How Do I Keep Down Smell For Indoor Piggies?

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AJ55

AJ55

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Hello,
My son is desperate for a guinea pig for this birthday. I'd get two as I've been told they're highly social animals and I wouldn't want them to be lonely. My dilemma is that I'd like them to be indoor pets for ease of interaction and looking after, but I'm a little weary of potential smelliness. Does the sex make a difference and what's the best way (apart from regular cleaning) to keep the smell to a minimum e.g. type of bedding, flooring etc...?
 
Amanda Hockey said:
Hello,
My son is desperate for a guinea pig for this birthday. I'd get two as I've been told they're highly social animals and I wouldn't want them to be lonely. My dilemma is that I'd like them to be indoor pets for ease of interaction and looking after, but I'm a little weary of potential smelliness. Does the sex make a difference and what's the best way (apart from regular cleaning) to keep the smell to a minimum e.g. type of bedding, flooring etc...?
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Hi and welcome!

All pets whiff to a certain extent; that is part of the territory. Boars are generally somewhat whiffier, due to their testosterone laden pee when they are "in juice", but they are also often more relaxed and better for interaction.
You can work around that to a good extent by considering rehoming a stably bonded/personality matched adult pair of boars or a neutered boar/sow pair that is used to human interaction and past their worst teenage hormones from one of our recommended rescues. Rescues also know their piggies' temperaments, so you won't get pets that have never experienced much in the way of friendly human interaction like shop or the vast majority of breeder piggies. Unlike their persistent and wide-spread reputation, guinea pigs are no easy short-lived children's starter pets and they are most definitely no living instant cuddly toys! They are fascinating and interactive prey animals in their own right, but you only get back what you put into them. Like any pet, buying them is usually the cheapest bit; vet fees will be the most expensive.

Please be aware that guinea pigs live around 5-7 years on average and that your son is likely to lose interest long before that. They are going to be your pets, for all intents and purposes. Rescues and free-ads are full of no longer wanted ex-pets for those reasons.

By regular cleaning and daily poo patrol, you can also keep the smell down a lot; for indoor piggies ideally a twice weekly clean. Guinea pigs are ground roaming animals that have evolved moving around a surprisingly large territory, using abandoned sets and other convenient places to overnight, so they have never really had the need to naturally litter train. Mass breeding in often dirty pens hasn't helped. While many guinea pigs have preferred peeing places and also don't control their bladders while sleeping, they will poo everywhere and some will pee everywhere. A fair bit of interaction is also conducted by spray peeing.

Please take the time to read through these guides here; you may find that the points they raise may help you in making any decisions as to whether you can make that commitment for the longer term. When getting pets, it is very important that you are honest with yourself. It is living and feeling beings that you are dealing with and life long attitudes to dealing with commitments past their initial interests that you are shaping for the long term.

Children And Guinea Pigs - A Guide For Parents
Children And Guinea Pigs - Age Appropriate Interaction And Responsibilities.
Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners
New Owners' " How To" Starter Kit
 
Hello and welcome. Many of us keep piggies indoors. I keep sows, and provided they are cleaned out frequently they don't smell much at all. I have fostered boars and found they were whiffy - there is a definite eau de boar aroma, but as Wiebke has said boars are often better for interacting with humans.
 
Amanda Hockey said:
Hello,
My son is desperate for a guinea pig for this birthday. I'd get two as I've been told they're highly social animals and I wouldn't want them to be lonely. My dilemma is that I'd like them to be indoor pets for ease of interaction and looking after, but I'm a little weary of potential smelliness. Does the sex make a difference and what's the best way (apart from regular cleaning) to keep the smell to a minimum e.g. type of bedding, flooring etc...?
Click to expand...
Definitely get 2, I keep mine indoors on fleece and towel combo, I change every 3 days and have no issue with smell. That may sound a faff but it doesn't take long to do, washes up lovely on 60 degrees.good luck
 
Skittypigs said:
Definitely get 2, I keep mine indoors on fleece and towel combo, I change every 3 days and have no issue with smell. That may sound a faff but it doesn't take long to do, washes up lovely on 60 degrees.good luck
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Sorry forgot to say mine are all boys living in pairs!
 
I just wanted to add that the larger their cage, the less work it is to keep clean - really!
I have a boar sow pair in a 5 x 2 C&C and another pair of sows in a 4X2 C&C, and the more space they have the easier it is to keep clean as you don't end up with 'concentrated' smelly areas as quickly.
Plus the other thing that works well for us is having large trays of hay for them to sit in and pee while they eat.
I would say that this 'catches' about 80% of their pee.
 
I have two sows on a paper-based bedding and don't find that they smell much at all. I spot clean the wet areas daily and do a full clean and wipe-down with white vinegar every week. I actually think that guinea pigs smell far less than some other pet rodents (we also have a female Syrian hamster, and little bitty hamster produces much more smell than both larger guinea pigs!) The most important thing is to keep them clean and dry regularly and to give adequate space so that they are not saturating the same areas over and over again. As for numbers, guinea pigs are social and are happier with another guinea pig. I don't really find much difference in odor or cleaning duties between one pig and two pigs (currently have two living separately due to an infectious illness and a quarantine period.) So I wouldn't let that dissuade you from having a pair, as it makes a big difference as far as quality of life for the pigs (and for the owner- only guinea pigs can be lonely and not do much. Guinea pigs with friends are more active and display a much wider range of behaviors that are fun for owners too.) There are some good resources here to see what guinea pigs require for care, feeding, space, etc., so you can see if they are right for your family before you bring them home. Good luck! :)
 
Thanks very much, that's really helpful information. I was looking at a ferplast 120 for a pair of piggies. Hopefully that should give them enough room and make cleaning easier. I'll have a good look through all the other information on here to see what else we'll need.
 
If you get boars you are looking at bigger. What about C&C cages, l have 2 boars in a 7x2 and the same again for 3 sows. I use fleece & mattress protectors.
Have a look at the housing & enrichment forum, loads of things of ideas there.
If you are getting babies I don't know what the size of the holes are, so they can't get throw the holes.
One of my babies got threw the grids of a C&C cage. The holes on these are 1&1/2"

Hi & welcome to our friendly forum.
 
Hello and welcome :)

I have 3 guinea pigs (one neutered boar and two sows) living in a double tier ferplast 120 cage. They are housed on newspaper, wood shavings and hay which I spot clean twice daily and do a full clean out once a week.

They are living in a bedroom / office of their own and I can honestly say that until the day before clean out day, there is hardly any whiffy smell at all x
 
Thanks Tiamolly. I can't work out how big those cages are. I assume each square is the same size, what are the measurements of each square?
 
Claire W said:
Hello and welcome :)

I have 3 guinea pigs (one neutered boar and two sows) living in a double tier ferplast 120 cage. They are housed on newspaper, wood shavings and hay which I spot clean twice daily and do a full clean out once a week.

They are living in a bedroom / office of their own and I can honestly say that until the last day before clean out day, there is hardly any whiffy smell x
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Thanks Claire, I haven't seen a two tier ferplast 120, I'll have another look.
 
Tiamolly123 said:
If you get boars you are looking at bigger. What about C&C cages, l have 2 boars in a 7x2 and the same again for 3 sows. I use fleece & mattress protectors.
Have a look at the housing & enrichment forum, loads of things of ideas there.
If you are getting babies I don't know what the size of the holes are, so they can't get throw the holes.
One of my babies got threw the grids of a C&C cage. The holes on these are 1&1/2"

Hi & welcome to our friendly forum.
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Hi Tiamolly, I'm very new to this and just realised I should reply to your comment, not just add another at the bottom!. Thanks for your help. I can't work out how big the C&C cages are. I assume the square are all the same size but I can't see anywhere that tells me how big each square is. Do you know the measurements?
 
Claire W said:
This is what I have although it was on offer at the time I brought it and I have modified the ramp to make it less steep and added a ramp tunnel for extra safety
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Thanks Claire ,I guess I need to do a bit more homework before I jump in!
 
I have a 150 x 70cm cage for my two indoor sows. They have fleece (with zorb inside one liner and mattress protector inside the other liner) which is washed every few days. They also have a couple of large litter trays with a hemp based bedding and LOTS of hay.

Most of the wee goes into the hay trays. Its a great system. This is the cage;

Rabbit Cages – Next Day Delivery Rabbit Cages

I didnt pay that much for it. It is lovely and easy to clean but I do find that once both hidey houses, the two litter trays and the water bowel are in there is not a lot of extra space.
 
We have two sows in a 4x2 C and C cage. We started off with wood shavings but switched to fleece because we were generating so much waste plus the woodshavings are a pain to clean out and go everywhere (all over the house!) Fleece is easier as long as you don't mind putting it in the washing machine (I use a large horsewear wash bag after seeing them recommended on here) I change the fleece twice a week. I think I would be lying if I said they didn't smell a bit but it certainly isn't overpowering or unpleasant. It varies a bit which i think maybe if one is in season or depending on what they have eaten (I am sure dill makes their wee smell more!) I also think the hay has quite a strong smell so often it is that (and they have a lot of hay!) We have them downstairs in the room next to the kitchen and they get loads of interaction as it's the room where the children do all their colouring, craft etc They really are great pets, our two belong to my daughter but I take responsibility for some bits as she is 8 and can't be expected to have full responsibility. I don't know how old your son is but you need to be prepared to do quite a bit. I was as keen to have the piggies as my daughter was so it isn't a problem but if you are not really an animal person I think it could be tricky.
 
Oh and we have hay trays and although a lot of wee and poo goes in there I don't think we are as lucky as some people, ours seem to be quite prolific at peeing all over the cage. I change the hay trays every day and that does help with the smell.
 
The holes are 1&1/2 inches square,if you want to go that way & most people think these are best. Eiether put some chicken wire on th outside or buy more grids & stagger it on the outside. It's really only a matter of 2 weeks until they've fatten up.
I've always had girls then we picked up a couple of boys, I think they are far more affectionate.
I don't notice any smell at all & ive got 5 in the living room. More fun watching them than the TV. Lol
The only smell we get is emptying the litter box. They tend to use that as their Toliet.
If you have dogs or cats you need to put a lid on it or put it higher. Ours is about 3ft off the ground.
Have fun Amanda
 
i forgot can you go under the new pup & put your location down then we match you to the best vets/rescues if necessary & anything we can match up to your area
 
I have two (castrated boy/ girl pair) in a 4x2 C+C cage. They're on horse shavings with hay currently. I was expecting them to smell a bit as obviously all animals do to a degree (even people!), but it is so unbelieveably mild compared to other pets.
 
Thank you so much, everyone's been ever so helpful, I really appreciate it! My son's birthday isn't for another couple of weeks so I'm going to do a bit more homework before I decide which cage to get, but I very much like the idea of fleece flooring that I can just take out and wash a couple of times a week alongside daily tidying.
 
To help you work out how large the various c&c cages and how they actually look. This site offers 'kits'

C and C Guinea Pig Cages | Guinea Pig Cages

I prefer c&c for guinea pigs as I find the open topped option makes interacting\daily spot cleaning\accessing piggies much much easier.
 
My five sows are in a combined 2x3 and a 5x3 C&C cage (it's big!) and my poor boar is in a 100cm cage whilst he is waiting for the 6 weeks post op neutering wait. Then he will be introduced to the girlies and all of them will be in the C&C cage.

The sows are on fleece liners from Ziggy, and the boar has pads and fleece. The only time I smell them is during clean out, which is once per week. The hay trays are cleaned every two days and most of the wees are done in there.
 
1) Regular cage cleaning
2) Some way of keeping the hay contained (fasten the bag etc)
3) Use an air purifier with scent oils in (works great for me and it's good for dust too)
 
I clean once a week with daily poop checks.
I use C&C with fleece liners that contain "zorb" as the inner layer.

It does not smell sooner than that but it really depends on the size of the cage vs how many pigs are in there. As @Swissgreys has pointed out, the larger the cage the less cleaning is actually needed.

Just be careful not to "over clean " in the beginning when they are settling in as some piggies will "re-mark" territory right after cleaning out which can escalate the smell problem if you then go and clean again 1-2 days later.

The working out who's boss stage can get a bit smelly regardless of the genders.
 
Amanda Hockey said:
Thank you so much, everyone's been ever so helpful, I really appreciate it! My son's birthday isn't for another couple of weeks so I'm going to do a bit more homework before I decide which cage to get, but I very much like the idea of fleece flooring that I can just take out and wash a couple of times a week alongside daily tidying.
Click to expand...
Some advice on fleece and smells.

I don't now whether you're going to use the fleece layering method or buy/make some cage liners but if you're getting cage liners I would strongly recommended getting some that don't use wadding as the middle layer. After buying from various suppliers using various methods, I find that the liners that use wadding get smelly really quickly and don't absorb as well (I guess that's why they smell). I find after about 2days (1.5days at worse) the liner smells as though it needs changing. My favourite is my liner from hammocky hammocks. It's quilted which makes pooper scooping easier and on the best days it can go 4days without starting to pong.

I do find that most of the smell clears when the pigs have been swept so I'd keep on top of the scooping if you're worried about smell. Good luck! Let us know how you get on.
 
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