What would you feel if your guests visit your home someday, look at your lovely pet Guinea pigs and say, “Pew, do guinea pigs smell that bad”?
Well, that’s very unfair with such cute ???? little creatures because they are generally spotless animals.
You must have seen them cleaning their face with paws.
Have not you? ????
Today’s Question: “Do Guinea Pigs Smell?”
For families with children who are looking for a docile, easily communicative and low-maintenance animal, the guinea pig can be a great pet.
Though such families very frequently ask the question is, “Do guinea pigs smell?”
Like all other indoor pets, the guinea pigs may also smell bad if they are not sanitized regularly, adequately fed, maintain cage hygiene and enough care.
Check out this video for more information:
Do guinea pigs smell up room badly?
Yes, they smell up rooms badly if rooms were not adequately ventilated. Keeping your guinea pig’s surroundings clean and well-maintained is helpful to cut down the foul odour.
Fun Fact About GORGEOUS Guinea Pigs
They don’t come from Guinea. In fact, guinea pigs originate from the Andes region of South America. The ‘guinea’ in their name is a bit of a mystery.
One should know how to prevent guinea pigs from becoming stinky as discussed below.
How to prevent guinea pigs from becoming stinky?
For keeping Guinea Pigs cages stink-free you can:
- Use odour-controlled bedding
- Regular cleaning cages
- Proper hygiene of guinea pigs
Why do guinea pigs smell if kept indoors?
Well, it is not always a fault of guinea pigs themselves because there may involve many internal and external factors like:
- Physical features
- Improper care
- Certain illnesses
- Inadequate cage maintenance
Physical Features
One of the reasons for the guinea pigs’ smell is that they have a scent gland, which is located just above the place where one may expect a tail.
Guinea pigs mark their territory with the help of the oil secreted from this gland, but the area around the gland can become sticky and smelly.
How to clean stinky guinea pigs?
It would not be a big problem if the area around your guinea pigs’ gland got stinky. It can be easily cleaned with mild soap and water. The secreted oil removal is essential to prevent infection and irritation.
While choosing a guinea pig as your pet, pick a female guinea because guinea pig boar smells more.
Do guinea pigs smell worse than rabbits?
Yes, guinea pigs have more smell than rabbits. Rabbit usually smells because of its urine, but it can be easily litter trained than the guinea pig.
Do guinea pigs smell worse than hamsters?
Yes, guinea pigs have much odour than a hamster. Therefore they need regular cleaning as compared to hamsters. The reason is that guinea pigs use to pee and poo here and there in the large amount.
Improper Care
Generally, the guinea pigs keep themselves clean. One may ask then, “Why do guinea pigs smell?” Mostly, the foul smell is the result of improper care, inadequate maintenance of their hygiene, or some diseases in guinea pigs due to mistreatment.
Important guidelines
- They should be given healthy and safe food at routine timings.
- They should be given enough space for their physical activities.
- They should be prevented from severe weather conditions.
- They should be cleaned from time to time.
- Proper medication should be arranged in a routine.
Certain Illnesses
Guinea pigs smell when get sick, especially when an encounter with urinary tract and digestive problems. Hence, it would help if you fed your cute tiny pets with sensitive stomachs properly.
Their sensitive and thin skin is always at the risk of getting various kinds of allergies. So the proper health care can eliminate any ailment causing the bad smell.
General Illness Problems in Guinea Pigs
- Respiratory Infections
- Pneumonia
- Diarrhea
- Scurvy (deficiency of Vitamin C)
- Tumors
- Abscesses
- Urinary issues (UTI)
- Skin Allergies
Inadequate Cage Maintenance
We all want to have a friendly pet, which we may keep indoor and enjoy its company by interacting with them.
Guinea pigs aren’t smelly animals themselves, but one of the significant reasons for guinea pigs’ bad smell is inadequate cage maintenance.
How to prevent guinea pigs from becoming stinky?
For keeping Guinea Pigs, cages stink-free you can use odour-controlled bedding, regularly clean cells and maintain proper hygiene of guinea pigs.
How to get rid of guinea pig urine smell?
We can avoid guinea pig urine smell through:
- Use Enzymatic Cleaners
- Opt for Baking Soda and vinegar
- Keep It Dry
- Try Wet Vacuuming
- Remove Rugs and Carpeting.
- Clean More than Floors
Tips for Cage Maintenance
Guinea pigs on average do 20 pips an hour. Guinea pigs are substantial waste producers. They eat so much further has to come out somewhere. So this is probably why your guinea pig does smell.
Consequently, proper and regular cleaning of their cages is mandatory. Following tips should be kept in mind for adequate cage maintenance:
- Clean your guinea pig cage deeply every week
- The cage must be airy and spacious.
- Choose useful bedding material for a guinea pig.
- Change guinea pig bedding when required.
- Sanitize your guinea pig cage daily
How good is a guinea pig’s sense of smell?
Guinea pigs possess an acute sense of smell as they have whiskers around their nose, eyes and mouth which are very sensitive to touch.
Their sense of smell is about 25 times better than a human. Guinea pigs spend most of their time in search of food by sniffing. Guinea pigs rely heavily on their sense of smell owing to poor eye-sight.
Final Thoughts
An apt answer to the question “Do Guinea Pigs smell?” is that, Yes, sometimes it happens with guinea pigs just like all other indoor pets. It is our responsibility to provide them with right living conditions and diet to control an unwanted lousy smell coming from our pet guinea pig.
SmallPetsX.Com does not provide veterinary advice. Our aim to help small pet owners understand their pets a little better so that they can provide their pets with the life they deserve. All content is therefore for informational purposes only. If you're concerned about the health of your pet you should seek medical advice from a vet.
