Keeping things tidy.........

Status
Not open for further replies.
sophieandhoney

sophieandhoney

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
494
Reaction score
84
Points
300
Location
London
One of the biggest problems I have with my little darling is the mess they make - the hay, the poo (kicked out of their cage and it gets everywhere!) the hair, the odd wee in the wrong place!

I don't know about the rest of you but when I look (drool over) at other people's cages I wish mine looked as tidy! Now I know the pictures are mainly taken when they are just cleaned out! but it still annoying to go upstairs and see my room looking like a barn and their cage looking like a before picture on an RSPCA website!

So any tips?

My only tip is the use of hay cookies for when they are in their indoor run. It saves on mess from proper hay. There were others but I can't exactly remember them.


Also

how do people store hay so that when you pull a handful out you aren't covered in the stuff?

And other bedding?

thanks
x
 
If it's any comfort, I've never been to a piggie person's house that was spotless, and that includes my own! I just sort of live with the fact that hay and hair (and poops!) get everywhere - don't sweat the small stuff, as they say! Mind you, I do enjoy the unaccustomed feeling of tidiness when I've just been round with the vacuum cleaner, though I wouldn't be surprised if all that hay ends up being the death of the poor machine!

I use Ferplast 140 cages for our pigs, which are deep enough that they can't kick any bedding out, if that's any help.

It's very hard to get hay out of one of those compressed packs without making a mess, so ideally you need to take it outside and empty it out into a larger bag, so that it's looser, and easier to get out.

I keep quiet about how many times the sofa has been piddled on when visitors come round! What they don't know won't hurt them.....!
 
We are constantly on poo-pick-up-patrol and the hoover is always full of hay (like Katherine I think it will kill it one day!) and the chap in the dry-cleaner despairs of the state of the sofa cover when we take it for a clean but all our friends are piggy/cat/dog owners or similar so it's never a problem.

My clothes are constantly furry as Hamish & Angus' fur seems to be a natural form of Velcro and no lint roller known to mankind seems to remove it.....

Hay gets everywhere including in the occasional dinner, the sellotape of people's gifts for birthdays or Christmas and many other places.

The doors and skirting boards are chewed by Angus, our shoes are chewed by Angus, our feet are chewed by Angus and our paperwork is chewed by Angus.

Love me, love my piggies, love my mess is the only thing I can say!
 
Yeah, I think having piggies is kind of a given that you will end up with hay, nuggets, poos, sawdust and goodness knows what else in places you would never think of! You could maybe get a hand vac to pick up any little bits on a daily basis?
We are now used to accidental wees and poos, fur, bits of veg, hay and chewed up cardboard scattered around the house, but hoovering regularly and picking the odd bit up as you go should help :)
 
I'm glad to know that it's not just me! Poop, hair and hay are all over the place at my house. Thankfully the sofa is leather so a quick wipe is all that is needed.
 
I was such a tidy, not quite house proud maniac until I got my piggies! Now there is hay everywhere along with grass and dandelion leaves which I have dropped on my way in. I have just had knee surgery so I'm on crutches at the moment and I can't clean up as much as I would like and I must say it's driving me crazy! Having said that, I don't mind the mess because when balanced with the pleasure the boys give me it outweighs the stress of an untidy house. Plus I know that as soon as I'm mobile again the hoover will be out daily and you won't even know I have indoor piggies (Yeah Right, dream on girl lol).
 
sophieandhoney said:
How do people store hay so that when you pull a handful out you aren't covered in the stuff?

And other bedding?

thanks
x
Click to expand...

I store my hay in one of those Ottoman sized plastic garden storage boxes you get from Argos/B&Q for about £30. They're just the right size for a large bale of hay, but put it in before cutting the string! I take it out in small amounts & put it in a sack for using in the house, about a week's supply at a time. I take the hay out of the sack on top of the cage so that any odd bits drop into the cage. It doesn't matter how careful you are, there always seems to be some of it falls on the floor.

Regarding hay in their cage or run, I got a good idea from Bunny Burrows where I help out once a fortnight. They use cat lit trays with a newspaper in the bottom then a layer of paper bedding topped with hay. I got trays last week & it's much tidier with my piggies now using these trays as beds. Sometimes 2 of them or more usually one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top