Stinky pigs

[Piggypiggy96]

Hi my piggys stink from being in their new cage when I get them out for kisses they have the worst musky smell. Not sure what I can do I take the hideys out every morning and put fresh ones in and I wash them twice with non bio powder and laundry cleanser. I have 3 sets of beds so they’res always at least 2 beds dry and clean waiting every single morning it’s fresh beds. My girls used to smell lovely but now they just sit in their poo all the time. Is there anything I should be doing that I’m not? My vet told me to stop bathing them every 8 weeks because one girl has heart disease so they haven’t been bathed for 5 months now.

 

[Piggies&buns]

When I first started reading your post I was thinking boys…then you said girls!
Its worse with boys, but girls do also scent mark (it’s just not as strong smelling) and it can be the more you clean the more they will scent mark the cage and the items in it as their own. Therefore cleaning too much can be counter intuitive.

You say sitting in their poo all the time - do they have lots of enrichment in the cage? Are they literally just sitting around?
How old are they?

They certainly don’t need to be bathed every 8 weeks, healthy piggies don’t actually need to be bathed at all. It’s only recommended to bath them if there is a medical need to do so (ie to prevent urine scald in piggies with loss of mobility - that kind of thing)

 

[Piggypiggy96]

No they don’t have much enrichment tbh i didn’t have any idea this can’t would be this big I need to get some tunnels and stuff. my white girl has cataracts and heart disease so I think she’s looks lazy but she’s really just not that well and can’t see very well. Black girl is enjoying the space and does run up and down but I’ll order or get some extra cage stuff in the next few days. It was more the white one every 8 weeks because her bum and chin always looks so scruffy because of wee and bell peppers. I just used to bath the black one for like a treat with her sister so she smells extra fresh about every 16 weeks. Not sure what I can do from here I think I’ve just got smelly pigs now haha

 

[Piggypiggy96]

She loves the hairdryer on low afterwards shes so cute

 

[Piggies&buns]

A large pile of hay thrown loose on the cage floor or in big trays is excellent enrichment for them. Mix some dried forage, or their veg or pellet portion in amongst the hay and they will spend ages foraging through it which is excellent enrichment.

Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

I’m sorry to hear she is so poorly.
Vision is the weakest sense in guinea pigs anyway so they tend to manage very well if they do completely lose their sight, but of course if she has other health issues then that won’t help

You can wipe her chin with a cloth to get off any food staining.
A bum bath with plain water (no soap) can help if she is getting a soiled back end

 

[Roselina]

Hi Piggypiggy96 you’ve had great advice - I have two boars that don’t really smell - whenever I clean them out I always leave something slightly dirty in there and they then don’t scent mark. I have pee/poo pads that I change daily. I’ve had to clean a greasy anal gland before but I used a soft cloth and coconut oil which works perfectly. I’ve had my boars since April 2020 and I’ve never bathed them.

 

[Piggypiggy96]

Thankyou. the new developments are that my pigs smell like laundry cleanser now it’s so much better. Theyre really clever pigs the past 3 days they’ve ignored the hideys and sleep sacks completely and they burrow under one of the blankets on the left side of the cage they’re quite organised about it they leave the right side blanket with the hey on. They look so cute too so every day now I change the bath matts on that side and put a fresh blanket down. I still change the hideys but they do not use them at all now. It was the black one that started it and she taught the poorly one haha. Its their cage and life they can live how they want and they both seem very happy so I’m really happy.

 

[Roselina]

Ah that’s lovely …..aren’t they funny little furries ! That’s why we love them so much
It’s great they’re settled and no smell apart from a nice one