Conditions My guinea pig has dry fur.

The one with the dry fur is a Sheltie, does this make sense to the fur condition?

The silky haired one is an American Satin (I think after looking at images)

Kieran Owen said:

The one with the dry fur is a Sheltie, does this make sense to the fur condition?

The silky haired one is an American Satin (I think after looking at images)

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I am by no means an expert on guinea pig breeds, but I do think that if you can post pics of your little ones, there are much more knowledgeable people here that can tell you what you've got

The dry furred one looks exactly like this. Should have checked pics first..




The American Satin looks like this

I think it explains the fur, but I am still concerned about the drinking problem with the Sheltie.

Some pigs just don't drink a lot. Leave a lot of water on their veggies when you feed them. And if they can tolerate cucumber without getting gassy, that's a good wet veggie to feed.

Ditto @bpatters. I was about to say the exact same thing, especially the cucumber. I did find that too much cucumber made Sly have very very soft squishy poops, which he proceeded to step in and track everywhere. Ugh.

Thanks a lot, I will definitely try this.

@Guinea Pig Papa, I keep my pigs in a cage though and they only time they come out is if it's warm in that case they can go on the grass with the cage on top them. So the poop wouldn't effect me really.

Thanks a lot anyway guys! You've made me feel so much better, I lost 2 Guinea pigs February, I have no idea what caused it, after that I am trying my best to check if anything's wrong.

Kieran Owen said:

@Guinea Pig Papa, I keep my pigs in a cage though and they only time they come out is if it's warm in that case they can go on the grass with the cage on top them. So the poop wouldn't effect me really.

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I'm sorry if I misled you. By explaining the soft squishy poop, that's actually a bad thing for a guinea pig to have. Actual diarrhea is even worse and can even be fatal. If your pigs poops are very soft and squishy, you need to cut back the vegetables. By soft and squishy I mean they can be all squished together, or come out in one giant lump. That's what I meant.

Oh, I see, I didn't understand first time, don't worry I won't feed too much. I will give it with their normal diet. Which is Spring Greens, apples, Carrots and British round lettuce. I don't give too much British round lettuce, not sure if they should have it, is it ok or for Pigs to eat British round lettuce, I don't feed Iceberg.

The apples and carrots are high in sugar, and piggies don't process sugar well so just use those as an occasional treat. Spring greens sounds like a mix of different veggies to me, is it? British round lettuce is high in calcium and phosphorous, so should also only be fed once or twice a week. Regular green leaf lettuce is best. My boys get green leaf lettuce daily.

@Guinea Pig Papa, I have no idea what breed the long haired Guinea pig is it's either between: Coronet, Silkie, Peruvian, do you think you could help me find out lol, it's too dark at the moment it's 23:57, I can check in the morning.

Wow I am learning some new stuff here. this is so helpful.The don't give too much apples, 1 carrot each, British round lettuce probably too much, cutting that out. Green leaf lettuce sounds good.

If I can find the links for an acceptable diet for pigs I'll post if for you but I'd be willing to bet one of the other members will post it for you before I find it. My piggies get green leaf lettuce every day, and a variety of other vegetables mixed in. Dandelion greens are especially favoured. They get a little plain parsley, a little green kale, and a baby carrot here and there. Most are high in one element or another, the trick is to mix it accordingly.

Kieran Owen said:

@Guinea Pig Papa, I have no idea what breed the long haired Guinea pig is it's either between: Coronet, Silkie, Peruvian, do you think you could help me find out lol, it's too dark at the moment it's 23:57, I can check in the morning.

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If you're only 14 and it's after midnight in England, you should probably be sleeping, no? I know I would be and I'm a lot older than you lol. As I said I know very little about the breeds of guinea pigs, I know some but nowhere near all.

Oh I thought you said I am an expert at Guinea Pig breeds, sorry, and I don't live in England, I live near England, still in the UK, I am Welsh, I live in Wales.

Haha, no, I said I'm NO expert lol. I apologize for being a dopey North American, the UK is England to me even though I know it encompasses England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and such.