How to Eliminate Smells from a Guinea Pig Cage

Guinea Pigs make wonderful pets. As they bond to their owners, they give love, companionship and develop their own personalities. Piggies are almost perfect pets to own. The only problem I had with my two little girls was the guinea pig smell that emitted from their cage. If you are having the same problem, here are some simple steps to follow to help eliminate the guinea pig odor from their cage and your house.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guinea Pig Cage with removable wire top.
• 10 or more old towels.
• Cat litter scooper.
• Paper towel and water.
• Washing Machine.
• Container with a lid.
• Trash Can

1. LINE THE CAGE WITH OLD TOWELS.
   I have heard that it is possible to potty train your guinea pigs. My two little girls were not interested in learning this skill and were happy to urinate and defecate whereever and whenever the mood hit. I tried many different types of bedding for my pigs but none that were sufficient enough to control the odor on their own, affordable enough to use on a regular basis, or that did not make a big mess from spilling out of the cage. I did find that if I lined the cage floor with a layer of several folded old dish towels, bath towels,or even several old golf towels that I borrowed from my husband, this made for a suitable and comfortable bedding for my piggies.
   
   I designated at least 10 and preferably more towels just for use in the guinea pig cage. The towels sat available up on top of the cage.

2. REMOVE TOWELS WHEN THEY BECOME DIRTY.
   When the towels become soiled,usually once a day, I would follow these steps to remove the dirty towels lining the bottom of the cage. First, move your guinea pigs to a safe area. Remove the top of the cage. Take out the towels and shake them over a trash can. If there is debris left on the towel, try and sweep off as much as possible. Collect all towels in a special lidded container. When this container becomes full or you start to run low on clean towels, run a special load of laundry with just these guinea pig towels aside from your regular wash. The more towels you designate for the guinea pig cage, the less loads you have to run. When the towels are finished in the washing machine, run your hand inside the washing machine to clean out any hair or debris that may not have come lose when you shook it out over the trash can.

3. SCAPE ANY REMAINS AND WIPE DOWN CAGE FLOOR.
   If there is any debris left on the bottom of the cage, scrape this away with a cat litter scooper and wipe up the floor with a paper towel and water.

4. REFILL THE CAGE FLOOR WITH FRESH TOWELS.
   Place fresh towels on the floor. Replace the lid and put the guinea pigs back.

[csmarie]

on 10/3/2009 Great article and really good tips. 5*

[sallyemaycreate]

on 9/23/2009 Awww what a cute little girl. Thanks for the advice and tips. 5*

[lighthouse1958]

on 9/22/2009 Thanks for the ways to eliminate smells from a guinea pig cage. 5*

[highcloud]

on 9/22/2009 Great advice!!! I had hamsters a long time ago and those things could really stink if you didn't take care of them properly. My son learned this the hard way...lol Never had a guinea pig though. 5*