Sudden increase in amount of water gp is drinking

Question
Hello, this is my first time asking a question.  I have a 3 month old male cavy.  He has been undergoing treatment for a fungal infection (conofite once per day) for about a month.  In the past day, he has been drinking an excessive amount of water (about 1/4 of the bottle) and he has been urinating alot.  I changed his bedding last night and it is already soaked in his usual urination spot.  We had him out of his cage to play and he peed a little on the carpet and it looked reddish brown (blood?)  He is eating normally and is pooping normally. I have not been able to tell if there is any discoloration in his urine today.  Have you ever experienced this type of situation? 1

Answer
Debbie,

The excessive amount of water is common among Guinea Pigs as the weather gets hotter or the house seems hotter to them. The drink the extra water as away to cool down.

The only time I've experienced the discoloration in urine was when I had adopted a GP with a spinal injury which is common with spinal injury. Other reasons for the discoloration which could be blood in the urine, are Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). The most noticeable signs of a UTI are: Blood in urine and Squeaking while peeing.
It could also be bladder stones and sludge. Signs of which are Blood in urine, Squeaking while urinating and Squeaking while passing fecal pellets.

Come to think of it the only other time I have seen reddish brown urine is when my girls had cardboard shoe boxes, paper towel and toilet paper rolls as toys and where chewing on them a lot. Once I removed the cardboard objects their urine was back to normal color again in about 3 days. It was only until a month after I removed the cardboard that I learned that cardboard is dangerous for Guinea Pigs to chew on.

So if you don't notice any of the squeaking when he goes the bathroom and he has cardboard toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls or shoe box, then try removing the cardboard. But if you do notice the squeaking while peeing or pooing then you'll need to take him down to the vet and get him checked out for UTI or bladder stones.

Good luck to you and take care now,
                   Jules