Monster appetite and LOTS of poo!

[mdgm]

Hi all,

I recently got two lovely guinea pigs (Lumpy and Womble) and everythings been going great, but Lumpy's appetite is insatiable! Whenever I see him he's eating and he only accepts being picked up if we'r going to feed him. He eats a lot more than womble as well.

We have a hay rack on the side of the cage, a decent size, maybe 7-8 inches wide and they go through one of those full of hay per day. We also have a relatively big bowl full mixed food and get through it in a couple of days and we give them a few big romaine lettuce leaves a day.

Take today for instance, 3 hours ago I cleared their cage completely out of poo, and now the floor is covered in them. Probably about 25 poos around the cage. Is this normal?!

Thanks!
Max.

 

[Little Piggles]

Hi Max and welcome to the forum

Food to poop ratio sounds about right to me

My three girls have a similar sized hay rack, plus a couple of handfuls of hay and/or grass every day. Hay is their main food stuff so they get through quite alot of it and it should always be available to them

It's recommended they get about a cup full of veggies every day each. This thread has lots of good information on which vegetables can be fed (and how often depending upon the sugar/calcium levels too) http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=30297

As for dried food, some eat more than others. My three probably eat less than a small handful between them, but some love their food and eat lots

They are known for pooping...lots, though

 

[CiaraPatricia]

My boy pigs are the same, they just eat and poop all around them!

 

[Tracyxx]

Guinea pigs are grazers so they eat little bits constantly and therefore they are pooing constantly. It's important that they have a constant food supply, especially pellets if they're young, as this is how they eat.

 

[mdgm]

Thanks for all the quick replies everybody!

I'm glad their normal! I have heard it's possible to potty train your pigs? Has anybody here done this before?

Max

 

[Wiebke]

Some piggies are tidier than others and most will establish "toilet corners" in a cage. However, they will also pee where they sleep and - because of their guts being constantly in motion - will poo virtually everywhere.

Potty training a piggy like a cat or puppy is not possible.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Some guinea pigs can be litter trained. Some can't. Some will instinctively go in a corner (like my girls) and some will go everywhere (like my boys, typical .

I litter trained my rabbits, but that's much easier. You just get a small litter tray or box that they can easily climb into, and put some soiled bedding with urine and some poops in it and keep cleaning the rest of the cage but leave the poops/urine in the litter box and see if they go in it. It might work, or might not.

It's good to have the litter tray in a corner, and you can put some hay in it because they like to eat while going to the toilet, and if you can cover it over with something, so it's kinda enclosed and they feel safe in there, that will help. Like with an upside down cardboard box or something.