Any Advice Please

[amber horner]

Hi all my two little piggy's Dave and Derek love being in their play pen but I've noticed the last 2 days when they are in there that there is a horrible smell coming from the pen where they have urinated is this normal? Their cage doesn't smell like this its just when they go for a wee in their play pen I've checked both of their bottoms and man bits and everything looks fine I've cleaned their bums and man bits so I'm a bit worried where this smell is coming from sorry if I sound crazy just don't want my boys to unwell x

 

[Critter]

Smelly wee can be a sign of a bladder infection. It can smell like fish that's gone off.... is that what you smell?
It's odd though that it only happens in the play pen. May I ask what bedding you use in the cage and what lining you have for your play pen? Perhaps the urine is reacting to something to create a bad odour?

 

[LilyandGeorge]

Is the flooring or bedding different in each place? I find that piggie wee smells stronger on some surfaces than others.

 

[Swissgreys]

Like others I use 2 different bedding types - one in our play pen and a different one in their actual hutch.
The play pen wee smells more because it is on fleece, and also we have underfloor heating (sorry if that's tmi).

 

[amber horner]

ah thank you i didnt think of that lol in their pen they have paper topped with wood shavings but in their play pen they have just paper as they love to tunnel underneath the paper so yes that would make sense now sorry if i sounded crazy in my first post x it doesnt smell of bad fish i cant really describe it the nearest i can describe it is that it smells like really strong freshly cut grass now i know you will think i sound crazy now lol its just a weird smell x

 

[Wiebke]

ah thank you i didnt think of that lol in their pen they have paper topped with wood shavings but in their play pen they have just paper as they love to tunnel underneath the paper so yes that would make sense now sorry if i sounded crazy in my first post x

It is better to ask once too often than once too little! Paper is not a very good absorbent material, so the pee will sit on top of it.

 

[amber horner]

yes you are right there i will look at changing what i use in their play pen from tomorrow x

 

[Wiebke]

yes you are right there i will look at changing what i use in their play pen from tomorrow x

Some cheap cotton towels are not a bad idea - even better when you can put a fleece on top, so the surface stays rather dry and the liquid is soaked up by the towels. Any fleece needs to be pre-washed 2-3 times without surface-sealing softener and can never be washed with softener, but you can get a cheap 100% acrylyc or polyester bedspread that will work very nicely!
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview

 

[amber horner]

Ah fab thank you I will buy a few of them when I'm next out I've been using some old towels in their play one and the smell isn't as bad as before thank you for all your advice x

 

[luckyandsammy]

Are you sure they are not marking the play pen?

My pigs went through a phase of marking the cage every time I put fresh fleece down. The smell was horrible, I could barely go in my room.
At first I thought it was pee so I changed their bedding every day but then I realised that they are just marking every new thing I put in the cage. They stopped eventually but I had to keep my window open for a while

 

[madguinealady]

Do you have a waterproof layer over your flooring?Their wee may mark the floor of not.I use a groundsheet then towels then fleece in my runs to save my laminate floor.

 

[amber horner]

Yeah I put a water proof sheet down first then the paper I've got some fleece blankets so I'm going to try them tomorrow