How to do a deep clean with new pigs

[El Caso]

I finally got 2 boys this weekend, they're in that settling stage and very nervous and scared.

I'm wondering how do I clean their cage while I'm letting them settle in, do I just clean up their poo and leave it until they're more confident or should I quite literally pick them up and remove them from the cage and do weekly deep clean?

I am using kiln dried bedding (Bedmax) so its pretty absorbent.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Remove areas of wet shavings and poop daily but do so carefully and slowly around them for now. You don’t want to take them out of the cage just yet - they need to learn that that is their safe space and mark it as their territory. Top up with fresh shavings, and make sure hay is nearby to them at all times so they don’t need to come out of hides if they don’t want to to eat.
When it comes to more thorough clean (they need to be with you for a week to settle in before doing anything more than feeding and spot cleaning), only clean half the cage at a time so that there is always some bedding that smells of them in the cage. Cleaning out everything in one go is basically turning it into neutral territory and can cause dominance issues (and as it is your piggies will be in a two week period of reestablishing their relationship in a new territory). They may become fine with it as time goes on (my four year olds certainly aren’t bothered if I completely clean everything now) but with boars (particularly youngsters/teens/young adults) they don’t tend to like big territory changes.

 

[El Caso]

If you would consider adopting from a good rescue as this means that piggies with obvious issues can be taken in but you can have an easier start with fully ready piggies that have no reason to be staying on in rescue. A full rescue that is not rehoming is a stuck rescue because they cannot expand indefinitely.

Remove areas of wet shavings and poop daily but do so carefully and slowly around them for now. You don’t want to take them out of the cage just yet - they need to learn that that is their safe space and mark it as their territory. Top up with fresh shavings, and make sure hay is nearby to them at all times so they don’t need to come out of hides if they don’t want to to eat.
When it comes to more thorough clean (they need to be with you for a week to settle in before doing anything more than feeding and spot cleaning), only clean half the cage at a time so that there is always some bedding that smells of them in the cage. Cleaning out everything in one go is basically turning it into neutral territory and can cause dominance issues (and as it is your piggies will be in a two week period of reestablishing their relationship in a new territory). They may become fine with it as time goes on (my four year olds certainly aren’t bothered if I completely clean everything now) but with boars (particularly youngsters/teens/young adults) they don’t tend to like big territory changes.

So with boars would you say keeping to kiln dry bedding is better as opposed to fleece (considering that needs to be constantly washed and removing their scent)
My plan was to get fleece bedding when they settled https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0972QR3WY

 

[Piggies&buns]

So with boars would you say keeping to kiln dry bedding is better as opposed to fleece (considering that needs to be constantly washed and removing their scent)
My plan was to get fleece bedding when they settled https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0972QR3WY

Its absolutely fine to use fleece bedding with either sex of piggy but keeping the cage smelling of them is important. This can still be done using fleece by using two smaller pieces so you can change half at a time (which can actually make it easier on the washing machine anyway), or by rubbing soiled fleece onto the new fleece to transfer scent.

You may this guide, particularly the section ‘boarsonalising the cage’ useful - A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Do you have a cage which is bigger than 120x60 (the measurement of the liner in your link)? This is important because a 120x60cm cage doesn’t provide a boar pair with enough space.

How old are they?

 

[El Caso]

Its absolutely fine to use fleece bedding with either sex of piggy but keeping the cage smelling of them is important. This can still be done using fleece by using two smaller pieces so you can change half at a time (which can actually make it easier on the washing machine anyway), or by rubbing soiled fleece onto the new fleece to transfer scent.

You may this guide, particularly the section ‘boarsonalising the cage’ useful - A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Do you have a cage which is bigger than 120x60 (the measurement of the liner in your link)? This is important because a 120x60cm cage doesn’t provide a boar pair with enough space.

How old are they?

Yes thats just the standard size of fleece liners online

They're a dad and son combo - dad is 2 yrs and son is 3 months.