Smelly Boys!

Storm1974

Storm1974

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
South West Somerset, UK.
Our two new boys (Around 12 weeks old) are very smelly and messy!

We spot clean the cage twice a day and as soon as it's done, especially after they've had some wet food, it's covered in poos and smelling again! Is this normal?
We use newspapers under their beds and fleece covers, but I think I 'might' be giving them too much wet food at times...
 
Welcome to boys! They are going to make it messy!

They are teenage lads so are going to scent mark which will make a smell.

Newspaper could be part of the problem.
What absorbent layer do they have under their fleece other than newspaper?
 
:agr:

I've always found wet hay (where they most like to pee) is the only thing that can smell. Thankfully none of my boys have been too bad as long as waste/wet hay is regularly removed

Hope they settle soon
 
Never had boars so I’m not sure if they smell different! I’d have thought it would be the wee’s that smell and the newspaper. I use puppy pads, wood shavings and hay. How often are you doing a full clean? Xx
 
The most smell I get from my four boys is testosterone/scent marking smells. Any urine smells tend to be from hay but I don’t notice it as much as the fired up boy smells!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Welcome to boys! They are going to make it messy!

They are teenage lads so are going to scent mark which will make a smell.

Newspaper could be part of the problem.
What absorbent layer do they have under their fleece other than newspaper?
Click to expand...
They have a washable pet pad under the newspaper.
 
So it’s a washable pad (like a puppy pad?), and then newspaper and then fleece.
Is the fleece properly wicking?

You say you think you’re giving them too much veg. The recommended amount is one cup per pig per day.

A full clean once or twice a week should be enough in most cases.
The issue with boars is too much full cleaning can be counter-productive when it comes to scent marking - the more you clean the more they’ll mark, the worse it smells.
 
Piggies&buns said:
So it’s a washable pad (like a puppy pad?), and then newspaper and then fleece.
Is the fleece properly wicking?

You say you think you’re giving them too much veg. The recommended amount is one cup per pig per day.

A full clean once or twice a week should be enough in most cases.
The issue with boars is too much full cleaning can be counter-productive when it comes to scent marking - the more you clean the more they’ll mark, the worse it smells.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is. What does wicking mean re the fleece?

I have heard that one cup a day of wet food per pig is too much, especially for babies?

I think we 'may' be over cleaning, but just thought it was harmful to leave them in all their poos and wee. They are un-neutered boys too, so I suppose that could make a difference?
 
Storm1974 said:
Yes, it is. What does wicking mean re the fleece?

I have heard that one cup a day of wet food per pig is too much, especially for babies?

I think we 'may' be over cleaning, but just thought it was harmful to leave them in all their poos and wee. They are un-neutered boys too, so I suppose that could make a difference?
Click to expand...


Wicking is the process by which urine goes through the fleece into the absorbent layer. New fleece needs to be washed a good three times before being used to ensure urine is going through properly.
It’s also important to ensure the absorbent layer underneath is a good one.

One cup is the recommended amount but you need to introduce new veg slowly.

You do need to remove poops daily. Wet areas of hay and/or bedding also need to be removed daily. Smaller per pads (fleece on top with an absorbent layer stitched into the middle, and then another piece of fleece on the bottom) can be used in high traffic areas such as under hides. Those smaller pee pads can be removed more often (daily if needed).
Changing the entire fleece can be done 1-2 times a week.
With boars it can sometimes be less smelly to use two smaller fleeces in the cage at one time. That way you don’t have to change the entire cage in one go. Full cage changes will cause boars to scent mark more as the territory is wiped of all scent. Two smaller fleeces mean you can change one on one day and then change the other half another day.

It’s whether you’re getting urine smells or boar scent smells
 
When I spot clean I give a little spray of kitchen anti bac Followed by substrate. I was careful at first but my two don’t mind it at all . No ill effects and I think they like it now . Especially in hot weather . Works a treat for smells and lasts until next day.

they retreat into their houses if they hear spray and come out ravenously hungry.

After weekly deep clean they are like eating machines for 2 hours. Go completely food mad in a clean cage. Anybody else noticed that ? I have to really pack it with hay and lettuce.

good luck with fleeces ! I got 2 large expensive fleeces and gave up on cleaning them after about a month.

They are in a bag in the shed . Shame I can’t sell them !
 
Are the poops soft or misshapen? If so it might be too much veg, but if the poops are neat, regular and firm, then their digestion is fine.

I might be inclined to swap over your underlayer so that the washable pad is on top, taking most of the liquid, and the newspaper or a towel underneath it as a backup. Newspaper is not terribly absorbent and may be catching liquid and holding it right under the fleece. Also, wet paper tends to smell bad.

I'm afraid young boys are a bit smelly. We find a lot of the smell is contained by having hay trays with absorbent layers under the hay, as they do most of their peeing there and the hay keeps the smell down.
 
My pair of young boars are definitely messier than my sows! LOL.
Typically my boys pee near or in the hay, so I always have to replenish the hay pile & spot clean/replenish the bedding near the hay area more often, welcome to boars for sure!🤣:))
 
My old boys have a bathmat on the top, then newspaper underneath, with areas of puppy pads under that where they pee most. The puppy pads stops the newsprint form the paper staining my coroplast cage bottom. I spot clean them when there is a reasonable amount of poo during the day. They get cleaned out daily. I ask visitors ( who will tell me!) if they smell, in case I have just got used to it.
 
I jumped in to read some tips, because, boy oh boy I did not realise how stinky boars can be :))

We are using "Zorb" fleece liners, pee pads, and have hay in bags. They still smell, but a lot less than when we had them on other bedding (hay/shavings).. but not everyone gets on with the fleeces for spot cleaning. We manage with a dustpan and brush for our two boys, but it never looks 'perfect'. Definately smells less, but I am accepting a boy smell to an extent now 😂
 
When I first got guinea pigs I had two girls, when I first got my neutered boar it took me around two weeks to get used to the smell! Especially since they live in a room that is separated from my own bedroom by just a divider…
When I got my current boar he was unneutered and I really noticed the smell and had to get used to it again! (Especially since my first boar (Mort) had been extremely unwell so had not been fully stinky)
I think they get less smelly after a while once they are fully settled in but you do find your nose adjusts and you can’t smell it so much after a while.
 
Ours go through phases. They're relativity unstinky at the moment, but not long ago they got a bit... excited for some reason and they were smelling BAD and leaving suspicious sticky patches around the place. Reminded me of that bit in Guardians of the Galaxy about the blacklight...
 
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