How to Prevent Messes Outside of a Guinea Pig Cage

How to Prevent Messes Outside of a Guinea Pig Cage. Watching the family pet guinea pig scurry around his cage may create smiles, but the mess the pet kicks out of the enclosure gets annoying. As guinea pigs play and run, their paddle-shaped feet kick loose bedding and food through the wire mesh or bars of their cage. Choosing heavy guinea pig bedding and sturdy food containers for your active pet will lead to less messes outside of the guinea pig cage.

Things Needed

• Wood stove pellets
• Equine bedding
• Ground corn cobs
• Shredded newspaper
• Old towels
• Small rug
• Bird cage seed collector
• Standing hay rack
• Ceramic crock
• Small animal water bottle

Choosing Guinea Pig Bedding

Step 1

Cover the bottom of the guinea pig cage with a mixture of heavy and soft bedding. Choose wood stove pellets, equine pellet bedding or ground corn cobs as the main heavy bedding. Sprinkle a soft top layer of shredded black and white newspaper over the bedding.

Step 2

Place the guinea pig cage on a rug at floor level if other pets or young children will not harass the pet. Choose a small rug with long, thick loops of fabric to catch any bedding or food that falls from the cage. Shake out the rug once a week.

Step 3

Wrap a bird cage seed collector around the base of the guinea pig cage. Remove the fabric skirting once a week and empty the bedding food waste into the garbage to prevent any buildup of messes on the floor.

Containing Guinea Pig Foods

Step 1

Fill a standing guinea pig hay rack daily with fresh timothy hay or alfalfa. Avoid hanging the hay rack on the side of the cage, as loose hay will fall outside the cage when the guinea pig tugs at the hay.

Step 2

Fill a sturdy, ceramic crock with guinea pig pellet food, advises Cavy Care Inc. Set the heavy bowl toward the center of the cage so pellets dug out of the bowl by the guinea pig do not exit the cage.

Step 3

Attach an inverted small animal water bottle to the side of the guinea pig's cage with a secure metal or wire holster. Point the metal drinking tube into the interior the cage. Choose a bottle with a long tube to prevent water from splashing out of the cage while the guinea pig laps at the tip of the tube.

Warnings

• Avoid using lightweight cedar or pine wood shavings as bedding for your guinea pig, advises The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The aromatic oils in these types of shavings can cause upper respiratory infections in small animals, including guinea pigs.

References

• The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Guinea Pig Care
• Cavy Care Inc.: Guinea Pig Care: Just the Basics
• Rabbit and Small Animal Rescue: Guinea Pig Care