Eating a lot of wood

Kategarrison15

Kategarrison15

New Born Pup
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Hi all! I recently added a new level to my guinea pigs cage. However, I am noticing that my guinea pig is eating an excessive amount of the wood this is made of. Is this something to worry about? I have attached pics of the spots he has been eating. Thank you in advance!
 

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I cannot see what your enclosure looks like, but would it be possible to form a perimeter of coroplast around the wood?
Do your piggies have enough chews? :)
 
My guinea pigs definitely love to chew! :)
Some of my hidey houses are wooden to satisfy their hobby!
Here are some ideas:
https://www.amazon.com/Niteangel-Wi...07F3H1SF5/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
https://www.amazon.com/Guinea-Chinc...07G77QHGQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
https://www.amazon.com/PIVBY-Wooden...3882&sprefix=wooden+guinea+pi,aps,222&sr=8-15
I would not recommend buying wood products from Amazon, though. It is always best to find a store where you can check the items for mold or other problems. :)
I hope this helps!
 
I forgot to ask, how much hay are you feeding them?
Make sure to replenish their supply every couple of hours. This will probably help distract them from the wood, as well. :)
 
Thank you for all the help! They do have a constant supply of hay.
 
Do they have any hides that they can chew on - carrot cottages, cardboard? Otherwise I would try and block their access to that section. If the pine hasn’t been kiln dried then it’s not safe to use though...
 
One of ours also does this (he's also really into eating newspaper, to the extent he will manage to get it out from under the fleece etc to be able to munch on it). The hutch is specifically for small furries to the wood was definitely safe for them (I cannot remember what it is exactly because it was a few years ago we bought it). He has suffered no ill effects to date. I've just assumed its a hobby he enjoys in the same way that our other piggie likes to spend time running through tunnels!
 
Thank you!
LMPigs said:
One of ours also does this (he's also really into eating newspaper, to the extent he will manage to get it out from under the fleece etc to be able to munch on it). The hutch is specifically for small furries to the wood was definitely safe for them (I cannot remember what it is exactly because it was a few years ago we bought it). He has suffered no ill effects to date. I've just assumed its a hobby he enjoys in the same way that our other piggie likes to spend time running through tunnels!
Click to expand...
I will see if there is a way to block access to that portion of the wood
 
Siikibam said:
Do they have any hides that they can chew on - carrot cottages, cardboard? Otherwise I would try and block their access to that section. If the pine hasn’t been kiln dried then it’s not safe to use though...
Click to expand...
They do have a couple wood chews. The upper level is simply made of a 2 by 4 from my local Home Depot.
 
that's nothing one of mine is a real chewer or was when he was younger, fingers crossed we're growing out of that phase. it's probably a good idea to block access to it if you're not sure if it was kiln dried. I think sometimes they do it when things are in their way especially with cardboard boxes if they want to make a window into a door or make a doorway wider for a quicker escape, if it's a new cage they're probably just trying to make it feel a bit more lived in.
 
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