Caring for your Guinea Pig
Guinea pigs are intelligent and affectionate creatures. They will give you much love but you must love them in return by meeting their physical and emotional needs. Here, we focus on their physical needs.
Your Guinea Pig’s Home
Your guinea pig’s main home will be its hutch. But, just like humans, this should not be where your guinea pig is permanently housed. Guinea pigs need the daily stimulation of exploring, running, playing and hiding. Otherwise, they could become distressed and unhappy. Factors to consider before buying your guinea pig hutch, and where to locate your hutch, are discussed on our home page. Guinea pig toys and ‘furniture’ are discussed on our guinea pig toys page. These will help mentally stimulate your guinea pig, and keep it physically active. Ideas for guinea pig runs are discussed on our guinea pig runs page.
Your guinea pig’s bedding
The floor of your guinea pig cage should be covered in a thick layer of bedding. This bedding should be fluffy, soft and absorbent. You could use recycled paper topped with hay (the same type of hay you use for feeding your guinea pig). Some owners use newspaper underneath the hay – if you choose to do so, ensure that it is not ‘inky’.
It is not recommended that you use wood shavings or sawdust for bedding as the dust can cause respiratory problems. Scented wood shavings, sometimes used for odour control, should particularly be avoided because guinea pigs are very sensitive to smell.
Cleaning your guinea pig’s hutch
Soiled areas of your guinea pig hutch must be cleaned every day – it is very important that its bedding is kept clean and dry. Also, a thorough clean of the whole guinea pig hutch should be carried out once a week. Try to incorporate the cleaning of your guinea pig hutch into your normal weekly housework routine and treat it like another room of your house.