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Strange Clumps in My Guinea Pig’s Cage?

SgtOnyx

New Born Pup
Joined
May 22, 2021
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Location
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Hello, I am a new poster and I’ve come across an interesting discovery in my guinea pigs cage that I find concerning and came to this site for some advise. When I went to check on my guinea pig I saw this large white egg-like clumps located on the spot she usually uses the bathroom the most. Thy are damp, which I’m assuming because she must have peed on them, but they seem almost cloth-like, which makes me think this could be clumps of her bedding. They are oddly smooth and they do break apart, but some of them seemed to have like a cylinder-like core that the rest of it breaks away from (you might see it in the pictures. Don’t worry about the blue coloring, I picked them out with a blue marker that I thought was dried up). As for these egg-like things, there was about four of them. Any help or advise would be helpful because I can’t find any sources that state a similar thing. Please let me know if anyone has had a similar experience and if so what to do. One thing I’ll note is that the date for her monthly cage cleaning is coming up. Thank you for any help.3B7F5151-4A31-498B-AB69-E4739067DFDF.webp0317FBA1-EF1C-4F7A-89D6-E8E8E284A3BB.webp0317FBA1-EF1C-4F7A-89D6-E8E8E284A3BB.webp
 
Wow that is very weird. . I don't think they are coming from piggie as size is too big.
Hopefully someone might have better idea.
Is it possible some one is putting things into cage. . Looks a bit like pot poturri
 
Are you noticing them in the hay? I’m just wondering if they are foreign objects caught up in the hay making process?
they almost resemble mushrooms - of course it’s hard to tell from a picture
 
Wow that is very weird. . I don't think they are coming from piggie as size is too big.
Hopefully someone might have better idea.
Is it possible some one is putting things into cage. . Looks a bit like pot poturri
I don’t think they are coming from her too. It is relieving to know someone else thinks so
 
Are you noticing them in the hay? I’m just wondering if they are foreign objects caught up in the hay making process?
they almost resemble mushrooms - of course it’s hard to tell from a picture
Okay so now that you mention it, the way they break up, the stem like core in the middle, and the way they feel does resemble mushrooms. I honestly don’t know how that’s possible though because all of her stuff are no where near anything like that. But I will do research on it. Thank you so much
 
They could be from the hay.. you do find foreign objects in hay at times... I've found a frog and mouse before 😱... I would say though that cleaning the cage once a month isn't the best... I spot clean twice a day and full change once a.week unless I feel it needs one mid week..
 
Okay I did research and ironically there is another forum on here that I found my issue: they are mushrooms. Thanks to those posts, I was able to find out the issue and solution (which is to better take care of her cage). I will be cleaning her cage today and will be sure to be more responsible. Thank you everyone who helped out with this!
 
Okay I did research and ironically there is another forum on here that I found my issue: they are mushrooms. Thanks to those posts, I was able to find out the issue and solution (which is to better take care of her cage). I will be cleaning her cage today and will be sure to be more responsible. Thank you everyone who helped out with this!
Wow mushrooms. .
Dam. . On cleaning cage etc.
I have my piggies hay in boxes the flat ones that look like trays and every 3 days I wiz them and fresh ones in. I'm always nicking them from Aldi. Lol
 
They could be from the hay.. you do find foreign objects in hay at times... I've found a frog and mouse before 😱... I would say though that cleaning the cage once a month isn't the best... I spot clean twice a day and full change once a.week unless I feel it needs one mid week..
🐸🐀 Wow.
 
They could be from the hay.. you do find foreign objects in hay at times... I've found a frog and mouse before 😱... I would say though that cleaning the cage once a month isn't the best... I spot clean twice a day and full change once a.week unless I feel it needs one mid week..
Oh my goodness! That must’ve been some find!
Thank you for the advice. As you probably see from my account I’m a new account but I’m also a fairly new owner of a guinea pig. It’s interesting because I was just about finding a good cleaning schedule and then this happens. Lesson learned.
 
I clean out my piggies twice a week. They are on fleece and washable pee pads. The fleece gets changed twice and week and the washable pee pads once a week. I spot clean every couple of days. If I left it for a month it wouldn't be very pleasant as I have 3 piggies. I think you need to amend your cleaning schedule.
 
Oh my goodness! That must’ve been some find!
Thank you for the advice. As you probably see from my account I’m a new account but I’m also a fairly new owner of a guinea pig. It’s interesting because I was just about finding a good cleaning schedule and then this happens. Lesson learned.
Yeah the surprise finds were not the best experience! When I open a bag of hay I always run my fingers through it on the look out for anything that has slipped in their from the fields... I think as time goes on you will find the right schedule for cleaning but I highly recommend more than once a month 😊
 
I poop pick each night (not every tiny poop - but most of the clumps) and take out damp hay patches. I then replace any removed bedding to maintain absorbency and add more hay. Cage blitz once a week. There is a lot of wet, peed-on hay getting discarded - a sackful over two weeks - but as it's all biodegradable we're not worried. If you're growing mushrooms in there it's nature's way of saying clean out a bit more often! Dampness will increase the chances of respiratory infection and that's an expensive road... not always with a happy ending. Good luck new poster!

PS They're always happier with a piggy friend 💕
 
My cleaning schedule is that i try to poop pick and spot clean, remove stray poop, remove any areas of wet hay and bedding, once if not twice a day (i aim to do it morning and evening but some mornings I just don’t get time so it is definitely done throughly in the evening). Their hutch is then giving a full clean out every 5-7 days.
I see you say ‘her cage’. Does she live alone? If so, do look into getting her a friend, guinea pigs are social animals and must always be kept in pairs as piggies get lonely if they are by themselves.
 
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