My guinea pigs aren't drinking enough water. Is this normal for them?

Your new babies are probably very stressed living in their new home. They're more likely to come out at night when the house is quiet. I would make sure the nervous piggy has access to water, just incase he doesn't know how to use a bottle. You may want to place a small dish of water in his cage.

Thanks for reaching out about your guinea pigs. Drinking more water can be a sign of a urinary, liver or other metabolic concerns. It could also be a behavioral problems. As these guinea pigs are becoming middle aged, a veterinary visit is recommended. Diagnostics can lead to a treatment. Good luck.

If you are feeding a lot of greens, cucumber, bits of fruit, etc, it is likely that GuaGua will not drink because she is getting enough moisture from the fresh food. Hamsters are steppe animals which do not have a very large requirement for water. So if your hamster is lively and happy and eats her greens and other food, then I would not worry too much about her actually drinking water. Just make sure there is fresh water available at all times.

Thanks for reaching out about Genesis and including a photo. You need to monitor urine production. You can also perform a skin turgor test by gently pinching the skin and seeing if the skin is elastic (shrinks back down). If stays raised, possibly dehydrated. Make sure both eat a good quality timothy hay, as needed to for proper dental wearing. Also guinea pigs have a requirement for vitamin C in the diet, and the pellets are probably not enough. Good luck.

A [guinea pig](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-new-guinea-pig) that is not eating or drinking needs to be seen by an exotics species veterinarian ASAP. Your guinea pig is at risk of developing (or may already have) a medical condition called Gastrointestinal Stasis (GIS). Without treatment, this can be a fatal condition. GIS is a common condition in guinea pigs and rabbits. Gastrointestinal stasis occurs when the normal emptying of the stomach and passage of food through the intestinal tract slows or stops. Food, fur, and other ingesta then accumulates in the stomach. Without sufficient water intake, the stomach contents become dehydrated, making passage of the contents even more difficult. Anything that causes your guinea pig not to eat/drink, such as disease, dental disease, pain, stress, or starvation, can lead to gastrointestinal stasis. Be sure to have your vet check your guinea pig's teeth for overgrowth or misalignment. A guinea pig's teeth are constantly growing. He or she must chew constantly to keep them trimmed. If not they can quickly become overgrown which will affect the appetite. Until you can get to your veterinarian for treatment, it is important to encourage your guinea pig to eat and drink. Some guinea pigs will readily drink fruit-flavored electrolyte replacement solutions, such as PediaLyte or Gatorade, from a syringe. Offer your guinea pig a [balanced diet](https://www.petcoach.co/article/things-to-know-about-feeding-your-guinea-pig) including a large selection of fresh greens such as cilantro, romaine lettuce, parsley, carrot tops, dandelion greens, spinach, collard greens and good-quality grass hay. Don't forget to supplement with [Vitamin C](https://www.petcoach.co/article/guinea-pig-vitamin-c-requirements). Your vet may recommend syringe-feeding a special herbivore diet, such as [Oxbow Critical Care](https://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/our-products/professional-line/critical-care), or you can mix ground up pellets with fresh greens, vegetable baby foods, water, or juice to form a gruel. Introduce the syringe tip into the mouth behind the front incisors and depress the plunger slowly, giving your guinea pig time to swallow. If your guinea pig is still mobile, encourage exercise for at least 10–15 minutes every 6–8 hours, as activity promotes gastric motility.

Hi, change can be stressful in guinea pigs and they need the time to adjust to it. Are they caged in a quiet location ? I am not sure if you have tried to handle them yet but you should just offer them food and water for the first few days, then gradually handling them for a couple of minutes at a time once a day, then twice a day.Have you offered cucumbers as a treat ? See if they are interested in cucumber and other veggies that are suitable for Guinea Pigs. Also make sure you are sticking to the food and diet that they were used to previously. Hope this helps !

Guinea pig urine, like rabbit and horse urine, is full of solutes and so can look really cloudy and be totally normal. This does not look concerning to me. The color and consistency of urine and feces in these creatures changes based on what they eat, so new treats or food can change how the urine looks. I would not worry at all. Hope that helps!