Potty training Guinea pigs

[regenerationfez]

I have just got two boy Guinea pigs. They are lovely but I have never had pets before, so haven't a clue what I'm supposed to be doing with them! I was told they could be toilet trained to poo in a corner tray. Is this true, and if yes, how??? I had to clean out their cage today and they are still so skittish I had to do it with them in it as I couldn't catch them. It would be so much easier if I could just take out the corner tray. As soon as I cleaned out the cage and put new sawdust down, they had pooed all over it again, including the tray where I had put a bit of soiled bedding!

They aren't tidy animals unfortunately, they do a very attractive "walk'n'drop" while they scootle along.
Our pooh mainly in their hay box , simply because it's where they sleep not because they have any urge to keep it tidy and ultimately make my life easier
You might be lucky and have Tidy Pigs though?

The soiled bedding will smell like them so it may entice them to use that area.
Or a covered cardboard box that you can throw out when it gets dirty?

A cardboard box house would be useful to catch them in too.
We put a Hop Inn canvas tunnel in the run, they all dive in and we can lift it up safely.

Oh, very remiss of me.
Welcome new piggies, to Super Furry Animals (I can't go with 'Small Pets' meh )

And pigtures are compulsary

Thanks! No they are not tidy at all! I'll be sure to tell Matty and Rory that they have been inducted into the Super Furry Animals club. Oh well, if they don't poop in their tray, Ill just have to get the kids to help me. Its their fault we have pets!

If you manage to get them to poo tidily, let me know how please. I've had boy pigs for 4 years now and never have they managed to keep their cage neat, despite endless threats of 'no cucumber'. They especially like to christen a freshly cleaned out cage with a large puddle.

I've found it easier to line their cage with newspaper and just put hay in their igloos. I don't use sawdust as it gets everywhere. Every day I just roll up the old newspaper and stick it in the bin, then re-line it. Takes about 5 minutes. Once a week I give the cage a scrub out with a vinegar solution. I do go through a lot of newspaper so I have family and friends who save their papers for me.

Don't worry about them being skittish. They're new and everything is strange. Once they've learnt to associate you with food, they'll love you and come running when you go past, usually wheeking to remind you that it's at least 5 minutes since they last ate and so they're now starving.

Sorry, they are poop machines - everywhere and anywhere. I would say 0 chance of toilet training them.

They're incredibly messy - I have 3 girls and they're constantly pooing and weeing.

I also use newspaper - several helpful neighbours keep me supplied. I tried various types of bedding but none of them made any difference, so I use fresh newspaper and hay every day. I'm always impressed by people who use fleece bedding; mine have a heat pad in the winter and even the little fleece cover on it is covered in poo and wee by the morning, so I can't imagine how I'd keep fleece clean.

Incidentally, I buy hay by the bale, or half-bale. This little bags you buy in pet shops are ludicrously small and expensive. Last whole bale I bought was around £7 and it's high quality local hay.

Enjoy your new piggies!

I gave up the fleece cover on the heatpad- we wrap it in newspaper or put it in a paperbag (Primark or BodyShop ones are nice thick paper)

Our pigs do let us know when they want a pee when we cuddle them.
GP4 will actively jump , GP5 dances, GP6 is noisy and won't be quietened until we suss that he wants to go.
The pooh though we end up with a heap of it in the crook of the arm.

70 - this is why bunnies are superior. Current Bun only uses his toilet which is why he can roam the house and the piggies can't. It's also why my house is covered in black fluff from his excessive moults.

this is why bunnies are superior

the fur as a payoff for tidy toileting wouldn't work here.
DD is allergic to Bert's teddy fur , but not his droppings.

So I'll take the pooh