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Help me decide please!

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Lisajazz

Lisajazz

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Hello. Okay here's my set up for anyone that doesn't know.

I have 6 indoor guinea pigs who all live in a VERY large 3 storey home very happily. It's a 4 x 2 C&C cage (about a meter and a half by 75cm over 3 floors). They have loads of room in there and are all very happy.

I have been contemplating getting another guinea pig to go in there. The top floor is very rarely used so it's ample room for one more.

The reason I am uhmming and ahhing is that I clean them out even other day and by the end of the first day the cage has a slight aroma and by day 2 it's very ready for a clean out. I do the WHOLE thing, get everything out, white vinegar and water then another wipe down and then everything goes in clean. I am worried that the extra poo / pee from another guinea will tip the need for cleaning to every day. What do you think?

I did a spot clean on the first day a couple of times, swept the poops up to see if i could lengthen the time in which it took to need a full clean and it helped but only very slightly so I still cleaned it out on day 2.

So one more guinea - much more smell?

All ideas and help gratefully received!
 
Hmm thats a tricky one! I have recently upped the cleaning-out rota to every other day and my home smells much better as a consequence, the boys are happier too as they get to popcorn around their lovely clean home more often! But there are only two of them.
I can't imagine cleaning out such a big area every other day! But I can understand why, with six piggies you'd need to.
Do they have certain corners/areas which they make extra smelly? Perhaps if you add another gorgeous piggie to the mix you could try spot cleaning and changing whatever bedding you use in those heavily-used corners everyday and a full clean out every other day?
I hope that made sense x
 
Have you tried to litter train them? This might make it an easier job?
 
I do have a litter tray but not used it. To be honest I have no idea how to begin. Mine are on fleece as i couldn't cope with the mess that megazorb was making to my living room. I don't mind it for outside hutches but not indoors. So if you have any tips on litter training them? I thought it was very much hit and miss - they poop where they need to?
 
i have a few of mine litter trained and its easy,i use newspaper and hay in the tray,each time they pooo in the cage i place the poo's in the litter tray,eventually they learn to go on there own in the tray,some piggies will refuse to use it but even a few piggies using it will lessen the mess,Beware they love to eat the hay so you will have to top it up reguarly or the other option i think some people use is cat litter xxxxxxx
 
KingBoris&HisFollowers said:
i have a few of mine litter trained and its easy,i use newspaper and hay in the tray,each time they pooo in the cage i place the poo's in the litter tray,eventually they learn to go on there own in the tray,some piggies will refuse to use it but even a few piggies using it will lessen the mess,Beware they love to eat the hay so you will have to top it up reguarly or the other option i think some people use is cat litter xxxxxxx
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cat litter is not good for piggies at all
 
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I think when I clean them out today i'll do the litter tray and see if it works. They tend to poop mostly on one floor (where the veggies go in) so i'll try it there. Plus I have meadow hay here which they wont eat much of so it may work. Thanks! i'll give it a go today.

Glad to hear it works for some people.
 
stargrrlclaire said:
cat litter is not good for piggies at all
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sorry i didnt know,i have just heard of members who use it thats all
Lisajazz said:
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2x43storeytopfloor.jpg


2x43storeymiddlefloor.jpg


2x43storeybottomfloor.jpg


I think when I clean them out today i'll do the litter tray and see if it works. They tend to poop mostly on one floor (where the veggies go in) so i'll try it there. Plus I have meadow hay here which they wont eat much of so it may work. Thanks! i'll give it a go today.

Glad to hear it works for some people.
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what a beautiful setup you have:)
 
AWW thanks! It kind of grew with my feelings for piggies. We started with a 3 x 2 one floor cage for 2 piggies and I was SURE I didn't want any more piggies and didn't want to give up any more room to a cage but just fell in love!
I don't mind cleaning every other day. It takes about an hour to do the whole lot (from picking up the first pig to putting the last oneback in). Hubby walks our dog every day for 45 minutes so it's less time than that job. I don't want to do it every day though, that's just too much work and when my youngest daughter is in school every day I want to work more so time will be more precious.

Could spend less time here though i suppose but where's the fun in that?
 
Lisajazz said:
AWW thanks! It kind of grew with my feelings for piggies. We started with a 3 x 2 one floor cage for 2 piggies and I was SURE I didn't want any more piggies and didn't want to give up any more room to a cage but just fell in love!
I don't mind cleaning every other day. It takes about an hour to do the whole lot (from picking up the first pig to putting the last oneback in). Hubby walks our dog every day for 45 minutes so it's less time than that job. I don't want to do it every day though, that's just too much work and when my youngest daughter is in school every day I want to work more so time will be more precious.

Could spend less time here though i suppose but where's the fun in that?
Click to expand...

haha i agree i love TGPF,OH's dog walking takes him 2 hours a day as we have 4 dogs lol,maybe its the setup style that makes it take longer,
i complete from start to finish 2 x nero4's and two 2 x 4's in 40minutes
 
Fab setup, I had similar some years ago!

The best thing I ever did was put litter trays under hay racks. Pigs usually spend so much time eating hay, they make the most mess (hay and poop) where they eat, so it was logical to pop a tray under the hay. I've kinda extended that basic method these days, they just have big hay trays with some hay on the floor and the hay rack in. They still pee and poop everywhere else on the fleece, but the worst of the mess is confined to the hay trays, which are completely changed daily.
 
Wow Bonnie you're fast! My 3 stories is the equivalent of 3 cages i suppose so i should be at about the 35 minutes mark! I am going to try and get faster today as I am fostering 2 guineas outside in my unused hutch from today so they'll need cleaning too.

Bonnie this afternoon i am going to work quickly and time myself.

Plus i am going to put all the hay in one area and put a litter tray there too. Lets give this a go!
 
Lisajazz said:
Wow Bonnie you're fast! My 3 stories is the equivalent of 3 cages i suppose so i should be at about the 35 minutes mark! I am going to try and get faster today as I am fostering 2 guineas outside in my unused hutch from today so they'll need cleaning too.

Bonnie this afternoon i am going to work quickly and time myself.

Plus i am going to put all the hay in one area and put a litter tray there too. Lets give this a go!
Click to expand...

hehe ok I'm doing mine tonight so i will try to beat my record lol,i do everything in the exact same way and order each time so i think routine may be the key:)
 
Okay it took 55 minutes. However i did rearrange it a few times as I am making all food happen on the top floor only.

I put a litter tray in one corner and put the hay manger there and the metal ball that hangs from the ceiling over it too. The younger ones can get in the litter tray and get the hay however the peruvian ones are too big and I feel like they are missing out.

I have to say though it's caught a good few poops already though so result.
 
I'm a little late on this but there was a thread about washing fleece a couple days ago you may find interesting. It could be that you don't wash the fleece on high enough a temperature of use non-bio detergent which doesn't kill the bacteria in the urine on the fleece. That's worth considering.
I changed from vetbed to fleece because after 24 hr there was a distinctive pong in the room, yet, the newspaper wasn't all wet. While I am happy I changed to fleece as it's easier to deal with, I could have save myself some money by being more wash aware... So I'm washing with bio detergent, at 50 on a long cycle now instead or 30, non-bio and fast wash. Hopefully that'll make a difference!

To conclude, if that works, you can get a new piggy!
 
I will bear the washing tips in mind but my fleece was the same even when it was brand new. I got two lots so sniffed it twice.

The litter tray thing is working a bit also I am only feeding them on the top floor so maybe I will get away with only doing the top floor every other day and the sleep / play floors every 4 days?

I think I probably will get my 7th piggie - I mean 7 is a lucky number right and that's always good. Lets see how this cleaning issue pans out as i really can't be doing with a total clean out every day - my washing machine wont take it it's a 2 load thing with the towels and blankets!
 
One more piggie will hardly make a difference!

I think you are right in sticking all the food on one floor. Makes a big difference, since pigs spend much of their time eating, they do much of their business where they eat!

I missed the conversation on cage cleaning times. Under one hour is still good! I have a total space of a 10x5 C&C to clean...three separate cages (6x5, 2x5 and a 2x5 sat on top). Takes me 40 minutes on a good day, but it usually turns out to be an hour. That's with disinfecting the cage too. Most of my time is spent figuring out what to put in the cages!
 
Go for it! Sounds like you have a fab care routine for your pigs and would love to see another happy pig :D Make sure you take pictures ;)

Our 4 hayracks have a litter tray under each :D Our 4 pigs litter trained themselves, all 4 were previously on newspaper flooring with hay everywhere at their previous homes and adjusted very quickly with me doing nothing somehow :O lol I clean the trays every other day as their shallow so fill quickly and sweep any loose hay off the viynl floor once a day :) A full clean with disinfecting still only takes about ten minutes as the floor is so easy. This is a 3x6 CC cage, 1 layer.
 
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