guimea pig

Question
I live in the wine region of Niagara. St.Catharines,Ont. around this time of year,(wine season) I get what looks like fruit flies inside my pets ("shrek") cage. I have him in a 30 gallon aquarium, and these little bugs like to cling to the inside of the glass. Especially the corners. I clean with a damp paper towel to rid these bugs. Last year I only had to do it once, but this year they seem persistant to return. Are these just fruit flies, and will they harm Shrek? Also, any other ideas on how to get rid of them without harming my pet?

Answer
They are little fruit flies, they can irritate the guinea pig a lot, but they won't kill it. One reason why you are getting them is because he is in an aquarium, the ventalation is poor so the flies have a perfect breeding ground, and the weather has been so hot and humid lately that they really can breed well. Cages that have plastic bottoms and metal barred top tend to have more ventalation and usually will have less problems with flies. Also I recommend changing the cage at least once a week, preferably twice, or if possible scoop out the corners where he urinates every other day. I use Dawn dish soap to clean all of my cages, I just take them to the sink and scrub and rinse them out. You can also use regular cleaners like pinesol and lysol cleaners, just scrub and preferably rinse it out, but you can also just put some cleaner diluted in water on a paper towel and wipe the cage, I have never had any of my animals get sick from me using cleaners. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Brittany