Why is my guinea pig doing this?

Asked by amandaafoote (865

) September 16th, 2011

My guinea pig had a small soft dog toy that he used in his home as his bed, and due to it being so dirty I recently bought him a new one that is larger and in the shape of an animal that looks like a rodent, unfortunately it was too big so I left it in his cage while we moved him out of the normal room he is in temporarily. Since we moved him and put the toy in, he goes in his home rarely and sleeps outside of the cage next to the toy. He never used to do this, he would stay in his home 80% of the time. Is this because he likes it in the other room or the toy, or is it because he no longer is comfortable in his home without the bed?

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2 Answers

Most animals are guided by smell. My guess is that something didn’t smell “right” to your guinea pig. Can you remove the stuffing from the old toy and wash the skin in a mild detergent with no scent? It might retain enough of the old smell that your pet will want to go back to its old habits.

snowberry (27928

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Yes, most likely it’s a scent thing, and the change of scent has him put off and confused.

I used a carpet cleaner to clean the top bed on my cats big climbing tree and she wouldn’t sleep up there for several weeks after. She likes it to smell like herself. ;-D

Coloma (47193

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