Chewing Why do my male Guinea’s eat their hutch?

[Opal the Guinea]

Hi guys. I have a male Rex Guinea and for some reason, at night he will nibble the corner of his hutch. The hutch is a plastic ice cream container that I cut a hole out of. I don’t understand why he does this. His son would do it too. I have in the past bought my guineas a wooden block for them to chew on from PetBarn, but for some reason they would never use it. Please help me, I am worried about his health.
~Bella

 

[4boipigs]

Some of my boys will do this with their plastic hides, but I don't know why. Sometimes they do take hold of the edge so they can move the house around. I had 2 who would chew the coroplast when they anticipated food. Just make sure they aren't taking out chunks or actually ingesting it. You could always switch to a different type of hide (woven hay, wood, etc).

As for the wood block, I don't think guinea pigs are neccesarily chewers like hamsters, for example. Free fed hay should be helping to keep their teeth trimmed down. My boys have different chews/toys but I don't really see them using any of it.

 

[MySweetLatte]

My daughter has 2 females who will chew on their plastic hideouts too. They have always done this. We've had them both for over a yr now. They only take tiny pieces ever so often, but sometimes daily. We actually changed to a wooden hay feeder because they were chewing the plastic one way too much. I've made hideouts for my Latte that are metal and cloth, hoping that this will avoid her chewing on everything. And I have a hay feeder that is attached to the outside of her cage for now.

 

[Opal the Guinea]

Thank you for the help! I will buy a wooden hutch off of eBay today.