Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Potty training help

Newpiggiemom

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Posts
220
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
220
Does anybody have some ideas of trying to potty train my boys? I bought an enclosed corner potty for my 2 guinea pigs who are 2-4 months old according to the vet. One uses it during floor time, the other one never seems to use it at all. It seems to just take up space in their cage. They pee everywhere which makes the cage smell after just a couple of days. I have been changing the fleece about every 3-4 days but it smells after a couple of days. How can I get the idea to them to pee in the litterbox and not all over the cage?
You can see the potty in the picture that I have as my avatar. HaHa!
 

rabbitsncavyluv

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Posts
5,863
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
5,863
You can't. They're not easy to litter train - very few will. They pee and poop everywhere.
 

JarBax

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Posts
2,313
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
2,313
...but you can get them to pee and poop more often then not in a litter tray, if you persevere!

I have used several diffent things as litter trays - none purpose bought! The very best idea is to place the litter tray underneath a hay rack - that way the piggies pee and poop as they munch on their hay. A bigger tray may be necessary for more than one pig to use at once. My girls all prefer to be 'under cover', so a blanket draped over the hayrack and litter tray may help them feel more secure, and more likely to spend time in there.

I now have a 2 x 3 dedicated litter area/hay loft. It is bedded, rather than with fleece and I have experimented with various hay racks up there. It is the most popular place to find them hanging out - especially as one end is covered with a fleece blanket for privacy, and the other has a hammock (which they hide under, rather than in!) I have started using large banana boxes as hay-boxes. I line the box with newspapers, and fill with bedding hay (still greenish - though a lot cheaper and softer than the hay I use in the racks.) Because hay moulds relatively quickly, I clean it out and change the hay regularly. This is so far the best set up I have tried. Sometimes, a pig will come upstairs, pee in the 2 x 3, then continue back to whatever business they were up to before the call of nature!

Best wishes - let us know how you get on!
 

Newpiggiemom

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Posts
220
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
220
Sounds discouraging. I have a 1 cube hay room with a hay rack that's lined with Carefresh and hay on top of that. I tried putting a small box in each corner with Carefresh in it for them to use but they would stop and pee in front of it. I wound up just taking the other boxes away and leaving the covered one in.

How does everyone keep the cage from smelling if they don't use the boxes? Other than changing the fleece everyday? I have a towel and puppy pads under my fleece.
 

JarBax

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Posts
2,313
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
2,313
Please don't be discouraged! Whilst it is doubtful that you will ever get your boys to only ever pee where you want them to, it is possible for you to get them to go more often where you'd prefer! Keep trying different things with the litter tray area. I'd try taking the covered box out - maybe put it somewhere else in the cage in the meantime (with carefresh in). Then you will have a cube hay area for them to try out. Cover it all with fleece - or cardboard - or anything to make them feel more secure. It might work!

Otherwise, you could try putting several more litter trays/boxes in the cage (how big is the cage?) Corners are good, but keep trying different places, until you find somewhere they like. If your cage isn't very big, this could be causing the fleece to smell quicker. I know when I used towels, the cage seemed to smell more. I know folks here are having good results with mattress protectors, may be worth swapping your under layers? I have used wadding/batting under the fleece in places, and this worked really well to reduce smell, and improve wickability. I also use fleece lined cushions. My girls love to lounge n them, and while they do get damp, the moisture dries before reaching the fleece below, so with regular washing, the cage stays fresher for longer! (I found I was getting too much washing with the wadding - but a few cushions are easy to throw in the machine mid-week).

Hope this is a little more encouraging!
 

ctinaw

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Posts
306
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
306
I don't know if this will be of any help but this is what I did. And really - it is probalby pretty hit and miss with guinea pigs. They are the one animal I've kept that ENJOYS peeing and pooping where they eat and sleep - so they basically defy all the norms of animal potty behavior.

I also have a fleece cage. First, make sure you are vaccuuming all the poops every day. I have no idea if pigs make a habit of pooping where the poop is - but if they do - don't leave it lying around.

When I made my C&C I first put a shoebox lid down with a big pile of hay in it. Well I noticed my guinea pig made this her favorite potty spot. On the hay, in the hay and around the hay. I've seen lots of owners on this site say similar things. So I basically knew it had to do more with the hay than the location. My solution - I built a little loft - just a little 2x2 with a ramp going up to be her hay loft. I bought - not sure what you'd even call it - it's like a small rack that is supposed to be used to hang under a shelf - you can get them at wal-mart or home depot (wal-mart much cheaper), and I am using that as her hay rack. This is great because it holds a TON of hay and it keeps it up off of the ground so she can't pee in it. It's also impossible for her to get into and hurt herself. I placed a scrap piece of coroplast on the side facing the outside of the cage so the hay won't fall out onto my floor! This works great and is the perfect height and holds so much hay.

Then I made a small litter box out of coroplast that would fit EXACTLY under the hay bin and reaches out about 13 inches - so its roughly about the size of a cube, but cut a bit smaller to fit inside of the regular coroplast up on that level. I filled that with a lining of newspaper with carefresh over the top. This way I can remove the litter box as often as I like to *spot* clean without disturbing her or the rest of the cage.

This seems to be working so far - very well - and obviously its hard to tell if she is peeing elsewhere because of the fleece, but I can tell she has peed quite a bit in there which is the important thing!

Try building your buddies a hayrack/litter combo and see if they might go for it! Worked right away for my girl.

I wouldn't say she is litter trained, she just happens to like to poop and pee in her hay - and that's where her hay is - so we all win lol
 

Newpiggiemom

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Posts
220
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
220
All the suggestions sound great. I do sweep out all the poops every evening and the poops are not what concerns me. They're easy. It's the pee that's causing a problem. I built them a 1 cube hayroom with a hanging hay rack that keeps the hay clean and is lined with carefresh with hay on top of it. They seem to like it fine and use it regularly but also seem to pee wherever they happen to be at the time. It may just be useless, maybe I just have messy careless boys (a lot like my own children at times, I'm still working on them too).

I'll try different things and maybe something will work. If not I guess I'll just be washing often, which is not the end of the world. I have to do tons of laundry anyway.

My cage is a 2x4 with a loft that's kind of L shaped. I also have a 1 cube hayroom on the end of the 2x4 so it's more like a 2x5 on one side and a 2x4 on the other (if that makes sense). I have a picture if you care to look.
 

ctinaw

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Posts
306
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
306
Well it sounds like you already have a lofty sort of set up so I don't know. I'd try to put an actual small litter box right under where your hay is hanging. See if they use it. Again, I don't know if it is possible to completely potty train a guinea pig - but rather to arrange their things in a way that they will go most often in the spot you want them to. My girl seems to spend most of her time right under the hay rack so that's why that works for us.

Someone who is more experienced with guinea pigs please input here as I don't know if this stuff is safe or not for animals or guinea pigs - but I saw somethign at the pet store in the bedding section. It had a picture of a ferret and rabbit on it I believe and looked like kind of large white balls. It said something about potty training - I don't know what it actually was. But maybe it is a training aid to get your pet to go in a certain spot? I'd verify with someone first though that it is safe for guineas.
 

JarBax

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Posts
2,313
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
2,313
I don't know if this stuff is safe or not for animals or guinea pigs - but I saw somethign at the pet store in the bedding section. It had a picture of a ferret and rabbit on it I believe and looked like kind of large white balls. It said something about potty training - I don't know what it actually was. But maybe it is a training aid to get your pet to go in a certain spot? I'd verify with someone first though that it is safe for guineas.

I haven't a clue what these white things are either - but I do know that pet shops will sell all kinds of useless (and sometimes even harmful) items to get us to part withh our hard-earned cash! (think about all the mineral licks and vitamin c for water bottles, and wooden hutches, excercise balls and leashes etc!) I don't know if they are impregnated with somethig - but I would beware - just incase.

I agree that for me, it's not the poops, but the pee that is worse, and do find that having several trays/cushions/cosies works best. Can't remember if I mentioned it before - but I throw the cosies and cushions in the wash regularly - thus keeping the cage fresher. The cushion's inner seems to contain, and dry out the pee before it reaches the fleece underneath, and throwing them in the wash is so much easier than cleaning out the whole cage/redoing all the fleece.

Your cage looks great!! I love the added on hay box area, and they hidey house with the ramp going up and over it! Do they 'go' in the hidey? Perhaps you could try putting down a tray lined with newspaper, and some offcut of fleece, which could also be changed more regularly than the whole cage?
 

ctinaw

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Posts
306
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
306
I was thinking of making one of those cuddle cups and was wondering how well they wash. Do they retain their shape if you wash them? Do they need to air dry or can they be dried in the dryer?
 

aaronmeister

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Posts
142
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
142
I found immediate improvements when I made a litter box under a hay rack.
 

kala83

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Posts
79
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
79
I am actually in the process of traing my two girls to litter train I want to eventually get one of those small animal littler pans but I am just trying to get them used to the idea. I am going to have a litter pan over by where their hay rack with a little bit of bedding in it,and then the rest of cage will be in fleece. I am not sure if this will work or not, I just wanted to try this out to try and save some money on bedding. Maybe it will work maybe not just trying out luckily there is a lot of helpful advise on here to refer back too.
 

envisionary333

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Posts
2,346
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
2,346
Another option is to use small squares of mattress pads, towels, or puppy pads lined in fleece just for the high-traffic spots that get the most pee. I put some under the hidey houses since they go their the most, and have extras on hand so I can change them out every day or two. I throw them all in a bin until I have a full wash load, then clean them and start over. This way I can go much longer between cage cleanings.
 

kala83

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Posts
79
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
79
Another option is to use small squares of mattress pads, towels, or puppy pads lined in fleece just for the high-traffic spots that get the most pee. I put some under the hidey houses since they go their the most, and have extras on hand so I can change them out every day or two. I throw them all in a bin until I have a full wash load, then clean them and start over. This way I can go much longer between cage cleanings.
That sounds like it wold work too... I am gonna try little by little see what all works and what does not. Hopefully things will be a little easier this way. lo even if they don't end up using the litter using fleece over and over again is such a nicer option then using bedding since it is wayy up their in pricing.
 

Shy_Gurl_Tasha

New Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Posts
2
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
2
when i got my 2 boys who were 6 weeks old at the petsmart and they had a liter in the cage but mine seem to poop and pee in the corners of the cage also i tired today making a bottom of the cage with the grids and just an old bed sheet on the floor as a playpen to get them used to is but they pee and poo everywhere could that be nerves
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

KirbyFan8910
Replies
4
Views
603
KirbyFan8910
KirbyFan8910
_Sora_
Replies
6
Views
736
ItsaZoo
ItsaZoo
Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest
Replies
3
Views
434
4boipigs
4boipigs
K
Replies
2
Views
364
kimchieee
K
H
Replies
2
Views
490
Maisie&Hazel
Maisie&Hazel
Top