Chewing Guinea Pigs Chewing on Cage/Playpen Bars

[hlee72]

My two piggies chew on the bars of both their houses and their "playpen" alot, and it annoys the heck out of me. I have one of these Snak Shack Ecotrition Chew Logs for them. They hardly ever chew on that. I recently got them some small animal bark chews thinking that there was something about the log that they just didn't like. They don't chew on those either. I don't want to spend $11/$12 to have their teeth trim when they have "toys" to chew on. does anyone have any helpful suggestions?

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

I have a pair that chews on anything but what they are supposed to. They love chewing on the cage bars and eating coroplast. I recently installed acrylic sheets on the inside of the grids of their cage to prevent them from chewing the bars and so far it works and looks great! I also have poster edging on the coroplast as they don't seem to like chewing on tougher plastic as much as coro. I had to get rid of all their non-edible houses and now they have twig tunnels and a cardboard box instead. As long as they have unlimited hay you shouldn't have to worry about their teeth getting too long, just focus on covering things they shouldn't have in their mouths.

 

[Beatrix187]

You could take some hanging chews and put them on the areas they chew on.

 

[hlee72]

This is their setup, LifeAs, but I will try some of your ideas.



They have one each already, Beatrix, which they ignore. I'll try getting one or two more for each piggie.

 

[PandaPiggle]

They are likely chewing on the bars because they need more space to run and frolic and popcorn on their schedule. One guinea pig needs at least 7.5 square feet, and two should ideally have 10 square feet. Have you considered a C&C cage? They're quite inexpensive as far as cages go, and you can do custom building to suit your space, or get prepared kits from the Cages Store.

Do your piggies get unlimited grass hay? As long as they've got unlimited hay, they shouldn't need tooth trims unless they have underlying dental problems. None of my piggies (including one bar-nibbler) have shown any interest in chewing toys at all, and only nibbled their wooden house when it was new. As long as they've got hay and they're eating it, then their teeth should stay fine.

Sorry for the many questions, but why are your guinea pigs separated? Do you have a boy and girl, or were they fighting?

 

[wombats]

As said, it is so important to get them a bigger cage...you can make a custom, sturdy, visually appealing c and c cage for around $60. And that's if you're getting kind-of expensive cubes, like me. I've heard of people getting supplies for less than $50, but whatever you're getting I highly doubt it'll be more than $100. If not, midwest cages are another popular choice of a good size for two piggies, and are around the same price.