Why does my guinea pig smell so bad?

Why Does Your Guinea Pig Smell So Bad?

In Care by Ana M

Guinea pigs are good with keeping themselves clean, however, sometimes they can smell up the room badly. Before you try to get rid of the odor, it’s important to understand where it is coming from. Here are all the reasons why your pocket pet can stink and what can you do about it.

So, why does your guinea pig smell so bad?

Generally, guinea pigs can smell really bad because of the disease, poor quality diet and lack of cleaning. Pee and poop can dry out and stick to piggy’s hair making it smell bad. Deep cleaning the cage once a week, spot cleaning when necessary as well as using odor-control bedding and grooming your guinea pigs will keep them odor-free.

I am going to dive into more details why do guinea pigs smell bad and will go into the steps how to make your guinea pig smell good.

Why does guinea pig’s urine smell so strong?

Although guinea pig are very clean animals who love to groom themselves, urine can still dry out and build up on the single strands of hair in the bum area. The collection of these hair soaked in urine cause guinea pig smell like ammonia.

Typically, long-haired guinea pigs are known for this problem due to the length of their hair. That is the most common problem guinea pigs’ owners face on a daily basis.

straw bedding for guinea pigs

To get rid of guinea pig urine smell, check the guinea pig’s bum daily. If you have a long-haired guinea pig, make sure to give it regular trims and washes. Also, brush out the fur one time a day everyday to get rid of the dead hair and prevent matting what can collect odors.

Problem 2: Guinea pig sleeps where it pees. Some piggies like to sleep in the litter pan. Also, guinea pis can lay on the peed-on hay. Most guinea pigs tend to use one area in the cage for the toilet needs. Therefore, the odor can build up around there.

Solution 2: You have to conduct regular spot-cleans to remove and discard any solid bedding. Clean out the peed-on hay and scoop out any dump cage lining. Wipe out the cage with a solution of water and vinegar to deodorize and remove dried out urine residues. It is also a good idea to litter-train your pet.

Why Do Male Guinea Pigs Smell?

Guinea pigs have grease glands, also knows an scent gland, which are located just under the tail. This gland secretes oil which boars (male guinea pigs) use to show their dominance when marking the territory. As a result, the gland and the area around it becomes sticky, greasy and smelly rapidly. You have to clean out the grease gland with mild soap and water regularly to avoid the oily buildup. It does not only smell bad but does provoke infection and irritation.

guinea pig grease gland cleaning
Source: Guinea Lynx

Also, you have to check and clean male guinea pig’s bottom quite often. They tend to drag their bums across the cage floor to show that this territory belongs to them. That behavior is known as guinea pig scent marking. Although female guinea pigs do it too in a way of saying to a male to back off, male do it more often. They can also urinate on the marked path.

Case Study: I just washed my cage and as soon as I put my two male guinea pigs back in it starts to smell bad again, what can I do?

That is a very common example of boars marking their territory to show their dominance. In this situation leave a pad or a piece of fleece with their scent in the cage before putting your piggies back. I will stop them from marking the territory once again.

Why does guinea pig’s urine smell fishy?

The fishy smell is a common problem among the male guinea pigs. There are three main reasons why your guinea pig has a fishy smell and these are:

  • Guinea pig is suffering from cystitis or UTI with the relevant symptoms
  • Guinea pig is suffering from impaction and the anal sack needs cleaning
  • Guinea pig has a sperm rod

Starting with the first one, if you smelt a fishy scent and your guinea pig has troubles urinating, you need to contact your vet.

The second reason is the most common reason for a fishy smell especially among the elder boars. Guinea pig bum can get really smelly. You need to check the bum and clean the anal sack regularly to avoid impaction. You can use a cotton bud with some coconut oil.

A sperm rod is a coagulated sperm and seminal fluid sticking out or which came out of the boar’s penis. It has a distinguish fishy smell and once you discard it, neither guinea pig or cage smell like that again.

Why Does My Guinea Pig Smell Like Poop?

Similarly to the scenario when guinea pigs tend to sleep where they pee, it is relatable for them to lay down on their feces. Sometimes, guinea pis leave poops in their hideout houses or pigloos and sleep in there as well. If that is the case, try to take it out occasionally or move it around the cage.

Another reason for smelling like poop is that guinea pig can step on its stool which gets trapped under the nails and folds of the feet. However, it only happens when poops are soft which is not a normal condition (more on this below).

Why does guinea pig’s poop smell bad?

Stinky soft stools are the result of a poor quality diet. Moreover, certain vegetables such as iceberg lettuce, broccoli and Brussels sprouts tend to cause upset tummies and gases.

Eating too many vegetables can lead to soft stool formation as well. The best thing you can do to solve this problem is to give your guinea pig a veggie break.