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Guinea Pig Terrarium? Anonymous
Ok, normally I stick to /ck, but my boyfriend's mother is offering me the most adorable black guinea pig (male) ever. She's an experienced guinea pig/rabbit/bird owner, so she's going to guide me through the not-killing-the-guinea-pig-while-I-learn-the-ropes phase. But she couldn't answer this question:

I have a cage, it's pretty big- could I plant something like rye grass on the bottom and let the guinea pig live in that? I'd feed him regularly (not even sure if guinea pigs eat rye grass), but the idea is to build a more "natural" home that doesn't require frequent litter-box changes, maybe with some pretty flowers (non-toxic) too. Would the guinea pig's "natural functions" become overwhelming in that sort of environment, or would they be absorbed into the ecosystem of the cage fast enough?
>> Anonymous
Your piglet would rather quickly turn all the grass into poop pellets.
>> Anonymous
ok, what about a grass that they don't prefer?
>> Anonymous
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Guniea pigs raised for meat in South America. Note they are *kept* on dirt and *fed* grass. GP's are little eating and pooping machines, they would simply destroy any terrarium.
>> Anonymous
When I had a guinea pig growing up we kept him on wood chips. I would take him into the yard every once in a while to eat some grass with the top of his cage over him, since there's an eagle nest across the street. It's not great to let them have TOO much grass though.
>> Anonymous
ok, but dirt and wood chips are both options that need to be cleaned out frequently. What about an ecosystem-creating plant that doesn't pose as a treat
>> Anonymous
its really not a good idea. even with a terranium its more bound for bacteria which small animals specifically rabbits and guinea pigs are sensitive to.

if you really want the guinea pig, i suggest just sucking it up and using wood chips or dust and doing a cleaning once a week. its the safer objective.
>> Anonymous
The amount of space required to break down their waste would be way more then feasible. At that point they would probably be more wild then pet.
>> Anonymous
Guinea pigs are best kept in a large cage with newspaper stacked on the bottom, coroplast lining the cage, fleece covering the coroplast and wire outside to keep the guinea from jumping out. I made a very large cage like this for my guinea and he loves it. He has room to popcorn, room to nest in his hay and his log cabin... And he loves climbing his ramps for exercise. :)
>> Anonymous
If you have a compost heap, use wood chips. In my experience the used wood chips do wonders for your compost.
>> Anonymous
A guinea pig will probably eat everything short of an entire backyard, you'd need a gigantic cage for this to be feasibl.
>> Anonymous
If you put a "house" or terrain feature in the cage for the guinea pig, don't use plastic, use wood. It'll eat the thing no matter what if it can damage it with it's teeth, no point in using something thats toxic. Also make sure it's not treated wood.

I just chopped some firewood into rough "pannels" with an axe and nailed them together into a hut.
>> Anonymous
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>>74657

This is a really, really bad idea. The smell will be unbelievable after a few days. While I appreciate that you want a nice "natural" enclosure for your pet, just go ahead and get them a normal cage. A good setup that's fairly cheap and easy to clean is the "cubes and chloroplast" cage - google it, it's pretty easy to find the stuff and make one.

I'm sure your boyfriend's mother will tell you this anyway, but remember that each individual guinea pig needs several square feet of space. Most cages sold as guinea pig cages are actually WAY too small. Also, guinea pigs are pretty social, and will be much happier if you have two instead of just one.
>> Anonymous
>>75477

Oops! I meant "cubes and COROplast," don't know why I typed something else. Good luck with your guinea pig!
>> Anonymous
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This is a cubes and coroplast cage. My inlaws have their two guinea pigs in one, it's great for the pigs but you need a large table or something to set it up on. Very easy to clean, too - just take out the coroplast part and hose it off.
>> Anonymous
Yeh, I had a guinea pig for a while...they need a LOT of space and you're going to need to clean it pretty often.

Guinea pigs are probably some of the sweetest little animals on Earth, but they are also poop machines. Above all make sure it's clean and his claws get clipped, because otherwise the poop will get stuck in his claws.