Guinea pigs in bedroom?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rawr~

Joined
Sep 1, 2011
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi again Guinea pig forum. Ended up spending quite a lot of last night browsing through older posts via the search function as I tried to find out more :))

However now I feel I need to ask the question that was the main reason I joined the forum...would you say it's feasible to keep GPs in my bedroom?

Some details about the room before I go on- without even having to move anything I would have room for a nice cage (largest bedroom in the house) and I would still have floor space left over. And the house also has a nice sized garden, so they'd have room for a nice run in the warmer months. Oh and for me personally, I tend to use earphones and keep my TV quiet, so there wouldn't be a lot of loud noises.

However there are currently two main problems I see for myself- noise and smell. As I've said in a previous post, I've decided to go for two females, as experience with rats have taught me the more 'musky' smell of males can mess with my nose. However I suspect smell won't be as much of a factor as 1) they're females so less musk 2) there will be fewer of them 3) I think they mark less and most importantly 4) being Guinea pigs they obviously won't have hammocks and rope perches to retain that pee smell :))

So that leaves sound as the big worry. Though it normally takes a lot to wake me when asleep, I can take a while to get to sleep in the first place. Many a night was spent hoping desperately for the rats to stop play fighting/jumping/running around and have some sleep so I could too. I suspect Guinea pigs would have less playfighting (especially females) and given their nature, there wouldn't be much clanging as they climbed/jumped down from the sides (though I guess some like to climb a bit).

So hopefully so far it should be ok- but there is also one other question. Wheeking- how loud can it be, and would it happen late at night often? I find the sound relaxing in a way, but have only had videos and no personal experience so I don't know how loud it can be. The house has quite thick walls (the person above me, and next to me never heard a peep from the rats running around) but I know if there was constant loud wheeking, in time I'd have to get a hutch or something. However so far it seems wheeking is more linked to "oooh time for food" and they'll probably be asleep before me...

Sorry for the novel, but before I can proceed any further, I have to figure out if I can actually keep them in my room. As said we do have a garden, but I know my weaknesses- in time I'd find myself thinking "ooh it's too cold/wet now I'll go out later"...plus having them in my room would increase the bond immensely ")
 
There will be no smell if you keep the cage clean. The main noise you will hear is when they drink from their water bottle. That is very loud. They may play and make little noises but you will soon get used to that. I live in a studio flat so sleep in the same room as my piggies and I am used to their noise. They only wheek when they want food so it is unlikely they will do that at night unless you open the fridge!
 
My daughter does have 1 pig in her bedroom and she could not sleep at night initially for the noise. Jasmine (her pig) eats hay from a ball that hangs from the cage as we found this better than putting piles of hay in the cage as it was making so much mess in the bedroom (praticularly at cleaning out time). Anyway she would eat at night from the ball and all we could hear was the ball landing against the bars. I just moved it around so ball was sitting on the fleece flooring overnight so it was not so much of a problem.

Smell can be an issue, i find hay has its own very strong smell, but i agree with the previous post that cleaning out regularly will prevent this.

I would have to say though that i would not let my daughter have anymore than one pig in her room, but her room is not the largest like yours and we can only fit a two storey 100cm cage in which i believe is only suitable for one pig xx
 
I have my two boys in my bedroom. they can be a little bit noisy banging things around in the night, but that's because they have lots of toys to play with. They dont generally climb or knaw the bars so theres none of that sort of noise.
I sometimes hear them running around and chasing each other but its not normally enough to wake me up and its nice listening to them playing while I'm laying in bed.
Ollie has the loudest wheek in the world - I can hear him from over the other side of the house but this is normally only when he is saying' Mum, when's dinner' - he doesn't wheek in the night.
The only issue I have with them is their smell to be honest. I have to change them out twice a week and if I fail to do so they really stink. I use sawdust, and have used fleece in the past but that just smelt awful and I couldnt bare it in my room. So now I have the strong smell of sawdust at first and then by cleaning day they are a bit smelly - but this is just something I put up with.
They also do make a mess when they kick sawdust/hay/food/poops out of their cage so I am hoovering pretty much all the time. I have wooden floors so I also keep a dustpan and brush handy and use that to sweep the floor every day.
I wouldn't have my piggies outside. I'd be too worried about the heat/cold/something getting them. Also because I work long hours I dont think I'd ever see them, so it is lovely having them in my room and they make a usually grumpy me, a very happy me first thing in the morning.
 
Last edited:
i think it would depend on the pig.

Ours are indoors, one in the living room and two in the dinning room. They don't smell unless we have been lazy on the cage cleaning, Putt loves the telly and always comes out for Olly murs!

The wheeking isnt too bad but when she chews her wooden villa then she is really loud and can be heard upstairs - there is no way i could sleep through it.
 
i used to have mine in the bedroom till i made room for them in the living room. as long as you keep them cleaned out often enough they wont smell, but if, like me, you got them toys with bells in, i'd take them out of the cage before you go to bed! haha! as they can be noisy little at times! they only wheek when they want something, so as long as they have plenty of food and hay and water etc. they shouldn't wheek at night really x
 
My son Toby has Max (and soon to be Dobby) in his room.

To answer your questions:

1) we've tried with both shavings and fleece (and have found fleece easier) and there is no preceptible smell. We poo pick each day and wash the fleece every four or so days.

2) T finds it very very hard to fall asleep but is fine with Max. Usually max settles right down once the light is off and the only noise to be heard it his teeth as he chomps on hay.
 
pigs in the room

Hi there (: well i have 2 cages in my room with 2 pigs in them and they seem fine kevin been in my room for a year and a half hes no problem but coco (rehommed) one i got a month back hes a cage biter but he adventuly gives up (: also i have a west highland terrier and goldfish in my room and my room doesnt smell that bad
 
Two of my pigs live in my bedroom and the only noise is the water bottle. Its quite nice going to sleep hearing them munching on their hay, and snuffling about :)
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I guess if seven piggies in a room work out, two should be fine :)) I currently have a hamster in my room, and apart from his wheel being a bit creaky now, I have no problems with his munching or scampering around at night

And I can't believe I forgot about the water bottle- I had two in the rat cage one was really quiet, but the other one...oh the noise from that at night :))
 
Well I think if you have survived with a hamster in your room, you'll definately cope with piggies. I had to put my hamster out of my room every night because she kept me awake all night long with her squeeky wheel.
 
If you do keep them in your bedroom, please remember that piggies are very sensitive to chemicals so don't use perfume/deodorant etc anywhere near them, use the bathroom instead :)
 
My boy is in my bedroom, I have got used to his noises and find them comforting. I have no smell from him. The main thing is to never spray perfumes hair spray deoderant etc as piggiesvare sensitive to this xx
 
Okay, i had Skittle with me in my room when i was in uni last year - he could be a nightmare because he was a bar biter, but luckily we had wooden flooring so if he was being a nightmare when i was sleeping, i'd just pop his cage open, make a ramp, clear any wires and let him have free run for the night if he wanted :)) more often than not he'd stay in his cage but i think he just didn't like feeling locked in. He could stink, but he was a boy after all rolleyes and he was cleaned often enough that it didn't get nauseating.

With the two girls I've now got it's a similar story, but as they're babies they are VERY bouncy. I'm rudely awaken by Nuggit every morning at 7:30am by her ragging at the water bottle (a foot from my head) and Poppet does laps around the cage so it sounds like a herd of Wildebeast are passing through :)) . Personally i find it comforting because Skittle was the same when he wanted his brekkers! My mum however, gets a bit annoyed by it from the next room lol.

During the day, after 12 they do have a habit of schreeching at me if they here anything at all rustling, but they quiet down soon enough and of a night they have a cheeky habit of wheeking the loudest they possibly can because they like veggies before bed :(|) if one starts, the other joins in and it becomes a battle for the loudest most deserving squeak. I find it endearing lol it's harder settling them because its two, compared to me bringing Skittle up on his own for the first year but tbh everything else is the same - just keep certain things at hand for those excessive squeaky moments - maybe have a parsley plant growing in a pot in your from for example, keep dried dandelions/foragey foods handy.

Also, i've learnt that if i chut at them, they stop and purr at me as if to say *sorry mummy!* and eventually just play quietly :))

They can be noisy sods, but it is down to you i suppose - it depends on the pigs too!
I wouldn't have my pigs anywhere else =D
 
harold_the_pig said:
My boy is in my bedroom, I have got used to his noises and find them comforting. I have no smell from him. The main thing is to never spray perfumes hair spray deoderant etc as piggiesvare sensitive to this xx
Click to expand...

I agree with this =D my boy used to freak out - ended up buying a Febreeze spritzer for my room when it did get a bit wiffy because it made less noise.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
If you do keep them in your bedroom, please remember that piggies are very sensitive to chemicals so don't use perfume/deodorant etc anywhere near them, use the bathroom instead :)
Click to expand...

I'm male so perfume doesn't count for me, and I've been in the habit of doing deodorant in a different room because of former ratties/my hamster

I think as long as I don't have a constant bar chewer (every now and then Gizmo will suddenly do that) I should be fine, as the cage be about 8-9 feet diagonally away from where my head will be at night :))
 
You should be aware, guineas do smell. They smell like guinea pigs. This is a very distinctive smell. Its not nasty (not wee or poo) But the same as dogs have a scent, so do they. :) Just thought i would make that clean.

I found sawdust made WAYYY to much mess in my room as was always getting stuck down the back of the cage. So i changed to fleece, Since the change i find the place smells less as long as its cleaned out, because whatever i was she fleece in is the same as my clothes get washed in (minus fabric softner) So that doesnt smell, its only the hay, and that i quite like. :) (I have two boys btw :P)
 
I'm currently leaning either towards finacard or fleece (with a towel underneath?) for the cage

I saw another thread about bedroom pigs (kept thinking it was mine and had been moved 8:) ) which made me think about something else- do piggies have their own routines, or do they adapt to their owners? I've had problems with sleep for a few years, so I'm now far from an early waker. Of course they'd always have hay but would pigs probably adapt to my slightly unusual later to bed/later to wake routine?

Oh and on a completely different topic (might as well ask now instead of waiting and starting a short new thread) when I had the rats, I'd take time to get to know each one individually. Of course I know I have to give them time (even before my research I knew they could be skittish :)) ) but after they've got use to me would it be an idea to have each one separately up on my bed with me for a while to increase their trust? Or would 'separating' them cause more stress (even though they'd still be in the same room).

Thanks again
 
Rawr~ said:
I'm currently leaning either towards finacard or fleece (with a towel underneath?) for the cage

I saw another thread about bedroom pigs (kept thinking it was mine and had been moved 8:) ) which made me think about something else- do piggies have their own routines, or do they adapt to their owners? I've had problems with sleep for a few years, so I'm now far from an early waker. Of course they'd always have hay but would pigs probably adapt to my slightly unusual later to bed/later to wake routine?
Click to expand...

Pigs so have there own routines but they can also adapt to yours a bit, for example feeding time, my pigs have always known that breakfast is at 8am (thats when they start making a racket) because from when they are small i feed at 8am and 5pm. No other snacks inbetween, because they have all there hay and foragey foods.
But, in the beginning of the year Skittle had started to get used to MY routine , where i'd be in and out of the flat at uni all day.
Also when it was still freezing i used to cover Skits cage with a blanket at night (and he'd go to bed after 30mins, you'd just hear him munching :) ), but one side near my bed allowed me to see in. First thing of a morning, he would get up, have a drink and go on top of his house and snooze, waiting for me to get up :)) or he wouldn't come out until i uncovered the cage. That blanket did serious things, he seemed to know after a while that blanket meant shush!
Also, me and my OH worked late, so when we were busy cooking tea in the kitchen, Skit would shout because he wanted to be involved as he'd not seen us. It took over 8 months for us to have that sort of rhythm but he just knew things lol =D.

Separating them for cuddle times shouldn't be an issue. Try having individual sesh's and then ones with them both together?
 
I'm a nurse so I work all different shift patterns and my piggies have adapted to my routine (or lack of one) very well. When I'm working an early shift they're fed in the evening and when I'm on a late they're fed in the morning. They squeek at anytime when ever someone goes in or out of my room, but I think they have learned that dinner is served when it's served and they have to be patient.
Also I often take one out for a cuddle and they dont seem to miss each other at all - I dont think my piggies are in love as much as some piggies and quite often enjoy their own space. They never share an igloo together. If you get two piggies who can't bare to be seperated you probably still could have individual lap time if you want to make sure they bond well with you, I'm sure it wouldn't do them any harm. Maybe just keep it short and then reunite them.
 
Thanks that's good to hear, as my schedule can be slightly...erratic to say the least :))

And in other news, instead of narrowing my options, after a late night search-a-thon I've now added vetbed to my list of potential cage bedding material :))


Oh and I feel a bit silly to ask (I finally remembered to order some books last night including the RSPCA one so they might say) but what size do Guinea pigs actually grow to from (lack of) tail to nose? I can't seem to find a consistent answer, and most search results only talk about weight :... Just curious about how big female Guinea pig's tend to be as younglings, and then roughly how big they get
 
Rawr~ said:
Thanks that's good to hear, as my schedule can be slightly...erratic to say the least :))

And in other news, instead of narrowing my options, after a late night search-a-thon I've now added vetbed to my list of potential cage bedding material :))


Oh and I feel a bit silly to ask (I finally remembered to order some books last night including the RSPCA one so they might say) but what size do Guinea pigs actually grow to from (lack of) tail to nose? I can't seem to find a consistent answer, and most search results only talk about weight :... Just curious about how big female Guinea pig's tend to be as younglings, and then roughly how big they get
Click to expand...

My adult female piggy is about 25 cm nose to lack-of tail hope that helps :)
 
Piggies vary hugely in size in adult hood, so its very hard to tell, boars often get bigger than sows, but not always.

Regards to the fleece, you can use towel (i did for a while) But if you are starting from scratch, i would suggest you either buy (a member on here sells them) or make a cage liner, which is fleece, with a matress protector cut to the size of the cage base, and then the fleece carries on to sort of hook over the side of the corex (if you search cage liner I'm sure you will find it), i made my own the other day and making 4 from scratch (scratch being bringing it all in from the shop, not cut to size or measured or even out of the packet) (two big for the main cage, and two small for the hay loft) and including different coloured sides (so more sewing for me) took me about 8 hours. :)

I would recomend these as unless you buy expensive towls or use multiple layers, i found they were getting VERY smelly and had to be changed every other day, as soon as i used the cage liner, i now only change every 5 days (using disposable baby changing pads insted of newspaper right at the bottom has i thing added atleast a day onto this, so cage liner and newspaper may only be 4 days helped this)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top