Pictures of a Young Guinea Pig

Hi there, Cavy Savvy readers. It's hard to believe it, but I'll be turning 8 later this year. I first appeared on this blog on November 9, 2011 on a post entitled "Agents Of the Month AND A New Pig!", although tragically, the images have disappeared! Doesn't Blogger know that these pictures are an important part of history? To fix this regrettable situation, I dug deep into the digital archives and managed to find these images of a young me from around November 2011, when I was first brought in:

I haven't aged a day since 2011, have I?

Guinea Pig Cage Cleaning Routine

Hi humans! It is Sunday, which is cage cleaning day here in the Cavy Savvy household. There are many ways to manage the cleaning of a guinea pig cage, and depending on your set up, you may find that a different works for you, but we thought we would share our process in case you want to try it at your house!

Time for cage cleaning!

1. First, the type of cage you have affects how cleaning is done. If your cage has multiple levels, you may have to dismantle them and clean them piece by piece. When we were together in the same cage, we were in a MidWest Guinea Pig Habitat, which has the advantage of being inexpensive and made of soft, flexible nylon which is easy to clean. We would line this with fleece (bought and cut to size from a fabric store) and then place CareFresh bedding on top of that. Then, once a week, we would sweep up all the dirty CareFresh, and wash the fleece in the washing machine.
2. Now that we are in the same cage but the cage is divided, we need a bigger cage so that we still have lots of individual space. We are fans of the Guinea Pig Cage Store because they also sell fleece cage liners that are the exact size of the cage, and are extra plush so they absorb better. We still place a layer of CareFresh on top but can use less since the fleece does a good job. The CareFresh makes a big difference with odor control. 
3. When Sunday rolls around, the humans set up a temporary cage in the laundry room which consists of a few puppy training pads on the concrete floor and a cage placed around it. The humans place us and our housing and food in the cage, where we spend about an hour or two waiting for the laundry to be done.
   

   

   Our home away from home!

4. The humans sweep up the old CareFresh and throw the dirty fleece pad in the laundry. They use a Free and Clear detergent without dyes or fragrances, since our paws can be sensitive to them. Then they wipe down the now empty cage with mild cleaning spray and paper towels. Once clean and dry, they place everything back in the cage and discard the used puppy pads. Good as new!