quinea pig food dish

Question
We acquired a quinea pig about four weeks ago from an aunt. The pig is skittish, gets nervous if touched and my biggest problem is that it continues to go to the bathroom in it's food dish. It will pull the dish into the "igloo" home or at least close to it and throughout the day go to the bathroom inside the dish full of food. It does still make "messes" in the rest of the cage but I don't want him to get sick if he eats his own urine and it is wasting a lot of food. Help!

Answer
Many times guinea pigs and small rodents will eat their own bowel movements. This is natural, and it can be healthy for them. It certainly does them no harm. However, if your pig is also urining in the food, that could be a problem. Try getting a food holder that attaches to the side of the cage. This will keep the pig from bringing the bowl into the igloo, and many times the open area where the pig eats from is not large enough for it to get inside and make "messes." Good luck.