Some Questions

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loveanimals

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Hi I have been researching small pets.

We don't have any grass for them in the garden, is that a problem?

How much time of your day do you spend cleaning them?

Honestly how much do the guinea pigs/ cage stuff smell? I don't have much experience and my mum said they would smell and someone she knows had outdoor GPs and said they smelt. I live in a small annexe with only one internal door on the bathroom so i can't shut the door.

Thanks for any answers, and sorry this was quite brief because i wrote a longer post then lost it and had to start again!
 
If you grow grass trays, offer them live plants in plant pots and generally offer the chance to graze, then not having a lawn will be workable.

As for smell, as long as you clean them enough, and they have a large enough cage they really aren't that smelly. If you can smell outdoor Guinea pigs that strongly then they probably are not cleaned enough. It doesn't take long to clean out, literally 10-15 muns to do a poo pick and a sweep, then 20 to do a full clean. Depending on the bedding you use.
 
Hi and welcome!

Not having access to a lawn is not a problem.

The smell issue depends to a good extent on how frequently you clean out your guinea pigs. I would not think that those guinea pigs that your mum saw had been cleaned out recently. :(
I would recommend to clean out any indoors guinea pig twice weekly, whatever bedding you keep them on. It takes me about 15-30 minutes to clean a cage, depending on whether I am doing a deep clean or not. Some of our members take a bit longer.

Here is more information on other topics you may want to research: Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners
 
Speaking as a very new owner, I can't speak for much but we haven't noticed that the piggies smell in themselves. There is a certain odour to the hay, but it definitely isn't unpleasant, but I do recognise it as an "alien" smell (and possibly could be what your Mum was smelling if it was something she wasn't familiar with)

We are using fleece bedding and only a week in so not done that much cleaning yet. Despite our inexperience it is only taking about half an hour to do a full change (done 3 so far, I plan to do it twice a week). That includes brushing the fleece like mad to get all of the bits of hay off. I expect it will take less than that with a bit more practice. In a morning I do a quick poo pick and hay change which takes about 5 mins and then the evenings I roll back the fleece and give the coroplast a quick wipe with hot water, wash the water bottles and bowls and change the hay. This takes about 10-15 mins depending on how much "help" the kids give me!

Hope that helps, I know I don't have experience yet but that in itself is useful, I'm sure you get quicker with practice!
 
Not having grass is not a big deal (we have grass, but due to climate they only get onto the grass for about 3 months of the year.) You can provide other sources of nutrition (hay, fresh veggies, etc.) I do a full cage cleaning once a week and spot-clean the wet spots every day or two (I use paper bedding/shavings.) It doesn't take that long (for a full clean I basically gather up and toss all the old shavings, scrub down with white vinegar, dry everything, and then add new shavings. Probably about fifteen or twenty minutes.) I don't find that they smell provided the bedding is clean/dry (which is why they need the full clean-out weekly and the spot-checking for wet bedding the days.) I personally find it less offensive odor-wise than a cat litter box that hasn't been cleaned for a few days, but that's just me (maybe I'm just not used to cats!) I've owned a few rodents over the years and the guinea pigs have definitely smelled less than mice/rats/hamsters. Hope this helps!
 
The grass thing isn't an issue at all. We only had grass put down at the end of summer so the pigs haven't been out on it and we have been in this house 3 years in May. My partner says the pigs smell and that's part of the reason for mine being outdoors. They don't hugely smell, no more so than any other animal but you do need to be aware that some piggies are more smelly in general than others. Boars can create a smell through scenting so an over zealous boar might be more smelly than a different boar.
 
Thanks for you replies. I still haven't made a decision! I have been researching gerbils as well though, which i realise are quite different ;)
 
loveanimals said:
Thanks for you replies. I still haven't made a decision! I have been researching gerbils as well though, which i realise are quite different ;)
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Just a bit! Well done you though, for doing your research before getting either of them and making sure you can meet their needs....
That's a sure fire sign you will go on to be a conscientious owner of whatever small pet you eventually choose to get ;)
 
I think it is mostly just the possible smell that concerns me. I don't know anyone with them though and it smelt a lot in the local pet shop the other day but they had a tiny room off the side you can't go in with hamster and small birds too, so i don't know what actually smelt. I think i would get used to it though. I like the idea that i can have them out in a pen and they shouldn't be able to climb out and i lose them, especially with my chihuahua. I have taken her to a couple of pet shops to see the different small pets and she was fascinated by piggies! But mum has our family dog, a parson russell terrier in her house and he does stay at mine but never unsupervised, i think it may be safer not having tiny gerbils in case they escape and he finds them. Although i would never let him get near the pigs
 
loveanimals said:
I think it is mostly just the possible smell that concerns me. I don't know anyone with them though and it smelt a lot in the local pet shop the other day but they had a tiny room off the side you can't go in with hamster and small birds too, so i don't know what actually smelt. I think i would get used to it though. I like the idea that i can have them out in a pen and they shouldn't be able to climb out and i lose them, especially with my chihuahua. I have taken her to a couple of pet shops to see the different small pets and she was fascinated by piggies! But mum has our family dog, a parson russell terrier in her house and he does stay at mine but never unsupervised, i think it may be safer not having tiny gerbils in case they escape and he finds them. Although i would never let him get near the pigs
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To be honest if they are cleaned out regular they don't smell at all. We clean ours once a week. If they are on fleece I have found they need cleaning every 2-3 days.
 
I have 2 pairs living in the house on fleece. I clean them out twice a week and they don't smell unless I leave them longer than about 3 - 4 days. They do produce huge volumes of wee for such small creatures. In my experience shavings and hay have a smell of their own which are not unpleasant unless soaked in wee. Damp hutches also have a smell of their own particularly if the owner hasn't lined the hutch with something like Lino to prevent wee soaking in to the wood. I suspect if you have had experience of smelly piggies that perhaps they have not been recently cleaned out.
 
sport_billy said:
To be honest if they are cleaned out regular they don't smell at all. We clean ours once a week. If they are on fleece I have found they need cleaning every 2-3 days.
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What do you bed yours on?

I don't think i would be able to use vet bed or fleece because i actually use my mum's washing machine because it is more economical than us both having them, i don't think she would be happy washing their bedding. What would be the next best?
 
loveanimals said:
What do you bed yours on?

I don't think i would be able to use vet bed or fleece because i actually use my mum's washing machine because it is more economical than us both having them, i don't think she would be happy washing their bedding. What would be the next best?
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The way to get round this is to use washing bags. I use them and they are fab. They stop hair and stray bits of hay getting into your washing machine or other washing. This is just one example:
Moorland Rider Horsewear Wash-Bag

But use whatever suits your circumstances. Plenty of people just use hay or shavings over newpaper or puppy pads. As long as you clean them regularly smell isn't an issue.
 
MerryPip said:
The way to get round this is to use washing bags. I use them and they are fab. They stop hair and stray bits of hay getting into your washing machine or other washing. This is just one example:
Moorland Rider Horsewear Wash-Bag

But use whatever suits your circumstances. Plenty of people just use hay or shavings over newpaper or puppy pads. As long as you clean them regularly smell isn't an issue.
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What size bag do you use? For what size cage?
 
Tigermoth said:
What size bag do you use? For what size cage?
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Mine isn't exactly one of those but along the same lines. I use one around the 'Jumbo' sixe e.g. 60 x 75cm or similar.

That lets me fit in one piece of vet bed for my cage (which is 1m square) as well as a couple of cosies/tunnels and a lap mat.
The less you put in the bag, the more it moves around so washes better. I wouldn't try fitting more than that in it or it doesn't wash so well. That bag takes one wash cycle then I have a second bag for the other boys' cage (the same set up again).
I have in an emergency washed two bits of the vet bed in the same bag but it's a bit tight and doesn't come out so well. I know some people use an old duvet cover instead which is less restricting on size and capacity but maybe doesn't seal as well.
 
I was thinking as well, i keep quite a cold house because i am always hot. I have a chihuahua who has health problems so tends to be quite skinny sometimes, and she snuggles up in her pen and she has a snugglesafe heatpad which she loves.

What can you do to keep the guinea pigs warm enough?
 
Snuggle safes are great for guinea pigs too. My boys love them when it's chilly (our house gets quite cold at times).
Fleecy cosies or a box stuffed with big mounds of hay are good for snuggling into too.
 
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