by Danielle Branch

Created on: April 17, 2008

How do I clean a guinea pig cage? Good Question! The guinea pig cage should have a proper cleaning out at least once a week. Once you learn how to do it, the process becomes almost as easy as brushing your teeth.

SUPPLIES
First you will need to assemble somethings you will need to clean it out. You will need a garbage bag, disinfecting wipes, new bedding, and more food. It would be smart to have someone to watch the guinea pig so your guinea pig has something to do while you are cleaning out its cage. You will obviously need water, and beyond that you really don't need much else. This task is not too bad and should not take too long.

PIGGY-SITTERS
Please make sure you have someone watch your furry little friend as you will be a bit busy. Now that fur ball is safe, it is time to empty the cage. Put all the bedding and old food in the garbage.

WASH THE CAGE
Now here there are a couple of ways to wash out the cage. If you have a dishwasher safe cage you can put it in the dishwasher and let the machine do the hard work. If you do not, that is fine too; some people use disinfecting wipes and then rinse out the cage.

PREP WORK
After everything is as clean as a hospital room, make sure you wipe the cage down. Skipping this step will make your next cleaning time a nasty experience. Now that your cage has gone through this prep stage, we need to lay down the bottom of the cage down with more bedding.

HOME DECOR
Putting down a layer of newspaper under the bedding will help absorb messes and should help keep your cage cleaner. Clean out the food bowl and make sure to rinse and dry well. Fill food bowl with more food and do the same with the water bottle.

WATER AND TUNNELS
Fill the water bottle every day as your guinea pig gets thirsty throughout the day. The last cleaning step is the home or any other tunnels and toys your guinea pig may have in its cage. Some people have these soaking while they clean the rest of the cage and others do not. This is up to you. Once they are clean and dry, it is time to set them back up in the cage.

WELCOME HOME
Now the cage is glaringly clean guinea pig-ready, it is time to go fetch your furry little friend and reintroduce him to his home. First your guinea pig may eat and drink, much to the dismay of most owners. However they are tired from their time-out of the cage. Don't worry your guinea pig will play soon.

Learn more about this author, Danielle Branch.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.