Litter Training Advice Needed!

[Zoe's Piggies]

I've had my 2 new male guinea pigs for 2 weeks now and have been trying to litter train them. They are 8 weeks and 6 weeks old. I have a small kitten litter box in their cage; I use 100% paper bedding as the litter. I feed them around their litter area because I know they tend to poop and pee while they eat; so I put their hay in their litter box, and I put their bowl of pellets in there in the morning as well. I clean up the poop every night and put some of it in the litter box to encourage them to go there. They pee in the box sometimes but the majority of their pee is done outside the box. It stinks and it's messy and it means I have to change the towels and fleece blankets constantly. I need some advice and any tips or tricks you may have for litter training my guinea pigs! I don't care if they poop somewhat outside of their box; the main thing is I would like them to keep their pee in it.

Thanks in advance for answers!

 

[madguinealady]

I use litter trays and it's very rare they pee anywhere else.I have pegged fleece over the cage where their litter trays are and their bottles overhang the litter trays too.It seems to work.The only time they wee on the fleece is if they move the litter trays and pee behind them.

 

[Flutterby]

I use litter trays, but it's extremely difficult to get them to solely use the trays like rabbits can. Mine do a lot in their trays, mostly because it's under their hay rack.

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

Piggies seem to not care where they do their business! good luck to you if you manage to litter train them though.

 

[Maisy and Poppy]

Hiya @Zoe's Piggies

Try a hay rack above the litter tray and put veggies in it or a carrot as a treat. Put the box I. The corner which they go in most so observe their cage.
Some litter encourages piggies to go in it more so it's worth trying different litters. I love tumblefresh and easibed for litter trays.
Try clicker training them and reward them with a yummy bit of veg or grass when they go in the litter tray.
My two sows are fairly litter trained.

I hope this helps!

 

[Zoe's Piggies]

Will removing their bedding at the bottom of the cage (towels) help? I know when I had rabbits, they hated stepping in puddles so they wanted to pee in the litter box where it would get soaked up. Whenever I had fleece or towels beneath them they would pee there, so I just left the cage bottom bare. Would that work for the piggies or not?

Also, is white vinegar toxic in any way for guinea pigs? For my other pets I've used it as a cleaner.

 

[Maisy and Poppy]

Will removing their bedding at the bottom of the cage (towels) help? I know when I had rabbits, they hated stepping in puddles so they wanted to pee in the litter box where it would get soaked up. Whenever I had fleece or towels beneath them they would pee there, so I just left the cage bottom bare. Would that work for the piggies or not?

Also, is white vinegar toxic in any way for guinea pigs? For my other pets I've used it as a cleaner.

I tried using just newspaper but it didn't work. Maybe try vetbed or easibed.

Half water and half white vinegar works well.