 40ml each day in order to flush out their kidneys.  Water consumption is the best indicator of longevity, i.e. all things being equal, the more a piggie drinks the longer they are likely to live.  However, if your guinea has suddenly started drinking excessively, this might be a cause for concern.  Check that he/she is not simply playing with the bottle, dripping most of it onto the floor of the cage.  If this is not the case, it may be that she/he is drinking excessively because of the food he/she is eating.  This is a message to everyone, under no circumstances let you piggies eat the coloured biscuits that are in all commercial guinea pig mixes, e.g. Gertie Guinea.  The colour additives ruin guineas' kidneys and lead to premature death as all of their internal organs are compromised.  Either pick out the coloured bits, or, better still buy goats' food and supplement with split peas loose oats, etc.  Never ever feed Rabbit mix because many brands are medicated and whilst this protects rabbits, it kills guineas.  Since following this advice, my guineas have lived for at least an extra 2 years, i.e. they were dying at around 4 but now live to at least 6, in fact, I currently have a sow who is 7 and a half.

Ali