Liquid gold!
That’s a nicer name for urine. In med schools, pee is called liquid gold as it has to offer a lot of valuable insight into the patient’s health. The same is true about our pocket pets. From the color and consistency of guinea pig urine and poop, experienced guinea pig owners can tell if their guinea pig is healthy or coming up with something. If you have ever pondered about what color should guinea pig urine be, continue reading as we are going to give a description of the guinea pig urine color spectrum.
Guinea Pig Pee
Guinea pigs are always pooping and peeing. On average, a guinea pig pees every 15 minutes and poops around 100 pellets each day. A guinea pig normally pees 3.5 to 4.5ml per 100g of body weight per day. So a guinea pig weighing around 1kg would normally pee as much as 45 ml per day. Anything more than that would be a sign of polyuria/polydipsia.
Given the number of guinea pigs you are keeping, you might have to clean the cage for around two to four times a day to keep it from smelling. If the guinea pig cage is kept clean, a healthy guinea pig would never smell as they are fastidious creatures.
While cleaning your guinea pig’s cage, did you notice some strange stains on the bedding? Did the guinea pig urine color appear a bit different today? Well, worry not. There is probably nothing wrong with your piggy friend and the change of pee color was perhaps because of a change in diet. Continue reading to find out.
Guinea Pig Pee Color Chart
Guinea pig urine color spectrum ranges from transparent to darker shades of yellow and brown and sometimes it may include red or pink color. Below we have designed a guinea pig urine color chart with the potential causes of each pee color and what action should be taken to address the abnormal coloring.
Transparent Pee in Guinea Pigs
While it is widely believed that transparent or clear pee is normal guinea pig pee, it is not. Normal guinea pig pee should have a tint of yellow. Transparent or clear pee means that your guinea pig is drinking too much water. It could be a sign of polyuria/polydipsia, especially if your piggy is drinking and urinating more often. Drinking a lot of water may lead to kidney issues in guinea pigs. It could also mean that your piglet’s kidneys are not working properly and are unable to filter out the toxins from the body.
Cutting on the water intake of your piglet would turn its pee to pale yellow. But if it does not, you should contact your veterinarian.
Guinea Pig Yellow Pee—Normal Guinea Pig Urine Color
Pale and bright yellow is normal guinea pig urine color. If your piggy’s pee color is yellow, you should rejoice as it is a sign of a healthy guinea pig. This yellow-colored urine may turn orange when left standing for a long time. This occurs because of the oxidation of the porphyrins present in the guinea pig’s urine.
You have nothing to worry about yellow pee in a guinea pig. It means that your ball of fur is healthy and you don’t need to make any changes in its diet.
Guinea Pig White Pee Or Milky Yellow
Guinea pig often appears a bit cloudy—from white to milky yellow. The cloudiness and milkiness indicate the presence of calcium compounds in the urine. It could also occur due to dehydration and reduced urine output. If you let the milky guinea pig pee to dry, you will find out that a white powdery substance is left behind. These white powdery substances are calcium compounds.
The milkiness and cloudiness of guinea pigs should be taken seriously as it is one of the warning signs of calciuria, which occurs because of a calcium-rich guinea pig diet. Calcium should be an integral part of the guinea pig diet as it is vital for strong bones and healthy teeth. But when ingested in excess, it is passed into the urine, leading to the cloudiness of urine.
You can take the following steps to manage milky yellow guinea pig pee:
- Switch from alfalfa hay to timothy hay
- Steer clear of cheap guinea pig pellets
- Avoid feeding veggies like collard green, spinach, kale
- Regularly exercise your guinea pig
- Encourage your piglet to drink a lot of water
Guinea Pig Pink Pee
Pink urine in guinea pigs often gets guinea pig owners worried as they think the pink color is due to drops of blood in the urine. But it is probably not the case. Guinea pig pee may turn pee if they have been eating veggies like dandelions, beetroot, red cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, bananas, strawberries, cranberries, etc. In these cases, there is nothing to worry about as it is normal to happen in case of excess consumption of these fruits and veggies.
You can simply reduce the number of fruits and veggies that would impart pink or red pigmentation to guinea pig urine color. If guinea pig pee color does not change back to normal after changes in its diet, you should take your piglet to a veterinarian.
Guinea Pig Dark Urine—Orange to Brown
If your guinea pig is not drinking ample water and is dehydrated, it may have dark-colored urine. Depending on the level of dehydration, the guinea pig’s pee color may be anywhere between orange to dark brown. Besides dehydration, guinea pig urine may also turn orange due to pigmentation. If the dark urine does not fade and turns to pale yellow, on increasing the water intake then you may try cutting out the fruits and veggies that might be causing the pigmentation.
Guinea Pig Red Pee—Guinea Pig Peeing Blood
Guinea pig red pee mostly means that the guinea pig is peeing blood, which is referred to as hematuria. It is a medical condition wherein there is blood in guinea pig pee. But before you start panicking and rush to a veterinarian, you need to make sure it is actually blood or pigmentation from fruits like carrots that guinea pigs ingested in excess.
If there is blood in guinea pig pee, you will be able to tell as the blood separate itself from the rest of the pee. The blood in guinea pig pee would either dry in a darker center or darker outer ring. If it dries with a uniformly dark color, know that there is most probably no blood in your piggy’s pee.
Guinea pigs may pee blood for various reasons like trauma, and urinary tract infections. Kidney or bladder stones, ovarian cysts, or cancer. As you may have guessed, all of the mentioned reasons are serious, so, if you even suspect that there is pee in your piglet’s blood, you should contact a veterinarian without wasting any time.
When it is a female guinea pig peeing blood, many owners assume that it is probably menstrual bleeding, and then delay taking her to a vet. While female guinea pigs do have periods (estrous/heat cycles), they don’t experience menstrual bleeding. So, if your female guinea pig is peeing blood, you should immediately take her to a veterinarian.
UTI In Guinea Pigs! Urinary tract infections are quite common among guinea pigs. Female guinea pigs are even more susceptible to UTIs due to their shorter urethras. The little distance between the anus and urethra further increases the risk of bacteria entering the urinary tract of our piglets. Smaller legs of guinea pigs also increase the risk of UTI as they are likelier to come in contact with poop droppings, urine, and other waste in the cage.
Guinea Pig Pee Color Chart Overview
| Pee color | Meaning | Causes | Actions |
| Transparent | Overhydration | Excessive water intake | Cut on the water intake |
| Yellow | Normal | You are offering a balanced diet to your piglet | Pat yourself on the back |
| White or Milky Yellow | Presence of calcium compounds in urine | Diet is too high in calcium | Cut on fruits and veggies high in calcium |
| Pink | Pigment in blood | Ingestion of fruits like beetroots, red cabbage, carrots, strawberries, blackberries, etc. | Reduce the serving of such fruits and veggies |
| Orange to Brown | Dehydration | Guinea pig is not drinking ample water | Increase the water intake of your piglet Feed hydration fruits and veggies like cucumber and watermelon |
| Red | Blood in urine | UTI, Kidney/bladder stones, cysts, cancer | Trip to a veterinarian Increased water intake antibiotics |
Final Verdict: What Color Should Guinea Pig Urine Be?
Normally guinea pig pee is pale to bright yellow. But if the piglet is overhydrated it will turn transparent or clear and in case of dehydration it will be dark, ranging from orange to dark brown depending on the level of dehydration. In case of overhydration, you will have to decrease the water intake, and in case of dehydration, you will have to get your piglet to drink more water.
Sometimes guinea pig pee is white or milky, which indicates that there are calcium compounds in it, and you need to feed a low calcium diet to your piglet. If a guinea pig appears to be peeing blood, you need to make sure if t is blood or mere pigmentation from fruits and veggies like red cabbage, strawberries, carrots, etc. If it is blood, you will have to immediately take your furry friend to a veterinarian.
