Providing your guinea pigs with a litter box makes it possible for them to have a neat and well-organized environment. As a guinea pig owner, you should keep a litter box for them, this will enable them to stay clean always and will eventually ease the stress of cleaning their room now and then. Stick with me and you will find out what to put in the guinea pig’s litter box before the end of this article.
What Is A Litter Box?
A litter box also known as a litter tray is a container that serves as a urine and feces collector, this is for animals indoors Litter box can be made from different materials such as plastic containers, cardboard boxes, and from every other adequate materials that is safe for guinea pigs to access easily.
How Do You Make A Guinea Pig Litter Box?
Some homemade litter boxes can be made with different materials as long as your guinea pigs will love them, but below I will show you some of the best litter box ideas and how to create them for your lovely cavies either as a temporary or long time solution.
Litter Box Made Of Corrugated Plastic Or Corriboard;
This is made from a combustible thermoplastic material known as polypropylene.
Litter Box Made Of Shoe Pack;
A shoe pack is simply a box in which pair of shoes are sold, this is also known as a carton, just make sure it’s big enough for a guinea pig, for temporary use only.
Litter Box Made Of Plastic Containers;
Plastic containers can be founded easily, this could be gotten without spending a dime, just find anyone that will be of a desired size and you are good to go.
Litter Box Made Of Newspaper;
This is easy and cheap but is only a temporary solution because the wetness from your guinea pig’s urine will melt it and that means you can’t make use of it a second time. Making a litter box has no limitations, it all depends on your smartness, your choice, and your budget.
Now let’s talk about our topic of the day, what to put in a guinea pig’s litter box.
First of all, insert pine shavings for a nice absorbent, and line it with paper or anything that can hold it there.
Then pick any of this bedding materials including fleece, hay, paper-based, and wood. You might choose to make use of more than one material, the choice is yours, then put hay on top to make the whole thing look attractive to your guinea pigs.
How Do You Train A Guinea Pig To Use A Litter Box?
This can be achieved in a few simple steps which I am going to explain below, but you will need little time and patience to achieve this.
First, you need to figure out that spot he or she likes to urinate, most Cavies have this habit of urinating at a particular place inside their cage, well if this is happening then your work is almost done, just set up a litter box for him or her at that particular spot and make it look attractive, then watch her do the rest since she is already used to that spot, and it’s easier with the urine smell already being perceived there.
But if he or she has no particular spot he or likes to urinate, try out this other method. Guinea pigs have small bladders so they urinate most often every 15 minutes. So set up your litter box, and take time to take them to the litter box whenever you see any sign showing that it wants to urinate, some of these signs include backing up, nervousness, or fidgeting. So once you see any of these signs, pick him up and place it inside the box. Do this most of the time and you will see it master the habit, but as I said earlier, don’t be in a haste to achieve this. Don’t scold him even if the whole process is taking time, you might also want to reward him anytime he gets it right and this can hasten the whole thing.
Why Do You Need A Litter Box For Guinea Pigs?
Guinea pigs are not human beings that can take care of themselves and that’s why they need our guidance. Just like our younger ones, leave them by themselves and the whole place will be messed up. A litter box helps to keep the whole place clean since they urinate and excrete in one place and then it reduces the stress of cleaning their room now and then.
What Is The Best Substrate For A Guinea Pig Litter Box?
The best materials to bed your guinea pig’s litter box is just any of the bedding materials you already know. Choose from fleece, hay, paper-based, and wood with a perfect absorbent to make it more smooth. So with these few things, you are food to go.
How Often Do You Need To Clean A Guinea Pig’s Cage?
Guinea pig looks naturally beautiful and to maintain that look, you should be able to take very good care of them, and cleaning their cage should be the first step to take. How often you clean their cage depends on you, it depends on how neat you want the place to be. Two to three times a week could work but some people that have spare time will do more than that.
Keeping their environment clean makes them healthy and happy, and of course, you too will enjoy staying around them because the place does not stink. Everyone knows what’s good when they see it, so cleaning their cage should not be a big deal.
How To Clean A Guinea Pig Cage
Usually, there is this joy that comes with neatness, it happens even in the life of human beings. Cleaning your guinea pig’s cage gets them excited each time, and that explains why they will run around the cage leaping in the air immediately after you put them back after cleaning, this is equally their little way of saying thank you for cleaning the whole place and for giving them a healthy environment.
So here is how to clean their cage, first you have to remove your cavies and keep them in a safe place, go for their food items and every remaining chew stick, remove them all, take away all the bedding materials, then start cleaning.
You can decide to clean with pet-safe cage cleaner spray which happens to be the best or with a white vinegar mixed with water. Spray it on the floor and every other dirty part of the cage, then use a cleaning brush to scrub any area that is glued with dirt.
After washing, you can speed up the drying process by using a towel to wipe out every remaining of the washing solution, put in some clean-fresh bedding, then return your guinea pig to the cage and see how excited they will be.
What Do Guinea Pigs Need In Their Cage?
Guinea pigs need space to stretch their legs, explore and be happy, but you find out that some cages built for them are usually small. The truth is that no animal enjoys being locked up in one place all the time, but since you cannot be there to take them out of the cage, monitor them and bring them back after chilling out, there are things you should add to their cage for their physical exercise and get them mentally aroused.
Tunnels:
Guinea pig loves tunnels to the extent that those in the wild will dig them themselves, so trust me this will be a great addition to their habitat. Make sure it’s fitting, they prefer it tight to big.
A Quality Bedding:
This should contain all the necessary materials like paper-based, fleece, wood, and hay. Guinea pig urinates often and there should be a material underneath that will be able to hold the urines, the feces, the hays, etc, and also provide them with a soft layer where they will always be comfortable.
Paper Bags For Hiding:
Guinea pig loves to hide and seek sort of play, so you just have to be creative here, fold the paper into bags that can hold your guinea pig based on their weight and size. I recommend paper because guinea pig loves to chew everything around them so using materials like plastic might harm them while they attempt to chew it. This will enable them to jump in and out of the bag at will having a lot of fun doing that.
Fresh Vegetables:
Guinea pig loves vegetables, make sure it’s that particular one they are used to, and cut it into smaller sizes for easy munching, this type of animal enjoys fresh food a lot but always make sure you don’t leave the vegetables to rot in their cage, remove them once you notice they don’t eat it anymore so that you won’t attract bacteria that can harm them in return.
Their Favorite Foods And Toys:
Make sure they don’t lack their favorite meals. Apart from staying healthy, guinea pigs love to chew, and that’s why you need to add their hay and any other food that your little friends might love to consume.
Adding some jiggling toys won’t be a bad idea after all. Select those that make some kind of noise that attracts your pigs, this helps in getting their sense stimulated quickly.
Conclusion:
The litterbox is an essential part of your guinea pig habitat, it is not what you cannot afford. Whereas you can try out some of the free ones I explained above while you raise money to get a permanent one, it helps your cavies to stay neat, happy, and healthy, and you won’t have to do many jobs anymore.
