New piggies stinking the place out!

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Graciee

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Hi everyone, I've just joined as I'm looking for some advice.

I just adopted two piggies this weekend, ones a girl and ones a neutered boy. They both met for the first time this weekend too when they were bonded.

Anyway its all going well I think, I'm loving the wheek sounds when I open the fridge and they're so sweet, but the smell!

It's overpowering to say the least! I had them on fleece bedding with a large hay tray and fleece hides etc, but I've just switched them to back2nature litter with loads of hay on top, I'd have prefered to use fitch but we've just run out and our new lot hasn't arrived yet. So I'm hoping this will help, but I gave them both a whiff when I was putting them in the carrier to clean out and they both smelt the same honestly, whereas before I assumed it might be the male.

Has anyone got any advice or tips? My partner said the smell of them hit him when he came home from work :(

I have 4 rabbits in the house too and they don't have any smell really and this is a very distinctive, strong, musky smell.

Any advice or help would be much appreciated :)
 
Given they are newly bonded, they may be in the throes of a new passionate bond and so are scent marking - the boar in particular. There isn’t really anything you can do about it, it will calm down by itself. That’s the fun of piggies... 😆

How old are they?

PS I forgot to add that cleaning them out too much can make them scent mark even more. What you can do is to leave some of their soiled bedding in when you do the full clean.
 
They could be scent marking due to new environment. Certain hay can smell once they have urinated on it, have you tried shavings and cage fresh, I hope you find your solution good luck 🤞
 
Siikibam said:
Given they are newly bonded, they may be in the throes of a new passionate bond and so are scent marking - the boar in particular. There isn’t really anything you can do about it, it will calm down by itself. That’s the fun of piggies... 😆

How old are they?
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Ahh this gives me hope thank you! 😆

I don't really know, so the male was apparently abandoned in a box with another male outside a vets, but they fell out after they went into foster, so he was neutered.

And the girl was maybe used for breeding, but her companion piggie who was a girl sadly died after a spay.. They've said around 2 years for both of them but we don't actually know.

There's been lots of rumblestrutting...? Which is very comical, they don't really lay together ever, but I've been told that's normal, I'm so used to rabbits I find their behaviours a bit confusing! They are eating near each other tho, but there's the odd bit of chasing still sometimes and lots of rumblestrutting 😆 the male did popcorn last night though which was also hilarious 😆

I adore them, it's just the smell! I really hope it settles down like you've said 😆
 
Tnoz said:
They could be scent marking due to new environment. Certain hay can smell once they have urinated on it, have you tried shavings and cage fresh, I hope you find your solution good luck 🤞
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Ah yes maybe!

It wasn't the hay tray tbh it was just them.. And the fleece hides really smelt 😬

I don't have shavings in because they aren't good for bunny respiratory systems, not sure if that's the same for piggies, if not I could try. What's cage fresh? Sorry I've not seen that.

Thank you so much, me too! :)
 
I agree with everything above.

Newly bonded, new environment - these things are going to produce a lot of scent marking and boarly smells. The rumbling is very normal dominance.

Its also very normal for them to not cuddle together. I have both rabbits and piggies and that is the big difference - bunny pairs are very affectionate with each other, but piggies don’t tend to be.

Shavings are fine to use due to the way they are kiln dried
 
When piggies are bonded, it can take a further two weeks for them to sort out their hierarchy. So you are likely to see chasing, rumblestrutting and humping during this period.
 
Yeah it should settle down, I have two males who will sleep together and two whom are each side of the cage, two of everything to prevent arguments, they funny characters lol 😂
 
Graciee said:
Ah yes maybe!

It wasn't the hay tray tbh it was just them.. And the fleece hides really smelt 😬

I don't have shavings in because they aren't good for bunny respiratory systems, not sure if that's the same for piggies, if not I could try. What's cage fresh? Sorry I've not seen that.

Thank you so much, me too! :)
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Cage fresh it’s like shake n vak but for small animal toilet areas, eBay and Amazon both sell it, I’ve used wood litter aswell if you can’t get shavings dust free 😁
 
Piggies&buns said:
I agree with everything above.

Newly bonded, new environment - these things are going to produce a lot of scent marking and boarly smells. The rumbling is very normal dominance.

Its also very normal for them to not cuddle together. I have both rabbits and piggies and that is the big difference - bunny pairs are very affectionate with each other, but piggies don’t tend to be.

Shavings are fine to use due to the way they are kiln dried
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This sounds like a positive then, hopefully it'll settle down :)

Yes I was like shouldn't they be grooming each other and snuggling?! Apparently not 😆

Ah so the pets at home shavings are safe for piggies?
 
Siikibam said:
When piggies are bonded, it can take a further two weeks for them to sort out their hierarchy. So you are likely to see chasing, rumblestrutting and humping during this period.
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I'ma be counting down the days! 😆 Yea I did see him hump her once for a few seconds but she didn't make a noise and just sat there... I don't know if that's positive or not tbh!
 
Graciee said:
This sounds like a positive then, hopefully it'll settle down :)

Yes I was like shouldn't they be grooming each other and snuggling?! Apparently not 😆

Ah so the pets at home shavings are safe for piggies?
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Yes they are, ask a member of staff or just go to small animal area where Guinea pigs, hamsters etc are,
 
Graciee said:
This sounds like a positive then, hopefully it'll settle down :)

Yes I was like shouldn't they be grooming each other and snuggling?! Apparently not 😆

Ah so the pets at home shavings are safe for piggies?
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Yes, they are fine.
I personally use megazorb most frequently but when I do use shavings, I use Snowflake shavings. And I use them for both my rabbits and piggies. They are dried in such a way that the phenols are removed and are safe for both bunnies and piggies
 
Graciee said:
This sounds like a positive then, hopefully it'll settle down :)

Yes I was like shouldn't they be grooming each other and snuggling?! Apparently not 😆

Ah so the pets at home shavings are safe for piggies?
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Yup. I use a few brands of wood shavings (nature's own and snowflake mostly) or other paper-based beddings (Megazorb, Carefresh, Back2nature) in part of my cage. I've had one pig who reacted badly to them out of 7, you've got more chance of it working out than not.
 
Tnoz said:
Cage fresh it’s like shake n vak but for small animal toilet areas, eBay and Amazon both sell it, I’ve used wood litter aswell if you can’t get shavings dust free 😁
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Ah thanks I'll have a google :)

We have two water bottles but they only seem to drink from one, the other appears to be cursed 😆
 
Graciee said:
Ah thanks I'll have a google :)

We have two water bottles but they only seem to drink from one, the other appears to be cursed 😆
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It’s ok that’s normal too lol piggies are not like rabbits lol their personality traits are different, some will share others won’t 🤪
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes, they are fine.
I personally use megazorb most frequently but when I do use shavings, I use Snowflake shavings. And I use them for both my rabbits and piggies. They are dried in such a way that the phenols are removed and are safe for both bunnies and piggies
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Ah I hate the smell of megazorb! I've never seen snowflake shavings I'll Google, tbh I've just avoided shavings in general, we use fitch and hay and back2nature in litter trays for bunnies and it's always been fine so I've never looked elsewhere haha
 
Lorcan said:
Yup. I use a few brands of wood shavings (nature's own and snowflake mostly) or other paper-based beddings (Megazorb, Carefresh, Back2nature) in part of my cage. I've had one pig who reacted badly to them out of 7, you've got more chance of it working out than not.
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This is really helpful thanks, which do you find the best for odour control?

I've noticed they're really enjoying the loads of hay setup so I might stick with this anyway, they're having so much fun tunneling in it!
 
Graciee said:
Ah I hate the smell of megazorb! I've never seen snowflake shavings I'll Google, tbh I've just avoided shavings in general, we use fitch and hay and back2nature in litter trays for bunnies and it's always been fine so I've never looked elsewhere haha
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It certainly has a distinct aroma! I find it dissipates quickly but all mine are in sheds so its less of an issue for me
 
my preference is for Back2Nature but it's heavy, especially when it's had liquid on it (I think you know what I mean). Megazorb doesn't really smell of anything except Megazorb, but it's not a smell everyone can get on with. Wood shavings smell great out of the pack when there's a new layer down, but that doesn't last long. Carefresh is probably the best overall but the expense isn't worth it.

the Nature's Own wood shavings were great though and I wish I'd bought more than one pack. Lesson learnt for next time!
 
Piggies&buns said:
It certainly has a distinct aroma! I find it dissipates quickly but all mine are in sheds so its less of an issue for me
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Ahh yea I couldn't hack it indoors, we tried the horse bedding too which is hemp but I found out I'm allergic so we stick to fitch! 😆
 
Lorcan said:
my preference is for Back2Nature but it's heavy, especially when it's had liquid on it (I think you know what I mean). Megazorb doesn't really smell of anything except Megazorb, but it's not a smell everyone can get on with. Wood shavings smell great out of the pack when there's a new layer down, but that doesn't last long. Carefresh is probably the best overall but the expense isn't worth it.

the Nature's Own wood shavings were great though and I wish I'd bought more than one pack. Lesson learnt for next time!
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Ah hopefully that means the fitch will work well then :)

Oh do they not sell them anymore then? I think I ordered some forage and hay for my buns from there once and they werent that keen.

Oh that's another question do piggies do dried forage at all? I picked some fresh forage earlier for them and they loved that but I do feed my buns dried forage too sometimes, but I've noticed piggies seem to be all about the fresh veggies, herbs and forage!
 
they do, but I generally order my hay and that from elsewhere (my pair are fussy, it's stalky timothy or nothing) so most of the time I can't justify an order.
 
Graciee said:
Ah hopefully that means the fitch will work well then :)

Oh do they not sell them anymore then? I think I ordered some forage and hay for my buns from there once and they werent that keen.

Oh that's another question do piggies do dried forage at all? I picked some fresh forage earlier for them and they loved that but I do feed my buns dried forage too sometimes, but I've noticed piggies seem to be all about the fresh veggies, herbs and forage!
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Have you tried the odd flaked pea lol
 
Graciee said:
Ah hopefully that means the fitch will work well then :)

Oh do they not sell them anymore then? I think I ordered some forage and hay for my buns from there once and they werent that keen.

Oh that's another question do piggies do dried forage at all? I picked some fresh forage earlier for them and they loved that but I do feed my buns dried forage too sometimes, but I've noticed piggies seem to be all about the fresh veggies, herbs and forage!
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Dried forage absolutely!
My lot get it instead of pellets most nights.
There is a member of this forum who runs a business selling piggy and bunny safe forage - Piggie Parcels. Absolutely brilliant variety.
 
Graciee said:
Yea I got some. The male wouldn't take one, female did tho, they seem more into the fresh food honestly!
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Yeah mine love their romaine, cucumber, tomato, kale on occasion, parsley and coriander, spring greens, melon and bit of banana, carrot, fresh grass and dandelion etc
 
Lorcan said:
they do, but I generally order my hay and that from elsewhere (my pair are fussy, it's stalky timothy or nothing) so most of the time I can't justify an order.
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Ahh I see!

We get our hay from Timothyhay.co.uk, the piggies are going nuts for the soft timothy atm 😆
 
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