Burrowing under fleece

[JunePiggies19]

I have two guinea pigs who live indoors. Pebbles especially loves to burrow and tunnel so I put two fleeces in their cage so that he can make his little tunnels and play. I also put a pee pad under the fleece in the corners that they tend to wee in the most. However, since the weather has gotten hotter Pebbles has started pulling up the bottom fleece and sitting on the floor of the cage. This is quite frustrating because then he wees and sits in it and sometimes I have to clean out the entire cage twice a day. I don't know why he's doing it but it's starting since the weather has gotten warmer. Is there any way to stop him? Is he doing it because he's too hot? If so why is his solution to wrap himself up in as much fleece as possible? Thank you for any advice.

 

[Chaz]

I have two guinea pigs who live indoors. Pebbles especially loves to burrow and tunnel so I put two fleeces in their cage so that he can make his little tunnels and play. I also put a pee pad under the fleece in the corners that they tend to wee in the most. However, since the weather has gotten hotter Pebbles has started pulling up the bottom fleece and sitting on the floor of the cage. This is quite frustrating because then he wees and sits in it and sometimes I have to clean out the entire cage twice a day. I don't know why he's doing it but it's starting since the weather has gotten warmer. Is there any way to stop him? Is he doing it because he's too hot? If so why is his solution to wrap himself up in as much fleece as possible? Thank you for any advice.

Could you put newspaper down? Maybe he is too hot with the fleece and is sitting on the bottom to cool his stomach down?

 

[Siikibam]

He probably just feels safer when he’s hidden underneath. My girls like to burrow and I solved it by first clipping the fleece to the grids and correx so they can’t get underneath. But then they would burrow under the bath mats, so I clipped a fleece to one side and put their pigloos under it. They’ve now stopped hiding under anything.

 

[JunePiggies19]

Could you put newspaper down? Maybe he is too hot with the fleece and is sitting on the bottom to cool his stomach down?

Yes maybe his tummy is too hot. I'm a bit apprehensive to put newspaper down though because I don't want them to wee on it, also Sandy likes to eat it.

 

[JunePiggies19]

He probably just feels safer when he’s hidden underneath. My girls like to burrow and I solved it by first clipping the fleece to the grids and correx so they can’t get underneath. But then they would burrow under the bath mats, so I clipped a fleece to one side and put their pigloos under it. They’ve now stopped hiding under anything.
View attachment 145287

Thank you for your help, I'll try making a little canopy for him and see if it helps

 

[Chaz]

Yes maybe his tummy is too hot. I'm a bit apprehensive to put newspaper down though because I don't want them to wee on it, also Sandy likes to eat it.

My girls live on newspaper. They also eat it. Bandit seems to like it more than food. They are fine.

 

[The Foord Piggies]

My girls used to always burrow under their fleece - especially the floppier types. They don't do it anymore but when they did, I found that they used to quickly "forget" how to burrow for a few weeks and then suddenly they "unforgot". A canopy sounds like a good idea, though.

 

[JunePiggies19]

Thank you for everybody's help. I tried giving them a canopy and moving them to a cooler room but nothing seemed to stop Pebbles! My biggest concern was him sitting in his wee (especially as a long haired guinea pig, he kept getting really sticky). In the end I've put a waterproof sheet between two fleeces and tucked it under the cage so he physically can't get under the fleece now (there are plenty of other hiding spots for him and the weather is a lot cooler now, looking at getting them an outdoor hutch for the summer). It will act as a short term solution til I figure something out but it wasn't fun fully disinfecting the cage and brushing Pebbles out twice a day!