my father is totally against me getting a guinea pig, but my mother is allowing me to get one as long as i keep it in my room so his opinion is moot anyways he is always coming up with cons against getting a guinea pig some of which are they will make your whole room smell of their cages even when cleaned everyday, they have oily fur and many others but these are the main ones i am concerned about, are these true? i have also read that if there cages are larger they wont smell as much i am planning to make a C&C cage so it will be pretty large so will it make my room smell horrible?
2007-10-20 14:47:18 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
The bigger the cage the less often you will have to clean it. So for 1 guinea pig you will need a 2x3, although if you could get a 2x4, 3x3 or a 2x5 (so on, so on) you will not have to clean it as often.
Guinea pigs have no natural odor and their hair should be smooth and not oily. The only thing that does smell is their urine, but if you use an absorbent, appropriate bedding, spot clean daily and have a big cage this should not be a problem.
I recommend that you join up to the forum here http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/ . It is a fantastic forum which covers cages, bedding, accessories, diet and nutrition, other animals etc etc.
ETA:
They are crepuscular which means they are most active at dusk and dawn. Their poops do not smell unless they have a GI infection.
Boars and boars will not fight if they are housed together, that is a myth, as long as they are properly introduced there should be no problem.
Please consider adopting
2007-10-20 16:55:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have had A LOT of guinea pigs, in fact I have 5 right now. I think the trick to having the cage not get too dirty or smelly is to put recycled paper shavings down first and then timothy hay all over. They need to have timothy hay 24-7 anyway and it gives them something to nibble on and play in. I have had over 10 guineas at one time before and I have never had an oily guinea pig. I also don't think that you'll ever have a smelly cage as long as you clean it 1-2 times per week.
2007-10-20 15:01:10 · answer #2 · answered by Devon J 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Getting a bigger cage has pros and cons, It probably will be harder to clean and i am not sure about the smell. I have a guinea pig and I really dont mind the smell. It is completely untrue about the oily fur though! My guinea pig has the smoothest fur in the world.
2007-10-21 06:27:25 · answer #3 · answered by guinea pig 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a guinea pig and you have to change their cage daily. They really don't smell that bad if you are constantly changing their bedding. That's funny because I don't think that their fur is oily. They really are fun pets and very friendly. They make sounds when they are hungry. It's the cutest thing. You can feed them just about any kind of fruits and vegetables. They have a specific kind of food that you can buy at a pet store. Make sure it has toys to entertain itself. They are cute and everything but it takes a lot of responsibility.
2007-10-20 14:55:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is true that having a larger cage will make it so you don't have to clean it as often, but it will need to be cleaned atleast once a week to keep the smell down. They do have fairly oily fur, but it shouldnt be a problem. I have 3 C&C cages and they are all fairly big, but i use fleece so the smell naturally stays down.
2007-10-20 14:51:41 · answer #5 · answered by Duke_and_Bennie<3! 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have had as much as 12 guinea pigs at on time. you just need to change the bedding every 2-3 weeks so it doesn't smell. larger cages have nothing to do with the smell. i would recommend you get a large toy storage bin and cut the lid short ways down the center. oh and if you plan to get a second one make sure your first is female and the second is female because males fight and if you have one of each gender in the same cage- the reproduce VERY quickly.
2007-10-20 15:04:39 · answer #6 · answered by rie 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i have a guinea pig and we only clean her cage 1 every week but she doesnt smell that bad when we clean her but right after we put new bedding in you cant even tell it was there and they dont have that oily hair well not enough to bother u
2007-10-20 15:40:25 · answer #7 · answered by TimmyBeluga555 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really will need to change the cage all the time. AT LEAST once a week. They poop alot lol. They arent oily at all, it's just the poop and pee that smells bad. The only thing I hated was they kept me up all night. Noisy little buttheads at night time. They are good pets. I had 2 and they had 3 babys. I loved them. I ended up giving the babys to my friends and I left the mama and pops home for my sister when I went to college. :)
2007-10-20 15:48:55 · answer #8 · answered by PEANooDLE 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A guinea pig's cage should not smell at all. If it does, it is because you aren't cleaning it enough.
2007-10-20 14:55:56 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no as matter of act the wood shavings will make your room smell nice. make sure you use pine wood shavings not cedar . cedar is highly toxic to guinea pigs. i have a guinea pig and her fur is not oily at all. when you empty the cage of shavings use a mix of vinegar and water to clean it as anything chemical can hurt your guinea pig
2007-10-20 14:52:50 · answer #10 · answered by hermitofnorthdome 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋