No matter what you use as bedding, cleaning your guinea pig’s cage is a must! Smells stick to the containers and over time you can have a smelly cage just from old smells. Be careful about what you use to clean your cage! This could mean life of death for your guinea pig. In circumstances where the guinea pig is litter trained, it is still important to clean all of their cage, water bottles, food containers, and even toys! While I am cleaning my guinea pig’s cage I typically give them floor time. I block off my room and anything that they can crawl under and then put a blanket on the floor for them to hide in to feel safe.
Cleaning supplies- Trash bag, hand held broom and dustpan, Cleaner of choice (list at possibilities at bottom), new bedding or fleece of choice, safe place to keep guinea pigs.
Cage- Cleaning your cage should be done at least once a week. If you are using bedding, cleaning once as week should be perfect as long as the cage is beg enough for the amount of guinea pigs you have in the cage. If you are using the correct bedding, most of the urine and smells will be absorbed and you can take a dust pan and put it all into a trash bag. Shovel out all of the unwanted pieces and all of the bedding. Take your cleaner of choice and spray all over cage making sure to get corners! (Guinea pigs love to use the bathroom in corners) While I am waiting for the cage to try I take all of their washable items and put them in a sink. Below you will find instructions on how to clean each piece. I then put my bedding back in as well as their houses. Due to the fact that my next steps are not in my room, I put the guinea pigs back in their cage unless someone is watching them.
Water Bottles + Food Bowls- As soon as these are empty, I will place these into water that is almost boiling. Doing this will get rid of a lot of potential bacteria. While these are soaking, this is when I would put the cage back together other than the pieces that I am cleaning of course. After all of the cage is done, I will then come and clean the inside of the bottle and scrub down everything. I do not use any cleaner for the safety of my guinea pigs.
Toys- Most toys and hut that I use for my guinea pigs are edible. I do this because guinea pigs will eat ANYTHING that they are not supposed to! Making everything safe such as a Hay or wood house and toys made out of hay then you do not have to worry much about cleaning them. I would recommend that a toy that has been sitting in the cage for 2-3 week should be exchanged to keep it fresh and prevent mold.
Cleaners
- Thieves Spray (Put one cap of Thieves Household Cleaner by YoungLiving into a large water bottle filled with water)(PERSONAL FAVORITE!)
- 50/50 Vinegar and water
- A small amount of Dawn in a large spray bottle
Make sure your cage is dry before putting anything inside of it! If it is wet then it can create mold and harm you and your guinea pig!