Smelly Cage :(

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CreamCheese

CreamCheese

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My guineapig cage STINKS! my whole room smells if guineapig pee, and I cannot get rid of it. Any advice?
Cage info: 2 by 4 bottom, 1 by 2 top. I use fleece bedding and I clean it and once a week, and spot clean every other day.
 
I spot clean every day at least once a day, sometimes 2/3 times a day. And I change the liners every 3/4 days.
Are you using anything under the fleece? Towels? Puppy pads?
 
Also when you wash the fleece are you using white vinegar in the wash as well as laundry detergent? As I find vinegar takes the smell out the fleece.

Fleece bedding might not be right for you as it's not right for everyone. There are lots of alternative options available. Like megazorb, fitch etc. Hope this helps.
 
every other day for spot cleaning might just not be enough i am afraid. `i pick poo up a minimum of twice day, hay trays are completely changed twice a day, fleece twice a week - or sooner if i think it smells... i also use white vinegar with my wash and it never smells after that..
 
My 3 pigs are housed on snowflake woodshavings which I spot clean at least once daily. I do a full clean every 5 to 7 days.

I also empty, clean and refill their hay trays which they tend to wee in at least once a day.

I'm afraid spot cleaning every other day may just not be enough as piggies poo and wee an awful lot
 
How many pigs do you have?
Do you have a large hay tray with an absorbent base layer to catch a lot of their pee?
Maybe if you post a photo of your set up people will be able to offer more advice.
 
Mine are on fleece, I spot clean twice a day, twice a day I clean their hay trays. & a full clean every 3-4days.
The main smell will be in the hay trays.
 
CreamCheese said:
My guineapig cage STINKS! my whole room smells if guineapig pee, and I cannot get rid of it. Any advice?
Cage info: 2 by 4 bottom, 1 by 2 top. I use fleece bedding and I clean it and once a week, and spot clean every other day.
Click to expand...

I have 2 (sometimes 3 depending on foster situation) in a cage of that size on fleece liners. I poo pick daily but only have to change the main liners once a week. I have some smaller squares of liners in the "problem areas" and change those roughly every 3 days.

What are you keeping under the hay holder? This is one of the problem areas as they will wee as they eat. I have one of the additional pads beneath this area but some choose to place a tray of sorts with various types of absorbent litter than can be switched out as needed.

As the others have said, when washing fleece do not use any fabric softeners and place a small amount of white vinegar (I put it in the softner tray of the washing machine) to help eliminate the wee smell on the fabric.

One more thing, you mentioned they are on fleece, is this a liner or just a layer of fleece fabric? If its just a layer of fleece fabric then what do you have underneath it?
Liners have absorbent cores within their layers but if you are just using a roll of fleece then you need to place something like puppy pads/baby disposable changing sheets/disposable incontinence sheets beneath to absorb the wee.
 
To be honest fleece didn't work for me with indoor piggies due to the same problem. Now aubouise and outdoors but warm as I'm paranoid about their temperature.
 
Fleece didn't work for us either. I find it got smelly very quickly. I use fitch over puppy pads I spot clean daily and full clean every 4-5 days and it is far better the only smell we get now is that of hay!
 
I have my guinea pigs in my bedroom at the moment and unfortunately the only way to stop it from smelling is to clean it every day.

I have to change all their hay and their fleece blankets every day to ensure they don't smell and although a bit of a pain it usually only takes 5-10 mins. I also make sure my bedroom door is always left open so the smell doesn't build up!
 
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Mine have fleece cage liners and mini liners in high wee areas.

They also have a 32litre underbed storage box with a hemp based bedding and hay in which is cleaned every couple of days.

I poo pick daily and change liners and mats every 3 to 4 days. Liners are fleece zorb and fleece or fleece mattress protector and fleece.

I have two sows in a 150 x 70cm cage.

Hope you sort it.
 
Thank you all for the help! I think the problem is I only have fleece bedding and nothing else to absorb the pee, I'll be sure to buy something to place under the fleece. But here is a picture of the set up if you have anymore andvice. I only have 1 piggy btw, and she rarely potties in her dining area (the top level of the cage)

image.webp
 
I think that may be the problem, as nothing is absorbing the pee. Also their poops are a bit smelly too. So more spot cleaning is a wise idea. You could use old towels or puppy pads under the fleece or an absorbent mattress protector.
 
Julie M said:
I spot clean every day at least once a day, sometimes 2/3 times a day. And I change the liners every 3/4 days.
Are you using anything under the fleece? Towels? Puppy pads?
Click to expand...
I do the same as you Julie M! I disinfect the cage every 4 days and sport clean the poos twice a day. The poos can smell if they are left sometimes despite them being hard nuggets I've found, so spot cleaning more regularly may help and get skin good disinfectant! The beapher double action disinfectant is very good.
 
I'm the same as a lot of others here too, spot clean twice a day, full change and disinfect every 3-4 days, that seems to leave the place smelling of hay with a slight undertone of boar musk! :) I have beach towels under the fleece, they're silly cheap in the sales and huge, so generally speaking I use one in their overnight cage and two in the daytime run. Whole lot gets slung in the washing machine with the fleece (in a horsebag) twice a week. Can't keep my two on shavings or anything as Praline is allergic to basically everything, but it does depend on your set up and doesn't work for everyone. I will say though, certain foods make them distinctly whiffier! Spring greens without anything to temper them like a bit of coriander or some parsley and I definitely know the boys have eaten, shall we say!
 
Fweeper said:
I'm the same as a lot of others here too, spot clean twice a day, full change and disinfect every 3-4 days, that seems to leave the place smelling of hay with a slight undertone of boar musk! :) I have beach towels under the fleece, they're silly cheap in the sales and huge, so generally speaking I use one in their overnight cage and two in the daytime run. Whole lot gets slung in the washing machine with the fleece (in a horsebag) twice a week. Can't keep my two on shavings or anything as Praline is allergic to basically everything, but it does depend on your set up and doesn't work for everyone. I will say though, certain foods make them distinctly whiffier! Spring greens without anything to temper them like a bit of coriander or some parsley and I definitely know the boys have eaten, shall we say!
Click to expand...
An undertone of boar musk. XD :D That made me lol. :nod:
 
CreamCheese said:
Thank you all for the help! I think the problem is I only have fleece bedding and nothing else to absorb the pee, I'll be sure to buy something to place under the fleece. But here is a picture of the set up if you have anymore andvice. I only have 1 piggy btw, and she rarely potties in her dining area (the top level of the cage)

View attachment 60832
Click to expand...

Ok thats exactly the problem. There needs to be something under the fleece to absorb the pee. So puppy pads/incontinence sheets/baby disposable changing sheets.. whatever is cheapest. I would not recommend towels as they can get very smelly.

If you find this works for you then I would advise for the "long term cheaper option" to either have go at making some fleece liners (plenty of tutorials all over the forum and youtube) or invest in some made to measure ones (but these can be expensive).

CandE Cosies - Small Animal Accessories make theirs with a Zorb core. I have these and find them excellent but be warned they can be pricey.

Ziggy's Piggies also make slightly cheaper but they are heavier an possibly slower to dry than C&E's. I have never used Ziggy's liners but have bought a lot of other accessories from her.
 
My three have pine bedding and also potty boxes that they use. They are still just babies but I clean them every day and no smell.
 
I spot clean twice daily with a mini shop vacuum I use only for this purpose. I launder my fleece bedding and the old towels I put underneath the fleece with borax added to the regular detergent and set my washer to the extra rinse cycle. Vinegar works well, also, as others have said, it depends on what I have on hand when I do the laundry. I also sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of the cage after cleaning it, before putting the clean bedding in and sometimes sprinkle the soda in between the layers of old towels before topping them with the fleece. I never go more than 1 week without totally cleaning the cage, its usually more like every 5 days, and no smell.
 
Brilliant set up Creamcheese, do you not put a tray of meadow hay, mine go to pee in that, & eat it at the same time. Also Timothy hay around the cage. But yes I think it is definately the lack of something under the fleece. I've also made pee jades in high pee places, under the houses
 
So much to share on this topic, so here's a list:
  1. The smelliest areas I've found are right next to the hay bags, where the spilled hay gets pooed and peed on.
  2. All of our fleece is sewn into at least three layer combos, the middle layer being absorbent
  3. I use a plastic spoon (Huge old Weight Watcher's serving spoon that measures one cup) to scoop up the poop every day :twist:. I also have smaller fleece liner pads for problem areas as was mentioned above. These are easy to change 2x-3x a week and are great for keeping your main, giant, expensive cage liner clean for a week.
  4. I use a vacuum only when I've removed fleece from the coroplast and there's some loose poop and hay. Otherwise, yes, it just sucks up fabric, too, even when that fabric is sewn in layers.
  5. All of our "furniture" (cuddle cups, tunnels, cubes) have little fleece liners inside, which cuts down the frequency of washing these bulkier items. Most were purchased that way, and I've made others to fit the ones that came without liners. Snuggle sacks can be a hidden poo source, so I shake them out every day, too.
  6. Fleece liners are EXPENSIVE. We have two 2x4 cages connected, and only three total liners bc of cost. Started making my own liners using online tutorials. It works because the sewing is very simple (rectangular), and you can get fleece on sale. People use different types of filler. I use off-brand moving blankets that I wash before using, just like I do with the fleece. There's also mattress toppers of natural fibers, Zorb, terry cloth, etc.
  7. Lastly, we have an air-purifier in the piggy room. I honestly bought it because I thought I needed one for my skinny pig's health, but really, it's a brilliant odor-reducer, and very quiet.
  8. All of this cost A LOT of money! I prefer convenience, and being a single adult I had the money to do a lot of purchasing, but spending a thousand dollars or pounds on fleece liners is not fun, even if you have the ability to do it. Making my own sewn liners seems to be the best solution.
  9. Basically, it's a lot of work! It's work I don't mind so much, though. Herbivore pets tend to have such conveniently-packaged poops, unlike the smelly, softish logs my dogs leave for me in the backyard.
  10. Something I just remembered! The piggies got "stinkier" when they were finally bonded and sharing a living space. It was obvious (and I have observed it from both sows) they were marking territory. Also, the submissive sow shoots urine at the dominant one when she's fed up... Pee can get in some strange places because of this. Water+vinegar is our cleaner of choice. Just kills the odors.
 
My C&C cage currently stinks like crazy...because I have five sows and a neutered boar in it since Friday. Urine going everywhere. I have the window open in the day and I poo clean daily. The hay is cleaned completely every two days because they have enough to burrow in it, and there are pads on the bottom. I do shake it daily and add fresh...the tray is large enough to hold five piggies at one time.

I will be cleaning out the cage by the middle of next week, and another clean next weekend then reverting back to weekly cleans because I will go back to using puppy pads in the high trafficked areas.
 
I find mine smell less since I changed to fleece. I have Vet Fleece and polar fleece. Underneath I either use disposable incontinence pads (change daily), towels or washable incontinence pad (wash at 60 degrees every other day). I sweep or vacuum the Vet Fleece daily and wash at 60 degrees every 4 days (it's very thick). I lift up the polar fleece and empty it into the bin or onto the disposable pads every day, to get rid of old veg, poos and smelly wet hay, and I was the polar fleece every other day at 60 degrees. I wash their fleece snuggies and tunnels every other day at 60 degrees. They will all still smell if washed at 40 degrees as it's not hot enough to kill the bacteria.
 
Puppy pads in the pen, changed daily if any have wee on them! sweep poops twice a day, change vetbed and hay in carry case, used as a bed, twice a day,
 
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