How to Avoid Guinea Pig Pee (Everything You Need to Know)
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It can be a frustrating experience when your guinea pig decides to pee on you. Sometimes, they seem to do out of the blue and for no apparent reason!
To stop your guinea pigs from peeing on you, monitor your their behavior and diet to predict when your guinea pig will pee. Then time your interactions with your guinea pig accordingly. Encourage bathroom use in a kitchen area and use puppy pads to protect yourself.
If you’ve been dealing with this issue for a while, no worries. Here you’re going to learn 7 simple tips to help you stop your piggie from peeing on you.
Let’s dive into the nitty, gritty details!
But, first let’s consider…
Why Do Guinea Pigs Pee So Much?
Two Words:
High. Metabolism.
One of the main reasons guinea pigs are always urinating – and pooping is that piggies have a very high metabolism and are constantly on the move.
When you are caring for a healthy piggie, the stomach and intestines should always be moving. This normal movement is called peristalsis.
This is one of the reasons cavies are grazers – constantly nibbling small bits of food throughout the day (and night).
All this eating encourages constant digestion, which is what piggies need to be healthy.
And this eating leads to pooping and peeing. The average cavy poops (or pees) 150 to 200 times a day. And skinny pigs do it even more because their metabolism is higher.
So, if you’re going to avoid getting peed on, you’re going to need some tricks up your sleeve.
Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right plac.e
Guinea pigs pee so much because they’re constantly eating and drinking to keep their digestive system moving. The peeing is a side effect of guinea pigs natural eating habits, diet, and bladder size.
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- Why Do Guinea Pigs Eat Poop?
- What Guinea Pigs Can Eat (Everything You Need To Know)
- A Simple Guide To How Long Guinea Pigs Can Go Without Food (Or Water)
1. Know Guinea Pig Pee Signals
Your piggie isn’t completely inconsiderate. Often your piggie will give you hints that she needs to go to the bathroom. You just have to be observant and know what to look for. For example, piggies will often do the following when they’re about to pee:
- Yanking at your clothes
- Nibbling
- Teeth Chattering
- Pacing and squatting
- Loud wheeks and squeaks
- Fidget Frenzy
Every piggie is different. Take the time to figure out what your piggie’s “I’m gonna blow” signals are. Do that, and you’re more likely to avoid getting soaked.
2. Watch The Time
You might want those cuddles to last forever. However, if you want to stay piggie-pee free, you want to keep the session short.
The average guinea pig will need to urinate every 15 minutes or so. This time will vary depending on your piggie’s age and health status.
Bottom line?
Your little piggies don’t know the meaning of “hold it”. When they’ve go to go, they’re going to go.
So, don’t hold them so long that they won’t have any choice, but to pee on you.
Do you lose track of time when playing with your fur babies? No judgments. Try setting a timer.
3. Use Protection
Accidents happen.
It’s a good idea to plan to get whizzed on by your fur babies.
The best way to do this is to use some sort of cover. You can use:
- a fleece blanket
- washable puppy pads
- a cuddle sac
- a towel
If none of the previous ideas appeal to you, then just wear a set of old clothes when you’re holding your piggie. That way if you do get peed on, a set of good clothes won’t get ruined.
4. Avoid Cuddles Right After Meals
As mentioned before, a guinea pig has a lightning fast metabolism.
If you plan to pick up your fur babies, try not to do it immediately after they’ve eaten something.
As the saying goes “food in, poop (or pee) out”.
You’ll be able to cuddle them a lot longer (without risk of getting sprayed) if you wait fifteen minutes or so after they’ve eaten. That’ll give your piggies a chance to do their “business” before playtime with you.
Many piggies like cuddling, but HATE being picked up. Their prey instinct kicks in and they totally freak out and run from you. Don’t chase your fur babies. Instead, toss a treat into a cozy or cuddle sack. When your piggie goes in to get it, swoop her up. That way, the process will be a lot less stressful for you both.
5. Create A Kitchen Area For “Potty Purposes”
A guinea pig’s kitchen is simply a place in their cage where you put their food bowl, water bottle or bowl, and hay.
When you create a “kitchen area” in your piggie’s cage, you’re appealing to their natural instinct to poop where they eat. In this way, the kitchen area is sort of like a defacto litter box.
This has two main advantages:
- Your cavy will be likelier to confine their bathroom trips to the kitchen area. That might make them a little less likely to go on you.
- The rest of the cage will stay a lot cleaner.
But, you can’t just plop down a pile of hay and their food bowl and call it a day. Make sure that you also:
- Keep the area dark: Attach a blanket over the top of the cage with clothespins. Or use a piece of cardboard to cover the area where you’ll have the kitchen. Piggies are more likely to eat in areas where they can’t be seen or are able to hide from predators easily. Hence, their love of the dark. Piggies scare easily. So, if you want them to be comfortable in their kitchen area, keep it dark.
- Find a container for the cage. In dollar stores, you can easily find plastic trays or litter pans that can be used for the kitchen area. No matter which tray you use, make sure your cavies can jump in and out of it without problems. Say around 1 1/2 to about 3 inches high.
- Fill the kitchen area container with bedding. Ideally, this bedding should be different than what you use for the rest of the cage. It helps your little friends “see” the different between regular living areas and the space where they’re supposed to poop. Good quality guinea pig bedding isn’t difficult to find. Layering wood shavings or hay on top of newspapers or wood pellets is a good choice.
- Stay consistent. Once you’ve started this process, don’t back off or make any unnecessary changes. That way, you won’t confuse your piggies
Essentially, you’re attempting to train your little buddies to go to the bathroom someplace other than on you. It’s a little bit of work at first. And it’s not 100% fool proof, but it’s definitely worth a try.
6. Sidestep Watery Veggies & Fruits
Giving your guinea pig a lot of fruit and vegetables can make them have to pee more often. This is because many fruits and vegetables have a lot of water in them.
Steer away from water-heavy veggies and fruits.
Or if you’re going to let your little friend chow down on them, do so in moderation. Here’s a list of some watery produce that you need to be aware of:
- cucumbers
- watermelon
- ice berg lettuce (please tell me you’re not giving this to your piggie!)
- bok choy
- zucchini
- celery
- pears
- oranges
(Bonus points if you make sure that your little friend’s diet is at least 80% high quality hay or untreated grass. That should be the main part of their diet anyway.)
7. Enjoy Other Forms Of Quality Time
This easiest way to avoid getting peed on by your piggies it to keep handling them to a minimum.
(Shocking, I know. But, not uncommon.)
Several pet parents don’t making cuddles, snuggles, or handling of their guinea pigs a daily occurrence.
Now, this can be for any number of reasons, but the most popular one is that they have skittish piggies that don’t want to be picked up.
So, instead they interact with their fur babies in other way. For example, you can:
- Pet Your Piggie From Inside Their Cage
- Sit Next To Your Piggies and Feed Them Little Treats
- Sing your cavy a song
- Read a book to your piggies
- Design a food hunt or a obstacle course for floor time and watch your little friends play.
Although many of us adopt guinea pigs for cuddling purposes, it doesn’t always work out that way. Don’t feel bad if you’re seriously grossed out by piggie pee or your piggie is extremely anxious. You can still have a good relationship with your little friend.
Frequently Asked Questions About Piggie Pee
Is Guinea Pig Urine Dangerous?
Usually guinea pig urine isn’t dangerous. But a guinea pig is a rodent. Rodents can carry germs. Even if they look clean and healthy, they can still make people sick.
Salmonellosis (caused by salmonella bacterium) is a sickness that humans can get from guinea pigs that can be passed from direct contact with an infected guinea pig. That includes bodily fluids like urine.
Death from this is rare, but it’s still a risk.
For you to stay safe, you should pick the right guinea pig for your family. Preferably a healthy one from a reputable rescue or animal shelter.
The CDC states that pets rodents are not good for people with young children or pregnant women. And that they’re also bad for people with weak immune systems.
If you (or a family member) falls into one of those categories, but you still plan on getting a guinea pig be sure to:
- wash your hands after handling your piggies
- avoid holding your piggie close to your face
- keep your piggies and their away from the kitchen.
- wash food bowls and drink containers in a place where they won’t contaminate human food.
You’ll find this post helpful: Why Do Female Guinea Pigs Spray Urine? (The Honest Truth)
How Often Do Guinea Pigs Pee?
On average, a healthy guinea pig will pee every 15 minutes or so. However, if the guinea pig has health issues or isn’t eating properly that time will vary.
When Should I Worry About My Guinea Pig’s Peeing?
You should worry about your guinea pig peeing if you don’t see your little friend doing it at all. Or if your guinea pig’s pee is an unusual color. Guinea pig pee should be yellow. That means that your piggie is healthy.
However, take note if your little friend’s urine has become a milky yellow. That’s a sign that your guinea pig’s diet is too high in calcium. You’ll want to adjust your piggie’s diet if that’s the case.
Final Thoughts: How To Stop Guinea Pigs Peeing On You
Welp. There you have it.
If you’ve been wondering how to stop your guinea pig from peeing on you, there are a few things that should help.
- Know The Guinea Pig Pee Signals
- Watch the Time
- Use Protection
- Avoid cuddles right after meals
- Create a kitchen area for “potty” purposes
- Side Step Watery Fruits and Veggies
- Enjoy Other Forms Of Quality Time
All these helpful tips will reduce the odds of any future pee-related problems between the two of you.
I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
You got this!