Guinea pigs are creatures of habit and can be taught where to do their business. Use a different material to fill the litter tray If your hutch isn’t large enough, you can place newspaper in the corners as makeshift litter areas. You can teach your piggy to hop into the tray, or you can place hay all around the litter box, which will give your cavy a much-needed boost to get in.Īlso remember to put hay in the box and make sure that it can’t be tipped over easily. And sandpaper down any sharp bits to keep your guinea pigs safe.ĭon’t worry too much about the height of the box. Just make sure to cut the side out for easy access. Otherwise, look for rabbit litter trays.Įven cat litter trays will work. Some of the boxes marketed for cavies may be too small, although you can find products that come in different sizes. Ideally, you want a litter box that is big enough for your guinea pig to move around in comfortably. Get the right sized litter box for your guinea pigs To make the process even more straightforward, you could place some newspaper in the litter box for a few days. When you feel your guinea pigs are ready, you can swap the newspaper out for a litter box. Every few weeks remove a piece of the paper until you are down to one spot. In the same way, you would toilet train a puppy, you can start your guinea pig’s potty training by placing newspaper in their favourite litter areas. Start litter training by placing newspaper in their favourite toilet spots With enough practice, even if their toilet habits aren’t perfect, you’ll still see an improvement. Keep potty training fun, and don’t stress out if your piggies aren’t ‘getting’ it. Accidents are also more likely to happen in older piggies or ones that have health issues. Remember, however, we all have mishaps now and again, and the same applies to your cavy. Using our 10 steps to train your guinea pig to use a litter box will make the process a lot easier. 10 Easy Ways To Litter Train Your Guinea Pig This guinea pig thinks the world is its litter box and pretty much lets the poop fly wherever it is.Īs you’ve probably gathered, Type 1 guinea pig will take to the litter box relatively quickly, but with patience and a little bit of persistence, there is no reason you won’t be able to train Type 2. When nature calls, these little guys will make their way to one of the favoured areas and do what they need to do. Type 1 prefers to do their business in two or three spots around the hutch. Generally, there are two types of poopers: Type 1: Just as they all communicate in their own unique way, guinea pigs poop differently too. And then there are those that mutter and chirp. Some like to wheek, while others popcorn about. If you have had your cavies for a while, there is a good chance you would have noticed that each one is very different. Rather than getting frustrated with the process, you might want to manage your expectations.Įven if your piggies only use the litter tray every now and then, it’s still reducing the amount of collateral damage lying around the hutch. Spoiler alert! It might take some time to train your guinea pig to use the litter box. Providing them with litter trays where they can do their business can reduce the spread of germs around the hutch. Hygiene – wet and soiled bedding can result in your guinea pigs getting seriously ill.Saves money – training cavies to poop in a litter tray or in a designated area reduces the need to replace bedding all the time, and ends up saving money in the long run.Less time cleaning – teaching your cavies to poop in a litter box makes cleaning the cage out much quicker.A cleaner hutch – the most obvious one for us is a cleaner cage that doesn’t smell.There are definite benefits to training your guinea pigs to use a litter box. On the subject of poop, did you know your guinea pig’s droppings can tell you a lot about their health ? The Advantages of Litter Training Your Piggies Should you have two or more cavies in a hutch, we’re sure you’ll agree that that is a lot of pig poop. And because guinea pigs aren’t like humans or cats and dogs who prefer to ablute away from where they eat and sleep, cavies pretty much go wherever they are.īut how much does a guinea pig poop in a day? And is litter training really worth the effort? One healthy cavy can produce as much as 100 droppings a day. The only thing a guinea pig does more than eat is poop.
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