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Guinea Cage Cleaning

21 14:19:57

Question
Are we giving the girls all they need?  We have two Peruvian  Princesses.  We use a high obsorbtion pellet for cage litter (it is hard, grey and smells of old newspaper), plastic igloos (3), Water, two feeding dishes (filled each morning), two tubes to run through, two bell toys (bird bell balls), a colorful - wooden - jigsaw structure, and timothy hay each night.  I keep a third of their cage covered by a cloth, the rest is open with solid panels on the sides.  The area of the cage is approximately 5x2. We clean out the hay every one to two days and mix the litter around every week, changing out the pellet litter every 2-3 weeks.  The shop owner says the litter dries out the fecal pellets well enough that it won't adversely affect the girls.  Love and attention given each day by four kids and baths as needed.
Is there more I should do regarding cleaning the cage, toys, games etc.?  Open floor time is impossible.  Would a "run" in the T.V. room be a good idea?  If so, how big?

Answer
It sounds like you have everything a guinea pig could need and want. I personally would more chew treats for their teeth and be sure to give them vitamin C everyday. Guinea pigs can't produce the vitamin C in their bodies so you have to give it to them everyday in some type of form such as oranges or other fruits that contain vitamin C. Also, I would give them some fresh fruits and veggies in the morning just for extra vitamins and nutrients. The cage sounds big enough for the guinea pigs to run and play about in their home. If you want to add a "run" in the T.V. room than I say go ahead and do that! It will be good exercise for the two cuties. :-) The run can be as big and wide as you want. Generally people make the "run" a little bit bigger than their play area. You can always buy a small animal playpen and place the guinea pigs in there and that will give them a some run about time.