Pooping in the Food Dish?

What you have looks fine from what I can tell. It's most likely just that pigs tend to use the bathroom where they eat. Maybe you could put another litter tray in the kitchen area, and they will go there. You can also get food dishes that hook to the grids and are off the ground. (broken link removed)

Percy's Mom said:

It's most likely just that pigs tend to use the bathroom where they eat.

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Thanks for the advice and referal. They're litter box is actually on the other side of the cage (5 feet away) so perhaps that might be the problem.

What I forgot to say before was that yes, this is normal behavior. Percy occasionally poops in his dishes as well. I dump them in a trash can and use a damp paper towel to wipe out the bowl. We went out of town for about a day and a half, and he went nuts in his pellet bowl. I can't for the life of me get him to use a litter tray though. Go figure.

It seems I've read somewhere that piggies will only poop where they are comfortable. Since my "Piggie" poops just about everywhere -- I haven't been able to get him to use a litter tray -- he must be REALLY comfortable. haha! And yes -- he does poop in his food dish occasionally.

Great. Now that I know this is normal behavior it will put my mind at ease.

I bet that this pet comes from a pet store. Has anyone seen the teeny tiny little cages they put them in? Whenever I go to petsmart and ask to hold a pig, when the lady tries to catch a pig them run around and panic, (hey I don't blame them. I'd be scared if a giant hand came and tried to catch me!) and often spoil the food dish. And lots of poop comes out.

I use the dishes that are up off the ground as well as one on the ground. The girls are not messy at all. I had to move Doolittle's bowl because it was so close to his hay that when he reached up to eat, poos came off his feet. It is now far enough away that the poo is off by the time he gets to his food bowl.

piggy_love said:

I bet that this pet comes from a pet store. Has anyone seen the teeny tiny little cages they put them in? Whenever I go to petsmart and ask to hold a pig, when the lady tries to catch a pig them run around and panic, (hey I don't blame them. I'd be scared if a giant hand came and tried to catch me!) and often spoil the food dish. And lots of poop comes out.

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You are correct. Both of mine did. Also, I do have a giant hand! It's a great point but got any suggestions?

Honestly, lots of poop comes out of piggies anyway. I think it's more of a case of your pig being comfortable and pooping where he eats than the fact that he came from a pet store.

As far as the "big hand" issue, to a guinea pig's eyes, we probably all have giant hands. To get your pig more used to you, you can sit by the cage and talk calmly and when you're moving your hand into the cage, go food first. That is, have a piece of lettuce or pepper or cilantro in your fingers. Eventually, he will associate the "big hand" with food and other good things. For a while you might want to hold your piggy in a piece of fleece or a soft towel for a while until every one is comfortable.

Thanks Percy, good advice to be followed. I'm going to be buying two sets of fleece for their bedding as well from the local fabric shop.