Gingers pee and poop

Question

Gingers pee and poo   my one guinea pig Oreo died on Sunday suddenly.   The day she died her symptoms were refusal to eat or drink, hunched posture, not moving a lot, and crust infrunt of her eyes.      Her sister Ginger was in the same cage until a few hours befor Oreo died.     
Now Ginger has some small poop and her pee when kinda dry is milky white and when dry curtsy.    She is eatting and drinking normaly.  But I was wondering why the pee and poop change??     My other guinea pigs pee and poop like normal.

Answer
Guinea pigs don't show signs of illness until it's almost always too late. The hunched posture and not moving a lot is a sign of severe illness and imminent death.  Same with the crusty eyes.

The white urine is a sign of dehydration. The question of course is why? I suspect that Oreo's problem may have been a nutritional one. Have you given them anything out of the normal in the way of treats, etc?  Have you changed their food?  Are you feeding guinea pig food or rabbit food? There IS a difference.

I've had experiences in my own caviary where a cage was not getting sufficient water because the water bottle spout was stuck or clogged. That's an easy thing to check. Just tap the little ball with your finger and water should come out. If it does not, it is clogged. If the bottle is empty every day don't assume they're drinking from it. It could be leaking and not allowing them enough water. I've had this happen as well. If that's the case the shavings or bedding underneath will be soaking wet. Again, easy fix. Just time for a new bottle.

It's a good sign that Ginger is eating and drinking normally. As far as the small poo and the milky pee that makes me think that somehow she is not getting sufficient nutrition. You didn't say how old Oreo was, but if she was four or over she may have died just from old age. Cavies don't live a long life.

One good way to assure they're getting enough fluid is to offer wet lettuce. For hydration purposes Iceberg lettuce is the best. It has little or no nutritional value, but it's mainly water and therefore is a good means of supplying fluid. They should not be getting too much in the way of treats, fruits and veggies. You don't want to keep them from eating their pellets.

This time of year is a good time for the things they do love the most. Watermelon is on the top of the list, but they prefer the rind. So you eat the red part, then give the pigs small chunks of the white and green part.

Heat is a major danger for guinea pigs. I also live in the northeast and although we've had a lot of rain, on the days that it's hot it is very humid. If you have a basement that's the safest place in the house for the pigs. It's always cool.

I would recommend you try giving the pigs extra lettuce to help assure they're getting enough liquid in their diet. When they do not the stool gets hard and also small. That's because there isn't enough water in it.

I don't think whatever Oreo died from was contagious. It sounds to me like it may be more environmental as in too much heat where they are housed, or nutritional.  So check the water bottles and make sure they are patent. Then give them wet lettuce, that has been washed thoroughly first, and see if this doesn't perk them up.

Hopefully this will be a quick fix. This time of the year is hard on many animals when it gets hot and humid.  Please let me know how they do.  I hope this helps you.  And if you have any other questions by all means please let me know.  That's what we're here for.