Wee smell

[boxofradiation]

Hi, I have two young boars (about 4 months old now) that I've had from the moment they were allowed to be released to their forever homes. They're indoor piggies and I use absorbant memory foam mats that are nice and spongy for their feet and guinea dad pads for wee areas. I don't have any hay down as I found it stinky (but will occasionally put down crazy amounts of hay as they love to explore), so the hay just goes in a feeder. Anyway, I clean the cage daily sweeping the cage, clearing the mats and disinfecting the hard floor underneath and wash the mats on average every two days because they get a bit stinky.

My question is, my babies really really smell. And I'm paranoid about them getting bumblefoot because they smell so uriney. They're not held very much unless I need to, i.e they go to the vets to get their nails clipped every month or check ups. I do talk to them loads and they wheek when they see me and I makw sure they get plenty of tlc. But at some point I'm going to have to brave it and bath them, which I'm worried about as I was warned that If they get too stressed they can have a heart attack.

My point is, is how do I keep the smell down when I clean every single day. Has anyone got advice? I feel like a rubbish guinea mum because I do everything I can to make sure they have the best life but the fact they smell of wee really bad makes me feel like I'm not doing enough. I do use guinea deoderabt spray but thats just masking the smell and makes me think that its not really addressing the problem that I'm somehow letting them be covered in wee. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

You aren't a bad piggy mum, it sounds like you are a new owner and learning. Please dont think badly of yourself.

They dont need routinely bathing - it isnt good for their skin, they are able to keep themselves clean and any bathing should only be for a medical need. Piggies shouldn't smell so, if you are finding they are smelling, then there is usually something in the set up which is causing it and its time to look at their bedding. Cage size can also play a part - boars need a large space for the sake of their bond and having enough territory buthaving too small of a cage can increase the smells. Boars need a 180x60cm cage or 2x5 c&c.

Foam mats - can you elaborate further please as foam mats, if they are the ones I have in mind, in themselves aren't sufficient. They need something absorbent on top of them everywhere such as puppy pads with fleece on top or shavings etc either by themselves or with hay on top.
You say you use guineadad pads for wee areas. Again, it depends what you mean here but Guinea Pigs cant be litter trained so they will pee everywhere (including while they are asleep) and using pads in certain areas may simply not be sufficient if the rest of the bedding isnt working well enough. It is common, however, to use fleecy pee pads in high traffic areas as they can be removed much more frequently.

If you use fleece bedding then it needs changing twice a week.

Having large hay piles down is absolutely fine - its important for them to have lots of access to hay to forage freely in. Using hay feeders is fine to do but they really do love big piles of hay as enrichment. This hay will need to be replaced every 1-2 days as it becomes damp.

As an idea (although everybody has a different type of set up) my two boys are on aubiose/shavings or megazorb as an absorbent base layer and then it is all topped with hay. The poops are removed twice a day with any wet hay areas removed daily and fresh hay thrown in on top. They are then given a full cage clean once a week. They have never needed or had a bath (they are 3 years old).

Please dont use a deodorant spray or any type of spray or strong smelling item such as candles or perfumes (even if it says its animal safe) anywhere near Guinea Pigs. They have very sensitive airways and doing so can cause health problems.

The thing with boars is that they love to scent mark, particularly now yours are teenagers, and cleaning too often will cause them to scent mark even more to make their cage smell like them again after each and every clean, thereby actually making smells worse.

Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Irritants to Avoid Around Guinea Pigs

They need to be weighed every week as part of routine care so getting them used to being handled, while not easy, is important. They may never like cuddled but these weekly checks are important so you can catch any health issues before they become a bigger problem. Mine aren't cuddly, they aren't handled for 'fun' as they dont like it, but they will tolerate a 5/10 minute check every week

Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

 

[boxofradiation]

Thank you, that is really helpful and I really appreciate your help. I've never had guineas before and I love them to bits and just want whats best for them so will try everything you have recommended. The mats I am using are just like memory foam bath mats as I thought it would be spongy for their feet, but will definitely change to what you have recommended. As for handling I will try that. I just get so worried about freaking them out. I love that they come to see me and want to interact. But when I try to handle them, they get really wary and off with me because they don't enjoy the experience. Hopefully I haven't left it too long to acclimatise them to being handled.

Take care.

 

[Piggies&buns]

The fact they come to see you and want to interact is fantastic, it means they trust you. Its quite normal for that to be as much as they ever want though, they aren't always cuddly animals. As I said, mine dont enjoy being handled but it hasn't affected my relationship with them - having their weekly checks is just something they have to put up with! They always forgive me with a little coriander treat after having to be handled.

 

[Canucks]

I do think the foam matting will be the issue, I suspect it's very likely soaking up the urine and holding on to it. If the foam is open celled (like a lot of memory foam is) then no amount of wiping down will get rid of the urine.

I'm a new owner too, and still finding my way like you so you're not alone!
I've ordered some fleece liners to be made for our cages, but in the meantime I'm using old towels over the whole base, puppy pads in some high use areas (like the corners) and swapping out the pads daily. And lots of hay in their hideys, which again can be changed out daily... they seem to love fresh bedding time.

 

[Free Ranger]

The thing about the foam mats is the water component of urine will evaporate away so the mat feels dry, but the 'chemically' bits (that break down into ammonia and pong!) will cling on to the mat until it's washed. I made my own liners out of fleece and 'Zorb original' fabric... it's lightweight and very absorbent. Big ones changed once a week but pee-pads which are for popular areas are usually changed out twice a week.

Here is the first attempt - I made a sandwich of fleece/zorb/fleece and machined it together around the edges. I didn't bother turning it inside out and all that at first because I just wanted to see if this would work so you can see the 3-layered rough edges which I just trimmed down with scissors. It works fine - and I get an extra day out of the pee-pads (made with the offcuts) by just flipping them over. I use a rubber-bristle brush and dustpan from amazon to sweep poops away like this one. It's good to sweep off hair without it going static and clinging (one girl has long hair which gets everywhere!)



This works out cheaper than buying pre-made and I did get better at making the mats so I've now got some with neater edges but the pigs don't care! I have to hide the brush from Flora who hunts it down to nibble the rubber bristles. These mats are easy to wash and dry fast - very lightweight. Even if I didn't have a sewing machine I would be having a go and just hand sewing round the edges... it's just for toileting on after all. I used Abfab textiles for my fabric but there are many other stockists of fleece - not so many for the 'Zorb Original' in the UK (I think it comes from America) but just google it. AbFab were very helpful.

This pic shows mats in use on a hard tiled floor. I use other bedding inside my cages - Back-2-nature topped with hay and newspaper for open areas that don't get laid on. Floor is wiped with a damp cloth on cage clean day and allowed to dry naturally. No pong. Good luck!

 

[Free Ranger]

Oh PS - don't bath them, there's no need. If you are worried about their feet, check for sore red patches of urine scald, but I suspect they'll be OK as the smelly mats will have kept the wet away from their tiny tootsies!