How Long Can A Guinea Pig Survive Without Water?

A guinea pig is the answer to your question if you are looking for a low-maintenance pet. Guinea pig is a domestic animal and likes to be on its own. It belongs to the species of rodents.

People adore it as a pet everywhere in the world. It has more life span compared to mice, hamster, and other rodents. There are instances of guinea pigs living up to 8 years (generally 4 to 6 years). It is a herbivorous animal.

Many biological experiments are conducted with guinea pigs, and they are very popular as test subjects in laboratories due to their anatomic similarity with humans.

As guinea pig is a domestic animal, it is dependent on its owner for food and water. Water is essential for any animal on the planet to survive. The ability to survive without water is different for each animal.

You cannot move around with your pet all the time. Sometimes, you will have to keep it at home alone. So, it is essential to know your pet's ability to survive without water and food before you bring one home. It will help you prepare accordingly.

This article is going to tell you how long a guinea pig is going to survive without water.

Water Requirement Of The Guinea Pig

The daily water requirement of water varies in case of every individual guinea pig. Their general requirement is 80-100 ml per day. Do not stress out if your one does not drink this amount.

Your little pet might be sourcing out water from vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber, etc. Always keep water source for the guinea pig. Their habit is to drink more often.

How Long Can a Guinea Pig Go without Water?

Water is vital for a guinea pig. Failure to provide an adequate amount of water will lead to dehydration. Dehydration might lead to organ dysfunction. The longest a guinea pig can go without water is 8-12 hours. But the animal will get severely ill by the 6-hour mark.

Symptoms of Dehydration:

The guinea pigs' eyes can determine their hydration level. They will look dull, sunken and dry in case of dehydration.
You can easily tell from the urine if your guinea pig is dehydrated. The color of the urine will be dark, and there will be massive stink.
Squeeze the skin of your guinea pig. If you see that the skin returns to the previous state, then your pet is fine.
Severe dehydration will cause weight loss.

How To Provide Guinea Pigs With Fresh Water

You have to make sure that the guinea pig is getting easy access to water. Water can be delivered in different ways. You should decide which method you are going to deploy depending on the comfort of your guinea pig.

Water Bottle

This is the most used procedure to give the water supply to your guinea pig. There are a bottle and a pipe in this procedure. The pipe is attached to the container from the outside.

To prevent the leaking, the pipe is connected with a small ball. This allows it to continuously have access to water. However, it is quite a complicated process for the guinea pig to execute.

Sippy Bottle

The sippy bottle has a metal plate as a lid. There is only one problem with this method, and that is, the guinea pig will have to elevate this metal plate to drink as much water as it wants.

Unlike the previous method of water supply, the guinea pig will not be dependent on its tongue. This makes the drinking procedure easy for the guinea pig.

Bowl

The best way for the guinea pig to drink water from is a bowl. This is an easy way to drink water as the animals don't have to push their heads to drink water. The disadvantage of this method is that water gets easily polluted in the bowl due to exposure.

It does not have any cover. So, the hays, litter-dusts which are nearby easily can fall or mix with the water and pollute it. The guinea pigs also do not prefer to drink water from the bowl.

Things Not To Do With The Water Of Guinea Pigs:

Do not make your guinea pig drink cold water. It might lead to other problems.
Do not mix any vitamin C with the water.
Do not give alcohol to your guinea pig.
Do not try to infuse salt or sugar with the water.
Try not buying water for your guinea pig from the shop. It is not necessary unless you have a scarcity of fresh and unpolluted water.
Avoid keeping the water exposed to the sources of dust particles.
Give your guinea pigs the same water you drink.

Some Useful Tips:

Refill the water bottle every day. It will be best if you change the water every 12 hours.
The rate of changing should be determined by the weather. During summer try to change it more frequently.
Be cautious about the amount of water. Water should not run out in any case.
If you see that the bottle runs out frequently provide with an extra water bottle or a bigger bottle.
Wash the water bottle regularly.
Provide with a ceramic bowl if you are planning to get a water bowl.
Guinea pigs love cool water. Try to give them cool water. Do not give them freezing water.
The amount of water guinea pigs drink should be monitored.
Guinea pigs also get water from sources from vegetables. Try to include it in their everyday meal.
Do not try to incorporate prescribed medicine in the water. It will make your life more difficult especially if you have more than one guinea pig.
Try to use a water bowl. It is better than the water bottle for avoiding the growth of bacteria.
If you are giving water through bowl keep caution. The guinea pigs might tip over the water bowl, and the cage might be wet.
Check if your guinea pig is comfortable drinking via the medium you are providing.

Conclusion

This article has summarized basic queries related to concerns regarding the prospect of water for guinea pigs. If you find any abnormality in the drinking pattern of your little friend, the best thing would be to consult a doctor.

There will be a lot of things a vet can answer, and they will also be able to provide better suggestions.