training

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Deleted member 144252

Hello,
My 12 week old piggy always makes a total mess of his pen, so I thought it would be a good idea to toilet train him. Is it very hard to toilet train a guinea pig, and how do I train him?
Is there anything I should put in his toilet corner to encourage him to go there?
Thanks.
 
Guinea pigs are like babies, they just go whenever and wherever they are. I spot clean my piggies's house twice a day as the two of them get things pretty messy. The biggest mess they make is throwing all of their hay everywhere. Once I added a hay tray, most of the hay stays in there. Plus, since they spend most of their time in there, most of the poops stay there too.
 
Yeah, I've noticed that my piggy likes to go where the hay is. Currently I'm encouraging him going in the toilet corner by putting hay there.
But he isn't completely committing to going there, so I need some training tips. Thanks for your advice. 👍
 
Seriously - they don't train. They excrete as they walk! Mine like their snuggle tunnels so much they hang out or sleep in there a lot and these are easy to empty into the bin. Some people have had success with putting a hay pile onto a tray and piggie sits on and munches - all the while making a little room for more. This means most poop is contained in a smaller area. I put a pile on a smaller fleece pad then just shake this into the bin at night. Rabbits can train, some hamsters are excellent, pigs not so much! A rubber bristled brush and dustpan set comes in very useful.

My modest George has to have his bum felt every night by an exploratory hand to check he's not impacted. If that hand detects a big bulging bung of soft poop because he's been overdoing the veggies he has to be extracted from his box and manually 'assisted' to remove it. If they can poop unassisted it's a blessing for everyone concerned! :tu:
 
Guinea pigs can’t be toilet trained. They will go wherever they are. They do mainly go where they eat and drinkbut will also toilet where they sleep and while they walk.

Have you made any progress with regards contacting the recommended rescues to get him a friend?
 
Guinea pigs can’t be toilet trained. They will go wherever they are. They do mainly go where they eat and drinkbut will also toilet where they sleep and while they walk.

Have you made any progress with regards contacting the recommended rescues to get him a friend?
Yes, I've made progress and he will have a friend soon.
Thanks.
 
I agree with the others - guinea pigs cannot be trained. As mentioned, they will pee and poop where they eat so putting hay in a tray will catch it incidentally but it’s not training. They do toilet in their sleep and as they are walking about so you will be highly unlikely to get them to go in the same place all the time like other animals can be trained.

I'm glad things are going well regarding getting him a friend.
 
How tidy guinea pigs are, depends also very much on the conditions their ancestors have been growing up/living in and to a certain extent also on the personality. Some piggies can be more fussy, some can be very scatty.

Piggies have to run their hay/grass fibre based (and NOT veg based) diet through the gut twice in order to digest the fibre fully. They will eat the poos that contain the digestible fibre for the second run straight from the anus (caecotrophs or 'eaten poos') while there are plenty of waste poos from both runs. These are spread everywhere as piggies poop where they go and sleep. You need to poo patrol daily, unfortunately.

More crucial is that most piggies have peeing corners, usually in a corner and where they sleep as they cannot control their bodily functions during a nap. Putting a tray with soft hay or puppy pads in the toilet corners and sleeping areas can help with absorbency. Pegging an old hankie or similar over the corner they have chosen, will make it more enticing to use for peeing.

Another good trick is a shallow tray with soft hay for toiletting and sleeping under a hay rack; eating stimulates the gut. Piggies are often very fond of an arrangement like that. You will have to clean the tray daily though and may want to have an absorbent underlay of some sort underneath the hay to prevent it from becoming a soggy mess quickly.

Unfortunately, you cannot toilet train piggies (they would be basically have to constantly sit on the toilet). And unfortunately it is very much a myth that piggies are 'easy pets'. they actually create more work than other pets if you want to keep them in the good conditions that they should be kept. :(
 
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