Wood Pellets/Chips eating wood pellets?

[onefutui2e]

Hey everyone,

So I have one of my guinea pigs living with wood pellets covered by fleece. Every now and then, I come home and find that parts of the fleece are turned over and pellets strewn about a little. Not a real issue as I just tidy it up a bit.

However, occasionally I'll see him digging through the fleece and not just putting the pellets in his mouth, but actually chewing on them.

Is this something to be concerned about? i guess my main worry is that the wood is bad for him to digest. And also, splinters in the mouth.

Thanks!

 

[bpatters]

My pellets don't splinter, they just crumble into sawdust. If you crush one, does it splinter?

Mine have all sampled the pellets, but none have done any serious eating of them.

 

[onefutui2e]

thanks for the quick response!

it definitely crumbles in my hand as i crush them.

 

[onefutui2e]

Yeah, he definitely digs them up. I don't think he's eating them, but he's definitely at least chewing them into sawdust. Maybe he's bored. I'll get him some toys.

 

[miniver]

Just last night I caught one of my girls digging under the fleece. I thought she was eating the wood pellets. Nope. She was digging for poop. They occasionally poop in the gap between the fleece and the cage wall, if a gap opens up. She dug out the poop and gobbled it up. It must have been a really good one! I'm going to keep watching and see if this is a habit she's developed.

 

[lisa325]

lol @ "It must have been a really good one"
My guys have wood pellets/ fleece in their kitchen area. I absolutely love the combination, and thank goodness they have never shown any interest in digging under the fleece. Good luck with the toy distraction, I hope it works out for you.