# Guinea Pig with red/irritated eyes



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

We lost a piggy about a month ago, and had to buy a new one to buddy up with our adult pig. Yes, I bought from a pet store <as mentioned in my other topic from that time>. New piggy is doing great, and they get along very well.

When I brought the new piggy home, I was told it was better to use the paper type of bedding, so I bought that.

Since switching, I notice our adult piggy gets red, goopy, irritated, runny eyes, especially when I change their bedding. 
I put the wire top of their cage over a towel on the floor and they spend time down there when I clean the cage, so they are not in the cage when I am cleaning.

I also notice the paper stuff is just nasty, stinks like urine really strong no matter if you spot clean the cage every day.

I don't know what it is that is irritating her, but I have a feeling it is definitely the paper bedding, as it doesn't bother the baby piggy.

I'm slowly trying to switch them back to pine shavings. Is that a smart choice, or is there something else we can use that would be better? I can't have the house smelling like piggy pee, and it has to be miserable for them. When I had the adult piggys on pine bedding there was no strong urine smell, and we cleaned their cage every 3-4 days.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If the pine shavings worked better for you, then I would switch back.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

I would switch back to the shavings, those little animals are sensitive to ammonia. Do you wash the floor before laying new stuff down?


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I would definitely switch back to the shavings. I used shavings for my guys for years , and they all did very well , never any skin or eye issues. I can almost be certain its the ammonia thats irritating the pigs eyes , poor thing . Your instincts were right  
I used to bring home a bag of shavings from my horse's stable , that lasted for quite a while , lol.. And for the money they want in the pet stores for shavings now is crazy IMO. 

When using the paper bedding , it just gets so drenched with the urine its impossible to not smell the ammonia after a short while.
If you do use that kind , you will be changing it VERY often like your noticing.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much! Yeah, it's so frustrating, poor babies! That stuff was expensive too! I picked up some pine shavings at the grocery store and put that under the paper bedding I had left, so I can start getting them switched over. I've been spot cleaning really good, thankfully they usually only pee in the corners lol.

I typically get the pine shavings at TSC or Walmart. 

I do clean the bottom of the cage with a small pet cage spray. Hopefully getting them over to the bedding she was used to will help a lot.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I use straw, shavings killed my daughter's piggie from impaction, plus the resin fumes from pine shavings are poisonous to all small animals.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for that info goat hiker. I know the adult does fine with the shavings, but I definitely worry about the baby. 

Someone had suggested the horse stall pellets to me, would that be a good way to go? We don't use straw, I wonder if they sell it bagged for small animal bedding? You can tell I know a lot of about having small animals lol.

She does look much better this morning, if I have a chance I'll get a picture to show, but kinda looks like her eyes are back to normal after getting most of that paper bedding out last night. No urine smell so far this morning!


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

HoosierShadow said:


> Thanks for that info goat hiker. I know the adult does fine with the shavings, but I definitely worry about the baby.
> 
> Someone had suggested the horse stall pellets to me, would that be a good way to go? We don't use straw, I wonder if they sell it bagged for small animal bedding? You can tell I know a lot of about having small animals lol.
> 
> She does look much better this morning, if I have a chance I'll get a picture to show, but kinda looks like her eyes are back to normal after getting most of that paper bedding out last night. No urine smell so far this morning!


Not sure about the stall pellets&#8230;&#8230;really don't have any advice on those.
But , i will say i would be afraid they would eat them , causing problems.

Never ever had a problem with shavings though. I used the brown bagged ones they have for horse stalls. Just my two cents.

Another note , always check the their bottoms to make sure no one has loose stool to cause shavings to accumulate there and cause problems.
Sometimes the longer haired variety need hair trimmed down there to lessen anything becoming caked or stuck.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I forgot to ask , what cleaner are you using , just curious.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Sorry I haven't been on in a while, it's been so busy the past week.

Our adult piggy is so much better now that we are back to using the shavings! The red, irritation and very runny eyes are no more! WHEW! She is more active, and you can just tell she's much happier. 
The young pig is growing so fast! she's quite a character, and loves to purr and can be noisy at times. She's started to squeak at us now when she knows it's time to eat or when she is hungry lol The adult pig knows when it's time to eat, so she's always on que 

For cage cleaner, we use small animal cage cleaner. Right now we're just using shavings I get from the grocery store, but I'm hoping I can get to TSC or Wal Mart sometime soon to pick up a big bag as those last a month, and the little one's I buy are good for 1 cleaning.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad she is better. Sounds like they get along well too!


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Thats great ! Its always a relief when you know what the problem is and can fix it  Thats so awesome they are getting along and enjoying each other , makes things much easier too .

My pigs used to squeal when they heard the fridge open ( at any time of the day or night ) , lol..They got used to the sound of the lettuce bag and other veggies being cut up , so if you were having some , they were having some , lol. They are really the perfect little animal IMO 

You will save a ton on shavings when you get one of those big bags.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I learned a ton about house rabbits when I recently rescued and rehomed a bun, and apparently their care is very similar to cavies/guinea pigs. The most popular litter material is Wood Pellets - either the ones made for horse stalls, or even cheaper, the ones made for pellet stoves. But mostly people use this inside a litter tray for buns & cavies. Basically - wherever you put their hay to eat, you put the litter tray there and that's where they do most of their business. Apparently they can essentially be litter trained. That way you don't have to worry about ammonia build up in the majority of the cage. Some folks even put fleece down in the rest of the cage except the litter tray! A deep cookie sheet or a plastic litter tray made for small animals is best, with the wood pellets inside, and their hay piled on top of the wood pellets or in a hanging holder within reach.

The wood pellets can be as cheap as $5 for a 40 lb bag.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Salty Love where do you get your wood pellets?

The girls do tend to pee in one corner, or sometimes an opposite corner. I spot cleaned their cage today. They are yelling at me right now because they know it's time for their nightly bowl of veggies lol. They are so silly, and such happy critters. Now that the adult pig <Pistachio> is feeling better, she's enjoying attention even more. I really adore her  
BB is the younger female and she's such a goofy thing. But let me tell you, she is a messy lil thing! Their cage has the high sides, and she still throws bedding out when she runs and plays. It literately looks like I haven't vaccumed, when I did about 4 hours ago lol.

I love putting down a towel on the floor, putting the top part of their cage on it and letting them play on the floor. The other night BB had us laughing with her antics. 
I can't wait to get them outside on nice, dry days when I am out there supervising. We took them out one day last week, and Pistachio was so happy to munch on fresh grass ♥

I admit, I was very worried about her for a while, her eyes were so badly irritated, I really thought we'd end up at the vets office getting some medication.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I remember my guys picking one corner of their cage to do their business. Pretty cute when you see them run from one corner to the other and wiggle their little butt into their potty spot 

I was always interested in Capybara…..i saw a story on a woman who had them for pets… Not that I'm thinking about this , but i love their faces , so cute 

Yep , the shavings will always fly when they kick up their heels , lol..
Glad your enjoying them , they are really fun little animals


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Wood stove pellets we can get at places like Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Lowe's, and even Agway up here. But I'm not sure if pellet stoves are as popular down in Kentucky. Also the horse stall wood pellets are at Tractor Supply or Agway as well. If you Google Guinea Pig cage setup and then look at the Images section you can see how a lot of folks set up their piggy cages with litter trays, very similar to everything I learned about buns! The bunny I rescued had poor back legs so a cage full of shavings would be emptied on my floor in no time. But the shallow litter pan with wood pellets then hay worked very well!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for that info! 

I wonder if we should stick with this bedding and see how it goes since they are both happy and doing well? I admit, after having Pistachio react so badly to that other bedding I am worried about changing it again.

They are definitely silly little critters. I love it when we have our routine during the school week - they know as soon as I get the kids up they will get fed, and get excited. It's so funny, when that light turns on they are in action, anticipating.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

You know , i would stick with what your doing. I mean , i never had problems with the shavings i used and i had pigs for years. See how it goes , then if you want to try it down the road , do it. But for now , she has no issues , so that means a lot.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Yes I can totally understand that - they are such sensitive animals! Switching that bun to a wood pellet litter box set up really helped me keep his cage cleaner but everything was done slowly since he came from such a disgusting disturbing living situation.


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