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Guinea pig poop smells really bad

Starburst

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, I have 2 guinea pigs. 1 is 2 years old and the other 24 weeks old. They have shared a 3 x 5 cage now for months. I had the 2 year old first and never had a problem with a smelly room or poop. Only when I got another guinea pig the smell has got really bad. That bad you can smell it as soon as you walk in the room. The colour of it looks fine and it's quite moist. I feed them Timothy hay, pellets and a variety of veggies. 2 leafs of romaine lettuce, 3 slices of cucumber, 6 strips of yellow pepper, occasionally a slice of carrot. I'm I giving them too much veggies and why its causing the bad smell or is there a problem with them? They are both girls
 
In terms of the smell, What are they bedded on and how often do you change their bedding?

In terms of their diet, they need to eat more hay than anything else. Around 80% of their daily food intake should be hay. They should have around 50g of veg per day - although you don’t have to be too exact. Pellets should be kept limited to one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day.
 
@Piggies&buns I am using c&e cosies fleeces. There also brand new. I clean up there poop daily and wash there fleeces once a week but straight after washing the fleeces and they poop you can start to smell it. Yeah the veggies weigh around 100 grams 50 grams per pig. I put a handful of pellets for each pig. Theres also white marks on the fleece
 
You might need an extra absorbent layer under the fleece, or to change it twice a week? We have Vetfleece Inconti-Pet washable puppy mats under our fleece and wash everything twice a week, mine only really smell noticeably the night before their wednesday cage clean (their other cage clean is saturday)
 
So is it the poop or the fleece that is smelling? Most people using fleece change them every 3/4 days - if it is the fleece that smells, then I’d try changing them out more often. Do those fleeces have an absorbent layer stitched into them?
If it is the poop itself that smells, then I think you need to look at the diet a bit more. My piggies poop doesn’t noticeably smell.

A handful of pellets per pig is likely too much. It really is only a tiny amount of pellets they need - one tablespoon. With the pellets I use, it amounts literally to just a few pellets per pig. Too many pellets can contribute to a high calcium intake which can cause the white spots on the fleece. While it can be normal to see some white patches if there are a lot or if when you touch the patches it feels gritty then it can indicate that there is too much calcium in the diet. As I say, overfeeding pellets and not using filtered water for then to drink can contribute to excess calcium.
 
Are you sure it’s not the wee that smells rather than the poo?...

The white marks are likely from calcium in the urine. That’s how they get rid of the excess. Pellets should be kept to a tablespoon per piggy per day. Veg, I don’t weigh rather eyeball it.
 
@Piggies&buns yeah the absorbent layer underneath is zorb. I washed there fleeces yesterday? I usually buy volvic water. It that ok? @Siikibam its 100% there poo. When I sweep up there poo daily and put in a bag to dispose of, I can smell the bag and it's the exact same smell as I get from the room smell
 
Their poop really shouldn’t smell that bad - as I say, I don’t smell anything from my two. Are their poops properly formed, not runny at all?
 
@Piggies&buns They look normal. Dark brown sometimes looks black and slightly moist looking. Not sure what's happening. Does too many vegtables cause it to smell at? I will clean the fleeces regularly as well and see but the smell is definitely there poo coming from either both or one of them lol
 
Excessive veg can cause their poops to become runny, possibly more smelly.
If you think there is something wrong, then they ought to be checked by a vet.
All I can say is that my piggies poop is not overly smelly at all. It’s certainly not a terribly offensive smell and their shed and in their hutch doesn’t smell at all.
 
@Piggies&buns ok thanks for your help. I will clean fleeces more often, change the pellet amounts and veggies and see how it goes.
 
@Piggies&buns I just realised that I have recently changed there hay. It used to be meadow hay but it's now woodlands Timothy hay with carrot and apple. Could this possibly be the reason? Thanks
 
Some foods can make their poop smell. I can smell the difference if mine have had broccoli or parsley. Is it possibly the wee that smells? If so that can be an indication of a urine infection.
 
@VickiA I dont think it is there wee. When I walk into the room and smell, it's the exact same smell as there poop when I'm scooping it up and binning it. The poop looks completely normal. It's just the smell that's bad and when theres a lot of it, its overpowering. It never used to be like this. Only recently and I'm just thinking if it's the hay as that's the only thing I have changed. The new fleeces were bought last week as well
 
@VickiA I dont think it is there wee. When I walk into the room and smell, it's the exact same smell as there poop when I'm scooping it up and binning it. The poop looks completely normal. It's just the smell that's bad and when theres a lot of it, its overpowering. It never used to be like this. Only recently and I'm just thinking if it's the hay as that's the only thing I have changed. The new fleeces were bought last week as well

Perhaps try a change of hay and see if it changes anything?
 
@VickiA Yeah I'm going to try that and see as well. Does scent marking smell bad at all and do girls do it? I have seen the 24 week old pig drag its bum across the fleece?
 
They all do it, but generally girls’ scent is far less strong than boar scent.
 
Could the new fleeces not be wicking and the poos are damp and getting smelly that way? I'd never get a week out of a fleece before washing, but your 3x5 is bigger than my 2x5.
 
@Black piggies yeah I just thought because it's a bigger cage I could get away with once a week washing the fleeces. Not sure what's going on but I'm going to clean the cage and wash the fleeces again tomorrow, wash the piggies and possibly put one of them in a different cage temporarily and see if it's both of them that have the smell or just one of them.
 
Did you upgrade from a 2x5? Do the piggies like the big 3x5?
Hopefully it's encouraging that you're not getting lots of messages about smelly poos being linked to a certain health problem.
 
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