guinea pig poop all over

Question
We just got this baby yeaterday- he's about 4 weeks.  He pooped ALL OVER his cage so I wasn't able to scoop the corners like I was told.  Is it from the shock of moving?  TOo much lettuce oand carrots?  Also is there a good cheap bedding you could recommend.  THANKS!
David

Answer
Hello David,

Most piggies poop all over their cages. Only a select few actually choose a "spot". Out of 14 piggies, I have one who has a "spot" and it's just behind his pigloo. Also, he is still very young and when he gets a bit older he may still yet choose a "spot". Like most young children tidiness is rarely on the mind of a baby piggy. Well, it's not really cheap, at least it isn't on the surface, but I reccommend CareFresh or a similar paper bedding. It is EXCELLENT for oder control and absorbancy. Cages will need to be cleaned less often than with Aspen shavings (truly the only safe shavings) and expands more than a same size bag of shavings so it takes alot less. If you have more time than money, I reccommend newspaper lining covered in hay (hay can be bought by the bale at most feed stores but make sure it's hay and not straw, straw is too hard and pokey and can cause serious injuries). It works well but will need changing every few days. If you have loads of time and no money, fabric beggings are great (towels, fleece, or vet bed). The only catch is, they will have to be changed daily. However, because they can be reused (just wash them), they are very cost efficent. They are also excellent for monitoring their amount and quality of poos which is very important for spotting illness quickly.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs