End of my tether with messy pig!

Hailz81

Hailz81

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
29
Reaction score
21
Points
125
Hi all,
Try as I might I can’t keep my long haired ronaldo clean! He continues to poo everywhere including in his bed and wee everywhere and he sits it it!
I’ve tried fleece hat chipping a the lot! I’ve settled on puppy pads with a layer of dust free clippings on top as the best option. However, he’s now got poo all stuck in his fur! I’m going to cut him as short as poss today but if anyone has any tips it wud be much appreciated. I don’t like the thought of him getting wet and dirty! 😩
 
I know that feeling! I have a sepcial needs girl who try as I might, I couldn't keep her dry on most bedding. I swapped through loads! But I've been using the white Kaytee clean and cosy paper bedding for a few months now and she's been dry as a bone. It's much more absorbent than most other bedding, it is expensive though, so you could always just put it in high traffic areas like under pigloos or any place they prefer to sleep.
It's done wonders for my Bramble who used to need frequent washes and wipes with a cloth. Trimming the hair will definitely help too!
 
Blitzen used to do this all the time and the little menace refused to let me groom him properly either. When I switched from Carefresh to Megazorb though he became much better, much more dry...and then all I had to worry about was his fur knotting itself instead.
 
I would suggest sticking with fleece bedding and making sure his bum, belly and sides are trimmed short. This is what I do with mine.
 
Thanks everyone I’ve had him in the sink tonight tried to cut what I could and washed his back end. I’ve had to put him back as he’s too distressed 😩 need a Guinea pig groomer in liverpool asap x
 
Fleece bedding and regular fur trimming in our house. They have hay trays with hemp bedding and hay.

Hope you find someone who can help. Vets and pet sitters are worth asking. Good luck.
 
I’ve had him out and tried to trim him with the help of my friend made sure I wasn’t too near his skin cutting him and gave his back end a quick wash he was so distressed and squealed the whole time so I couldn’t do a very good job his heart was racing so fast I didn’t want to stress him any further so he has one side cut short he looks a blooming mess! And there’s still fur that needs cutting 😩
 
He doesn't know what he looks like so don't worry! Betsy always has a lop sided summer hair do for a bit. One side is grade 4 the other is just Betsy fur! You can always finish it another day.:))
 
He’s clean as much as I can and I hope happy! I feel like a piggy mum failure xx
 

Attachments

  • CF3838E0-3A45-44C6-AD2D-17B1E074F0E4.webp
    CF3838E0-3A45-44C6-AD2D-17B1E074F0E4.webp
    46.4 KB · Views: 26
  • 2A02937E-E7FF-4C7D-B578-8F696AAA4AE3.webp
    2A02937E-E7FF-4C7D-B578-8F696AAA4AE3.webp
    37.8 KB · Views: 26
Hi
Don't worry. I suggest trimming his butt as short as possible. If you can't them take him to a professional groomer to get him buzzed. This should last at least a month. If not trim him regularly very short at least every 2 weeks. Do you have a grooming stand these really help keep piggy still whilst you work on his butt.
 
Hi
Don't worry. I suggest trimming his butt as short as possible. If you can't them take him to a professional groomer to get him buzzed. This should last at least a month. If not trim him regularly very short at least every 2 weeks. Do you have a grooming stand these really help keep piggy still whilst you work on his butt.
 
My boy Finn has long hair and I have cut his hair before. I wanted to make sure his hair on his bum is clean and short so he can be comfortable. Finn is good and remains very quietly while I cut his hair.

Both Finn’s and Lara’s cages are always maintained with poop scooping at least three times a day.
They have fleece liners. Their cages are lined with puppy pee pads at the very bottom, then I place fleece lining on top. The pee-pads are at the very top on high traffic areas. I change the pee-pads every two days, and lining every 5 days. Their cages are washed with water and scrubbed with vinegar.
Their fleece liners and pee-pads are washed with detergent and soaked in vinegar water for a couple of hours.
 
I shouldn't worry what he looks like, I mean Tom bless him is sporting a buzz cut as it was the only way I could get Mini's boar glue off him!
 
Hi. I personally think he would be better and have a poo corner or elsewhere to wee if he had a bigger home. I'm sorry if this is harsh but he needs to run and skip.
Your photos unless at a funny angle show a cage far too small for a piggie.
I'm trying to help and you come across as caring which is looking after a piggie or piggies so pls don't take a offense.
He wee and poo under his shelter.
Dave
 
Oh I didn't realise you use shavings oh my goodness, I'm not sure If anyone else with long hair piggies hates loose bedding but oh my goodness when I used shavings they were always yellow underneath. Once I switched to fleece it really helped.
 
Thanks for replies.
I did take advice from pets at home on his cage size and bought the size they reccomended.
I did buy fleece liners and tried those but they got smelly very quick x
 
The PAH recommendation for a piggy cage is way too small.
I have a 5x2 C&C cage with a 2x2 extension and my 2 youngest happily zoom around the whole cage.
Check the housing guides on the forum for information about cage size.

I kept my original too small PAH cage so I can use it as a hospital cage if it’s ever needed.
 
My pets at home cage is 3ft 3 x 2ft 7. I dont really habe room for a bigger one. I feel so bad now might need to look to rehome him 😩
 
That cage is too small for a permanent home. My hospital cage is that size. Don't feel bad about having the wrong size cage you are doing the best you can and took the cage size recommended and thought you were buying the correct size. With piggies it is the bigger the better then you can put loads of stuff in it and keep them stimulated. When I first got piggies I was recommended that size cage for 2 boys! I realised it was far too small very quickly and my late Mum's partner built them a lovely hutch about twice the size and they were happy in it for 5 years.
 
When i first got piggies I thought the Ferplast 80cm was huge but it barely lasted 4 weeks before I realised it was just a litter box and there was no where to run. Piggies run super fast I would say they like to sprint not run which gives you an idea of what their basic exercise needs are to keep then healthy and happy.

1 currently have a 1.5 x 4 C&C cage for a pair I have because it was too wide for the space I wanted so I made it longer but narrower. With these cages you can make them to fit any shape whilst giving some sprint room so to speak. I wouldn't go smaller than the Ferplast 120 for your piggy. Mine would constantly pee under their hideaway in a small cage now it's Bigger the hide away stays dry and they seem to go to the end of the cage to do their business, there is more room and less mess to walk in overall keeping them dry and happy.

If you can commit to 2 Piggies in a 120cm cage then you will be meeting all your piggies needs and any problems usually just iron themselves out.

If you have a garden or an outdoor space you could have a hutch which means you don't have to give up any indoor space.
 
Betsy said:
That cage is too small for a permanent home. My hospital cage is that size. Don't feel bad about having the wrong size cage you are doing the best you can and took the cage size recommended and thought you were buying the correct size. With piggies it is the bigger the better then you can put loads of stuff in it and keep them stimulated. When I first got piggies I was recommended that size cage for 2 boys! I realised it was far too small very quickly and my late Mum's partner built them a lovely hutch about twice the size and they were happy in it for 5 years.
Click to expand...
I was reccommended the Ferplast 80 at P@H!
 
Kindness said:
I was reccommended the Ferplast 80 at P@H!
Click to expand...
P&H has a lot to answer for! They sell you the small cage then when you realise it's too small you go back for a larger one therefore spending more money. Kerching for P&H!

Now I have 5 piggies they live in Piggy Paradise!
New hutch.webp

They are out in the run on the patio today. The run is covered up with an old duvet to keep off the sun and the grass is dead and yellow not green!

Piggy Playground.webp
 
If you really love him don't re home him. take him out and, if you have a garden, put him in an outdoor run often. You can lay an easy wipe map on the floor of a room an push books ECT against the edges of the room so he doesn't get lost
 
Betsy said:
P&H has a lot to answer for! They sell you the small cage then when you realise it's too small you go back for a larger one therefore spending more money. Kerching for P&H!

Now I have 5 piggies they live in Piggy Paradise!
View attachment 91568

They are out in the run on the patio today. The run is covered up with an old duvet to keep off the sun and the grass is dead and yellow not green!

View attachment 91570
Click to expand...
That is such a beautiful setup, makes me want to run out and get a hutch but I can't because I have fake grass :(
 
Hailz81 said:
My pets at home cage is 3ft 3 x 2ft 7. I dont really habe room for a bigger one. I feel so bad now might need to look to rehome him 😩
Click to expand...
As I said before dont. The drama of finding new homes killed 4 of my friends piggies. Plus, there are other solutions. I mentioned one before.
MissGpigQueen said:
If you really love him don't re home him. take him out and, if you have a garden, put him in an outdoor run often. You can lay an easy wipe map on the floor of a room an push books ECT against the edges of the room so he doesn't get lost.
If you HAVE to re home him try to find a home locally with someone who would be willing to make several trips to meet the guinea pig so the piggie knows them and who you know will look after them well. Also, if you know them you can visit the piggie. It will make the moving experience a lot less stressful if the pig knows his new owner.
all the best for you and your piggie,
MissGpigQueen x
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I do my best with Finn's hair cutting, and if he looks silly after his haircut, I am not too worried about it.

My main concern is cleanliness of his cage so he isn't sitting in soiled, dirty cage.

Both my Finn and Lara live indoor, and their cages are centrally located between living room, bathroom, foyer, and kitchen. For some reason, they really like to be in the center of everything.
 
Cage size is a steep learning curve, we had a temporary 80x60cm cage (thanks P@H) for a week then bought a 2×4 hutch and a 4x4 indoor playpen too, then a 120 cage... then we adopted Theo in a 90cm x 60cm cage his previous owner described as "really huge" again based on P@H advice... and bought him another temporary 2x4 hutch and 4x4 playpen just to last the summer... and now we are planning a 5x2 C&C for when all 3 piggies move in together. And the playpens will clip together to be 6x6 feet. The recriminating looks from the piggies if they arent given 3 hours hutch time and 3 to 6 hours playpen time every day say it all...
Its totally not any new owners fault piggy housing is mis-sold but once you see them zooming and popcorning around a bigger space its hard to deny them that!
And guilt tripping anyone who wants to rehome their piggies on welfare grounds probably isnt helpful. We got Theo "second hand" and he hasnt died of stress, he's finally met his forever family and has met some beautiful lady piggies and he will be helping me order his 5x2 C &C love palace while sitting on my shoulder and eating watermelon next payday...
Do what you feel is best for your piggies! You must have your piggies best interests at heart or you wouldnt be asking on the forum :)
 
I wouldn’t feel bad about the cage size, it’s not your fault - p@h recommends ones that are way too small. I got a ferplast 100 (which I actually thought was a 120) on their recommendation for my 2 boys. They were just babies when I got them so it wasn’t so bad at first but after a month it seemed too little so I upgraded to a C&C. The main advantage that I find of the C&C is that it seems so much less messy because there is more space. Like I said, don’t feel bad. You weren’t to know that you were given the wrong information (I certainly didnt at first). You obviously care about your boy very much. All the best!

P.S. my boys also like to poo and wee in their beds and lie in it so I think it’s a boy thing haha
 
You can't keep them perfectly clean all the time but can give a bath every once in awhile as well. Long haired beauties definitely require more grooming and care; getting them used to lap time and brushing them daily can get them used to clipping easier.

I have a back porch full of store bought cages for my first guinea pigs and have a humongous problem with how they contribute to unhappy gp's and new owners. Even against the Humane Society. I wasted a lot of money when it was half the price to make a cavy cage, thinking I was doing the best for them.

Fleece is very much best with a kitchen area. It keeps the potty area separate. I use fleece potty pads about 10x 10 or varying for corners where they will lay more and use as potty areas. Any scraps of fleece with a pad under put together work. You can change them once or twice a day and they are easy to wash. It helps a lot with them. Even with this however, some little piggies just love to be a bit filthy :-). You are doing what any loving piggy parent would in caring for them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top