Do Guinea Pigs STINK?

[gopack]

My son really wants Santa to bring him a guinea pig for Christmas. My neighbor has one and although he seems so sweet and cute he really stinks! I mean I can smell him when I walk in their door. I am not overly sensitive to smells, but what an odor. Are they just not keeping his cage clean or do they really smell? I would really appreciate some information!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

They do have a "smell" and so does their litter. You can cut down the odor by cleaning often but it is an animal in a cage so expect some "smells". Also I think diet is an issue with their smell.
They are not recommended for dark areas, drafty areas and bedrooms...so if you want your son to have one decide if you have a spot for them.
I do have to say they are friendly little animals and they can be very noisy at night with their chirping and squeaking, although it is very cute.

 

[RNMOM]

We have had 3 at different times.

Yes, any animal in cages with litter can stink. The cage needs to be cleaned often. We changed litter every other day. GP's can be trained to use a litter pan and the pet stores sell some that fit in the corner of their cages.

We had long haired pigs and they can get smelly due to walking around on the moist litter. Grooming them is necessary with a simple brush and can improve this.

Piggies are wonderful pets and very interractive with family members. They will nip if frightened or handled roughly. My kids were about 5-6 when we first got ours. They also have exercise balls like the ones for hamsters that are large enough for pigs or rats.

You should not use pine shaving litter for them as there is something in it that can harm them. Many companies have litter that is meant to keep odor down, more expensive but worth it.

I had an older woman friend who adopted one from a shelter and it had been trained to run the house and was litter trained. They are smart and we used to refer to them as "living compost piles" as the love peelings, carrot tops, oranges, apples, anything organic just about.

Look into some of the sites on the web for "caveys" as well as guinea pigs. They are very warm and friendly pets. I miss ours but with 3 cats and a hunting dog I have to pass for now.

 

[AllAboutPluto]

It takes a lot of work to keep them from stinking up the house. I know this because as a teen, I wasn't the best at doing all the work it took to keep Persy from stinking up the house. The cedar chips are supposed to help with that.... I think it just makes the house smell like peed-on-cedar.

Anyhow, even with all that said, a guinea pig is an excellent pet. As long as you get it when it's not too old, and your child is taught how to properly handle it, it will be very people friendly. They even cuddle and lick/kiss like a dog will.

As long as *someone* (because you know it's going to end up being you!) is willing to change out the cage at least every other day, I'd say go for it.

 

[debm]

At one time we had 3 of them but I wanted to get rid of them because of the mess---not the smell. My mother had told me that they smell too but we never really noticed it as long as their cages were kept clean. Problem I had was the cages that we had the litter got kicked out very easily. I hated having to keep it vacuumed up every day. and they recommend putting them in a place that is "social" so that they can see family throughout the day---not in a bedroom or basement. We don't really have a good common central area of the house to put them except the living room---and I have 3 dogs that would try to get to them. We ended up giving them away after a year but they were great pets. Now the hamsters we have can go in my daughter's bedroom and the litter that gets scattered, mostly from her handling them, I don't have to look at. I vacuum it as often as I can though. My older son has a chinchilla but they aren't as good for littler ones---they aren't cuddly. The guinea pigs will sit on their lap and watch TV. They would also carry them around the block or play outside with them. They don't run away fast like smaller rodents. Good luck with your decision.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Best thing to do is have 2 cages!!! That way you can rotate them and makes cleaning easier.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Currently we have 3 little piggies

We use the bedding that is like re cycled cardboard and their cages do not stink - but they do get changed once a week

Also, daughter will a few times a year completely hose out their cages and let air dry - on a sunny day

 

[AllAboutPluto]

They would also carry them around the block or play outside with them. They don't run away fast like smaller rodents.

Excellent point! I'd take Persy (Perseus G. Pigg) outside all the time. He'd go sniff at stuff and come scampering back for a pat on the head. He knew his name too. They really are the best rodent choice, IMO.

Someone else mentioned the "talking". I had Persy in my room with me (but then, I was a teen and was usually in my room anyhow), but he was really pretty good about not talking or squealing at night. I think he knew not to because I was asleep. Maybe it depends on the pig. Heck, he was quieter than my doxies are! Every little noise gives them a stir!

 

[Pop Daddy]

not if the use deoderant

 

[DVCLiz]

We had "Ginny" for almost three years, and she was the best small rodent-style pet we had - much better than hamsters and gerbils!!! Her cage smelled until I found a new litter - I can't remember the name of it, maybe Carefresh or something like that - but it comes in a plastic wrapper, and it looks like little gray pieces of balled up paper. It was so much better at controlling odor!!! That and cleaning frequently - about twice a week. I never found ours to be very noisy at all - certainly not like a hamster running in a wheel all night.

I think they are great pets as long as you have time to play with them. They do have a life expectancy of a few years, so be prepared to keep them a while!!

 

[mudnuri]

We've had just about every rodent around...except rats/mice.

That said- it's not the animal that smells, it's the lack of cleaning that smells.

Right now I have 5 chin's in a mansion cage, its 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep. With 5 different levels. The cage has been in the living room, the dinning room, my closet, and now my bedroom. When people come over who have seen the cage/chins in a common room, and no longer see it, they think they are no longer here. Because I change the bedding every 3 days.

What we did when we had hamsters or pigs, was to put them in their ball, and then wash the cage. Not just dump the bedding and refill, but take the cage into the bathtub, and actually clean it. With the chin cage, being as big as it is, and having 5 chins in it, i can't do that as easily, so monthly i take the cage to the local car wash in the back of a pick up truck, and use the power washer on it.

Our hamsters were litter box trained in their cage. The little triangle thing they sell at the pet store, we used a special litter in that, and regular bedding in the rest of the cage. We would dump/refill the litter box every night..

Hamsters and pigs do not have a long life expectancy, thats the only thing to consider....when DD10's hamster died a few years ago, it was awful....there really is no way to explain that the dog is 14, the cat is 10 but a hamsters only going to live a few years...

Good luck
Brandy

 

[Barb D]

We've had good success Carefresh and Kaytee bedding. DD's piggy doesn't smell bad at all.

Piggies are the best pets we've had. They're big enough to hold and cuddle, don't try to get away from you, and interact. They are a little noisy at night.

 

[va32h]

Guinea pigs are very social animals - they will be happiest with cage mate, so if you get one, consider getting two!

We used to have a rabbit - very smelly! We loved our bunny, but he was very messy.

We currently have two gerbils - and I don't find them smelly at all! In the wild, they are desert animals, and the evolutionary result of that is that they don't drink very much water and thus don't pee much.

Small animals are really fun. I will warn you - they are terribly cute and after a few days your nurturing mother instinct will kick in, and you will become bizarrely preoccupied with making these little guys happy.

Our gerbils have the most ridiculously elaborate cages. I just didn't want them to get bored or feel cramped!

 

[charabby]

Guinea pigs are very social animals - they will be happiest with cage mate, so if you get one, consider getting two!

If you get two, get two females. Males will fight (sometimes to the death ) and a male and female, well

In my experience, they stink, make noise, and poop. I did not enjoy our guinea pig experience at all.

 

[Cantw8]

not if you cook them right

I know, poor taste...I can't help it, I'm immature

 

[PixiePop]

We have one piggie and use carefresh, she doesn't stink. She is really a funny little thing and pretty smart too. If you talk to her like a guinea pig she will talk back to you.

She's a great little pet.

We also have a Jack Russell Terrior who adores her. He will go over and visit her and they give each other kisses. Too funny.

 

[ilovejack02]

They arent keeping to the cage clean enough prob. My in laws raised guinea pigs for years and as long as they are kept clean they dont smell for the most part. Dont use cedar shavings.... pine is fine. Also dont forget they need viatamin C once a week, they will die much earlier if they dont have it. You can get V. C drops or little treats but we always gave ours fresh oranges. THey can last about 5 yrs ish and make good little pets if taken care of. OOHHH and one last thing if you get a female, once it gets past about 9 months old it cant have babies if it has never had babies before that time, their pelvis will fuse shut and it will kill her if she gets prego.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

My DD has one. She cleans the cage about once a week. Sometimes she will let it go later than that, it does begin to stink when that happens.

Also, in one of the books she bought, it states that males emit an odor that the females don't. Unfortunately, it's not easy to determine the sex. She thought she had a female but it turned out to be a male.

They are fairly easy to take care of. Which reminds me...I have to feed him since my DD went away this weekend...oops...

 

[gopack]

Thanks for all of the responses! I really appreciate the information. They sound like great little pets. We have had gerbils before and they didn't smell at all. I think you are right that my neighbor must not be cleaning the cage enough.Also, thanks for the tips about what type of bedding to use-this probably makes a big difference also.

 

[eeyore45]

I've had lots of pets - gerbils, hamsters, mice, rats, bunnies... it wasnt until recently that we did the guinea pig thing - OMG - they are WONDERFUL!!

we cant have dogs and cats due to allergies... (ds, not dd) So we were on petfinder.org and "rescued" our guinea pig - we have 2 cages side by side - 2 guineas -

they are the short hair cavies, the longer hair needs more time, and grooming, so for dd we got the short haired guinea pig... she cleans the cages at least once a week - if it smells, it gets cleaned, the guineas dont smell unless they have to be in their smelly cage!!

They are totally interactive, and loving!! DD hasnt been biten, nipped at once with the one guinea... but she carries them everywhere - when we first got the guinea the owner reccommended a "sleeping bag" just sew on 3 sides, and you can carry the guineas... but its so cute to hear them "purr" or wheek, or beg... just too sweet - they are the best pets we've had!!

Also, we did lose one to the rainbow bridge, so do be prepared for that time as well - dd had helped a classmate through the loss of a dog, so she was prepared with the poem Rainbow Bridge, as well as the book "The tenth good thing about Barney" and "Fall of Freddie the Leaf"

so go for it!!