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Litter box training.

Katie..

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 11, 2012
Messages
142
I recently discovered that people can train thier guinea pigs to use litter boxes.
My guinea pig, Vader, likes to poop in the corners and I figured it would be a piece of cake to put a litter box in a corner and he would use the bathroom in it.
What kind of litter box should I use? Would he feel more cumfortable if it had an open top?
Thank you :love:
 
Umm..... most small animal/Guinea Pig Litter Boxes have open tops. DO NOT use a cat litter box, it's not the same, and the pigs will eat the litter and get sick. They don't need "litter" in the litter box. I use a little towel that we don't need/use anymore and they love it. They make specific small animal litter boxes and you can find them at most pet stores.

Also, to train them to go in the litter box, put their hideys/water/food bowls in each remaining corner. This will discourage them from pooing/peeing there and only in the litter box. Also, you should put their hay manger by the litter box-- Mine love hay while on the toilet. :)
 
Mine love hay while on the toilet. :)
Sorry to intrude but I thought that was hilarious. Also, I would like more info on litter box training and if I find any helpful tips I'll send them your way..
 
yes had it been for the poop i would probably have gotten 2 more piggies( i have 2 already)
I tried litter training once already didnt go very well
 
I have two litter boxes, one in each back corner and they are connected with a shallow litter tray along the back. My girls use them all the time and haven't peed in their fleece lined houses or anywhere else in the cage for ages. The rest of the cage is fleece. The odd time they will pee by their pile of hay, but not often. I do have to sweep up some droppings, but that is pretty easy. I change the litter boxes every day so I don't get any smell.
 
My new guinea pig, Rodney, seems very committed to doing his business in one corner. And he's pretty young. I'm gonna try to train him to poo there.
 
My piggies are resonably well litter trained - I change the fleece about once every 10 days, and when I spot clean each day there are only about 5-10 stray poops!
My theory is that it is to do with them previously being kept on hay/newspaper - I have litter trays back then (a cat one - no cat litter in though, and a small pet one that goes in the corner) but they peed and pooped everywhere! However, when I put them out for floor time they would only use the litter trays. So when I got their c&c cage and fleece I think they carried on with the same idea, using the litter trays!

My tips would be...
1. Have a rectangle litter tray where all their hay goes and with hay racks - big enough for two piggies to fit. If you want also use a normal litter pan in one of the other corners - sometimes one of my pigs is bossy and won't let the other in the big one!
2. Use hay and newspaper in the litter trays - piggies often like to wee on their hay! To make sure they aren't eating spoilt hay I clean the litter trays every day and use hay racks :)
3. Put litter trays in dark corners or corners where they already like to go!
4. Try making these corners even darker - Over their large tray I have a grid with fleece draped over.
5. To start with you can try putting some old hay/few poops in the trays to encourage them to go where they smell themselves!
6. If you do floortime, use the litter trays from their cage.
7. If you pick a piggie up for a cuddle - place it back in a litter tray, I often find mine want to have a wee straightaway!

Litter box training.Litter box training.
 
When I started litter training my bunny, it was recommended to put his hay on top of his paper litter pellets. He sits in his litter pan, eating hay and peeing, and it works great. When I got my piggies, their hay was in a pan, and I saw that they peed on it a lot. I cleaned the pan and put a folded piece of newspaper in the bottom as a liner, added some Carefresh, and put heir hay on top-that way the urine is absorbed better. Seems to be working so far.
 
Thank you everyone. I love the pictures and they are helpful. I will definitely try and litter box train them. :cheerful:
 
i wish my hubby wanted to litter box train ours
it would make things much easier
 
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