Many piggy parents have flooded my inbox with questions about potty training and wanting to know my secret. Well, it’s no secret but there is a way! Potty training guinea pigs consists of time and patience, so brace yourself!
My guinea pigs are free roam, which means they can walk and run from room to room as they please. This also means that they are also potty trained to go in certain areas where I lay down GuineaDad Liners. They recognize areas that have GuineaDad Liners as comfortable places for them to poop or pee. In our recent vlog, you will notice certain areas or corners in my house where I lay down guinea pig bedding and hay for them. These are the areas that are their safe zones.
I call these areas safe zones because they have everything a guinea pig needs to feel comfortable. Due to them being free roam, there are obviously places where they don’t have a cage. That’s why I created spots around my house that they can go to when they need to. These end up being places that are high traffic areas for guinea pig poop and pee.
When trying to potty train your guinea pig consider following these easy steps:
- Create a dark area for your guinea pigs. Guinea pigs like dark areas because it makes them feel safe and hidden from predators. You will notice that most dark areas like under your Crunchy Condo or in your GuineaDad Liner pocket are where there is the most poop or urination. This is because guinea pigs feel vulnerable out in the open, and they often will poop in dark closed spaces where they feel safe.
- Make sure this area has food, water, and Crunchy Condos or Queen’s Castles available in this area to make it as comfortable as possible for your guinea pig. We want this to be their trusted safe zone.
- Lay down GuineaDad Liners in their designated safe zone.
- Create a couple of safe zones for your guinea pig while letting them out for floor time so they can explore this area when they are free roaming.
- Once they get used to using this area to go potty, don’t move the area. Let them adjust and make this area their own.
- Be observant, after a while they will start to recognize areas lined with GuineaDad bedding as potty areas. Always praise them when they start routinely peeing and pooping in their safe zones, this helps the process go faster, and they will recognize this is the place they should be going potty.
Never punish your guinea pig for having accidents. Guinea pigs are timid and loving animals that need to be treated with love and respect at all times. Try to be patient and consistent with this process. Potty training takes time but it's worth it once they get the hang of it. Your piggies are smart and capable of catching on.
10 comments
Can the bunny let litter box work for guinea pigs?
I let my guinea pig, Fiona free roam for several hours every evening. I also have a dog and two cats and they all get along. I’ve had Fiona for going on 2 months. My dog, a Corgi is 15 and Fiona loves climbing on top of her or following her around. Cody and Callie my two 5 year old kittens love playing with her as well. Fiona is so much fun to watch especially when she does the zoomys!!!!
I let my guinea pig, Fiona free roam for several hours every evening. I also have a dog and two cats and they all get along. I’ve had Fiona for going on 2 months. My dog, a Corgi is 15 and Fiona loves climbing on top of her or following her around. Cody and Callie my two 5 year old kittens love playing with her as well. Fiona is so much fun to watch especially when she does the zoomys!!!!
I did not realize how much they communicate by stepping on your feet! I let my guinea pig free roam for the first time the other day (floor time) and he would keep coming back and stepping on my feet as if to make sure I was ok with him wandering around.
My guinea pig lives in a cage and is not free roam, how do I potty train it when all it needs in close by already?