Litter Tray For Guinea Pigs?

[USA_2_UK]

Hi all. I haven't got any guinea pigs yet, but I am hoping to be ready to adopt a pair in a few weeks. I've been spending a lot of time reading and visiting pet stores to see what products are available for guinea pigs. I've noticed in a few stores that you can buy litter trays for guinea pigs. Would you say this is an essential item? Can guinea pigs really be potty trained to just do their business in a litter tray? I've never had guinea pigs before, so I hope these don't seem to be odd questions! I just never realised you could get litter trays for such small animals, I've only ever seen them for cats before.

 

[kenken123]

Guinea pig can be litter train to a degree. They mostly go to the bathroom where they eat. So it best to put there hay tray above there litter box.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all. I haven't got any guinea pigs yet, but I am hoping to be ready to adopt a pair in a few weeks. I've been spending a lot of time reading and visiting pet stores to see what products are available for guinea pigs. I've noticed in a few stores that you can buy litter trays for guinea pigs. Would you say this is an essential item? Can guinea pigs really be potty trained to just do their business in a litter tray? I've never had guinea pigs before, so I hope these don't seem to be odd questions! I just never realised you could get litter trays for such small animals, I've only ever seen them for cats before.

Hi and welcome!

No, you cannot really litter train guinea pigs; they also don't have control over their bowels when they are asleep. However, guinea pigs love to burrow in soft orchard and meadow hay and they often use a hay tray as a toiletting area. For some reason they like to chew on hay when doing their business.

I use seed trays, old photograahic developent trays or shop bought corners in my cages, depending on the size of the group (where I have at least two of the larger trays), the age and how much the piggies in that cage love sleeping in hay. Ideally you either move the hay tray to the corner they choose as their favourite toiletting corner or create a cosy den by pegging an old hankie over it for some added protection and feel good factor.

Unlike rabbits guinea pigs don't dig their own sets; they are roaming dense grassland in groups and use any protection they can find, including abandoned burrows. But that means that they also have never had to perfect hygiene.

How clean a piggy is depends to a large extent also how its immediate ancestors have been kept - if their mums and grandmothers have only ever been kept in small filthy breeding boxes and cages, then they have never had any chance of learning and passing on clean habits. A very few piggies are very pernickety and extremely clean; but they are very much the exception.

 

[Chancey]

I use a cat litter tray for their "kitchen" area and they've since focused mostly on that area but as stated above, it's only to a certain degree. I use a slightly less expensive timothy hay in the tray and they normally jump in there, eat for a while and leave a few presents for us!

I personally prefer having a bigger tray than the small corner ones for my five piggies as they all like to go in at once, but I think that really is a personal preference and cage setup

 

[USA_2_UK]

Hi all. Thank you for your replies and valuable advice. I'm going to leave the tray for now until we get the piggies and then see if they develop a pattern of doing their business in a specific spot in the hutch, if they do I may get a tray.