How do you keep your cages so clean?

[Wendalyn]

I've been looking at all the great pictures you guys have of your cages. I have 2 piggies which I have had a couple months now and I was searching on the net for cages and ran into this site. Wow just a wealth of information on here. I never knew about giving them veggies which I am getting them today.

I couldn't find the large sheets of choroplast so i ordered one which I could piece 2 pieces together and then one for a line and making it 2 feet by 3 feet and then upper level. I can't wait. I am going to make my daughter one for her piggy too. Anyways I am getting off topic. So I was looking at all the great pictures and you all have fleece in the cages. I currently have regular bedding in the cage I have now. How the heck do you keep them cages clean? Is there a trick. I notice not many people using paper bedding. How do you get them to use litter and go in one spot. Mine go all over mostly corners I guess since the cage is small would be the main problem but any pointers would be greatly appreciated. TIA

[snickers]

Piggies are hard to litter train, its there own instint they follow. There isnt a certain way to train them, they have to do it all by themselves, it's up to the pig. Basically they poop everywhere. Alot of them poop and pee in the corners of the cage and if that happens you could put a litter pan there and hope for the best while others like mine poop and pee under there hideys. Others tend to go in there kitchen area while they are eating.
As for the cages being so cleaned. With fleece vacuuming the cage or using a dust pan to sweep up the poops is how members get there cages so clean. Depending on how much your pig poops, depends on how much you have to clean the cage out. It might be daily, could be everyday, or every other. All depends on the pig.

[cherrytop108]

I totally know what you mean!! I tried fleece bedding and i just couldnt keep up with all the poops everywhere!!!!! Also i couldnt figure out how to keep the fleece up on the sides. I takes a lot of patience and time, that's for sure. Any pointers?

[JD In Van]

I have fleece and a hand vac. Since I started putting hay in a litter box that's made a HUGE differance too. Now that there's no hay on the fleece it takes two seconds with the handy vac to suck up all the poops then voila! Clean.

[snickers]

I also don't use my regular vac. I bought a handy vac too so I dont have to worry about poop ruining my regualr vac.
You don't have to keep the fleece up on the sides, only if you have a pig that likes to tunnel. If you have a pig that doesn't mess with the fleece you can tuck the fleece under the remaining layers of bedding so its neat. If they do like to tunnel you can try some file clips that office supply stores sell, the ones that you have to squeeze to open so it will hold the fleece onto the edge of the coroplast sides.
You can also you some zip ties. Poke some holes in the fleece and the coroplast and attached the fleece through the holes in the coroplast with the zip ties. This might be an issue as you would always have to undo the zip ties for washing purposes.

[Sugar&Ellie]

I think most people clean their cages and then take pictures. But all of us have had the 'Holy crap this is a mess!' moment once with our C&C cages. Some people notice where the guinea pig likes to pee and poop and then place litter boxes in that spot. Usually it helps a little but mine like to go wherever they're sleeping and sometimes they sleep in the litter boxes.

With the fleece bedding, towels or some sort of absorbant material is usually placed underneith the fleece, this way pee can wick (go through) the fleece and be dry.

Usually my pigs make the biggest mess with their hay and no matter what I do it seems to be a never ending battle. =(

[guineapigmomy]

The way I keep mine so clean, is going and cleaning. I sweep up poop about every 2-3 hours exept when I am in school. Even then I wake up early and clean as soon as I get home and before I go to bed. My pigs seem to like not living in a dirty cage, and they have never been sick.

[2pigs2kids]

I sweep poop twice a day with a hand broom/dust pan. I have an upper level kitchen with hay rack so hay doesn't go all over the place. Works really well for me!

[ryounce]

I built this loft area with basically hay over the litter pan. It cut down a significant amout of the mess. I also use puppy training pad under the fleece. Here is a link to my cage:

Cavy Condo - Guinea Pig Cage Photos

[Wendalyn]

I didn't even think about the hand vac that is a good idea. Seems like everytime I walk by there cage I sweep with my little brush. I think the fleece is a great idea it will keep them warm. Now i am very anxious to get my choroplast so I can make them a new cage they will be so excited so they can run around. Now they just hide in their igloo all the time :-( Thanks for all the replies.

[Wendalyn]

I built this loft area with basically hay over the litter pan. It cut down a significant amout of the mess. I also use puppy training pad under the fleece.

I LOVE the loft I would have never thought of doing something like that. My piggies love their hay.

[Nelli]

I use to use a hand vac but I quickly got tired of cleaning out poo and hair that got stuck inside. To spot clean, I put on a thick pair of rubber gloves that I got from Target and I gather up the poo and place it in a disposable bag and throw it in the trash. I spot clean twice a day, once in the morning before I go to work and again when I come home at night.

[Duffinvt]

Have a container for the poop and every so often scoop it up with a long handled spoon. The Dollar store kind is good as the metal is thin and it scoops just great. I use the poop in the compost or for my redworm farm.

[Peggysu]

I just clean the cage. A bigger cage helps a lot too.

A 2 foot by 3 foot cage is to small for a guinea pig, if you have two females then a 2x3 C&C which is 7.5 sq. feet is the minnimum.

[cherrytop108]

I have a hand vac. to suck them up but it still takes a lot of time=[ So would sticking a couple litter boxes in a few coners of the cage work? Would they even go in them? Because were going to Petsmart tonight, so i need to know if i should buy some. Are they expensive?--Sorry for so many questions.=]

[1frankie7]

do you mean 2 grid x 3 grid or 2 feet by 3 feet?

[bpatters]

Cherrytop, the corner litter boxes I got were about $5 each at the rescue where I got my guinea pigs. Mine use them a lot, but they were doing that when I got them, so I have no idea whether yours would or not. If you do buy one, put whatever bedding you're using now in there and put it in the corner they use the most to pee in. I have two in the downstairs of my cage, which is about 16 square feet.

Upstairs I have a litter tray I made out of leftover coroplast that I put under their hay rack.

I usually have only a few stay poops to clean up unless I drop a pile of hay on the floor of the top section. If I do that, there'll be a lot of poop in it.

[cherrytop108]

I doent really have a hay rack. Should i get one? I just put a huge clump of hay on the top foor(which is 1grid x 2grids). Do they work better when you have fleece bedding? It was a big hastle when i had to take off my fleece,probably because i dont have good bedding for the bottom. What do use for the bottom of the bedding?

[bpatters]

Cherrytop, some people have hay racks, some don't. I got mine out of my neighbor's garage -- it's a shelf extender from Target, turned up on end. Works really well, but before that I stuffed hay in toilet paper rolls, put it in a soda can box, and piled it on the floor of the cage. The rack is just less messy, is all, and it uses less hay because they don't pee and poop on it.

I have either fleece or aspen shavings in the coroplast box under the hay rack, sometimes both, and I change that box about halfway through the week because it gets a lot of use.

For the hay on the fleece, which is in all the rest of the cage, I just roll it up and take it outside to shake it. If there's a lot on it, which there is if I just plop a big handful of hay down, I whack the fleece against a bush to knock it off.

I'm not sure what you're asking about the bottom of the bedding. The bottom of both levels of my cage is covered with fleece sewed to old mattress padding. I just cut the mattress padding to fit the bottom, cut the fleece slightly larger, folded it over and sewed it down. There's no bottom layer between the mattress padding and the coroplast, and I have no problem with moisture accumulating.

[pigsforlife]

I would recommend getting a hay rack. Having a pile on the ground means that they sit in it, pee in it and then you have a smelly cage. A hayrack prevents this and also keeps everything neat and tidy (so not as much hay on the fleece). I also have a "kitchen area" filled with litter in my fleece cages. This is where all their food goes and so they generally go to the toilet more in this area. I just clean it out every 1-2 days and sweep up poops every day.