Need advice please, male guinea-pig people

[LordOfTheFlies]

The chaps are in at night, out during the day with all their fleece, hotwater bottles, hay, heater (spoiled or what). When it's a bit warmer they can stay out at night. They are 1 yr old brothers.

The indoor cage is plastic base/metal bar top (approx 4'x2'x1.5').
I give them paper/cardboard (to absorb) then fleece to sleep on .I don't want hay or Megazorb on the hay if I can help it, nightmare to get off.

Indoor and outdoor bedding changed daily. I spray the indoor cage with Jeyes fluid (suitable for hutches) wipe and dry.

They have hay 'biscuits' Boredom Busters.

They pooh and pee and are stinky little devils.

I love them dearly, but has anyone got any tips to reduce the aroma d'boar
TIA

Yes, put them in the garage/shed!!

Noooooo!

Their water dish froze on Saturday. It was in their shed!
Too flippin cold for them to be out at night (and it will get colder I'm sure)

I have two boars and they live indoors in what used to be a garage (now converted). I keep them in a c&c cage on fleece. Cage has no top, so layer of newspaper/cardboard, layer of old towels, layer of fleece. I only have to sweep up poo every day, and change the whole shebang once a week.
They are not smelly at all, only by the end of the week do they seem a bit whiffy.
Are yours adolescents? Guinea pig equivalent of teenage boys and all hormones and bo????
Seriously though, the fleece is cheap bedding, and seems to draw away any smell underneath. I used to use newspaper and hay and this is much easier.

The GPs are a year old (I've had them 7 weeks now)
The biggest one is a real territotial marking type- he goes into a clean cage and deposits his cloudy pee in several key places, ie GP 1 places.
GP2 doesn't tend to mark, he tags along behind his brother.
We divided their indoor cage with heavy mesh because they were fighting, but outside they are fine and sometimes sit together but they like their own chill space.

I'm hoping by this age they are over the terrible teens.

I consol myself that they are not as niffy as boy mice (I've had them in the past )

Might be time for another bath- maybe a wet flannel and shampoo isn't enough for their greasespots?

What 'shampoo' do you use?? Might bath ours but not sure what to use

Mine were adopted from a rescue, and the owner recommended this gorgeous guineas shampoo. There is one specifically for boars. I just bought a tiny trial version and there is loads left after two baths. It smells very nice.

Out of despiration -and inspiration- I bought some Catsan to go in the base of their cage.
It took a full 10 litre bag, but hopefully I'll just have to scoop out the pee bits.
They've got fleece on the top plus a snuggle fleece to sleep in.(in case it's jaggy on their paws)
Seems to be working, they are next to me and I can't smell them

Though GP1 stuck his bottom right into the fleece to pee as soon as his paws touched the floor.

GP1 , I've got the vets number and you could still get booked in to be "done" y'know.

Have also heard good things about megazorb.... cheaper than catsan??

My female guinea pigs were very stinky inside this autumn/winter (fleece bedding on top of towels). I've switched to using Megazorb and they don't smell at all. They seem quite happy on it as well and it's not too messy.

Does anyone know if you need to bathe girl piggies? I bathed mine once and they seemed to quite like it but wasn't sure how necessary it is.

YY I've got Megazorb (horse bedding) for outside. I put a good layer in the corners of their wooden house.

But I'm trying to keep hay, shredded paper and anything clingy off the fleece because it's a pain to remove before they go in the washing machine.

The Boredom Breaker hay cookies are excellant because they just chew what they want.
The pigs are out during the day,(in their pig palace) so they have plenty of hay and run-around time.

My guys only get stinky if me or DH don't get round to cleaning them out and they're in the living room all the time.

I use layers of newspapers and then lashings of hay. They have a kitchen chair cushion "mattress" in their bedroom (wrapped with a puppy training pad and a fleece) and a pillow similarly wrapped, in a basket at the other end. I can see a huge furball snoring away in that basket now.

I have never used fleece over the whole cage, just because I think it would get sodden and messy very quickly. Small fleece blankets over cushions, however, can be changed more regularly and all the hay and poo and such just brushed off with the brush that goes with the dustpan, then whacked in the laundry.

I bath my fellas at least every 2 to 3 months. The texel has high maintenance fur, so sometimes needs to be done more often (and needs a hair cut every month as well.) I tend to just use the same shampoo I use for myself or DH's dandruff shampoo and a nice thick conditioner. Makes the fur soft and fluffy and they smell divine for at least a good week.