Another day with another fresh guinea pig pee stain on my shirt, skirt or pants. Why does my guinea pig pee on me?
How often does your guinea pig pee on you, the carpet or sofa? Can you potty train a guinea pig? I don’t want to stop cuddling together, but I want to stop cleaning these pee stains.
In this article, we will find out why does my guinea pig pee on me and why your guinea pig may as well.
Why Does My Guinea Pig Pee On Me?
Every 15 minutes on average of peeing is normal for a guinea pig with a high metabolism. Nervousness, displeasure, dominance or an overly full bladder are normal reasons why your guinea pig pees on you. Reduce playtime to 5-10 minutes and try to spot the signals showing that they are about to pee.
How Do I Know When My Guinea Pig Is About To Pee?
The more time you spend with your guinea pig, the connection between you two will become unconsciously linked. This means that you will be able to tell with some of the following signs that your guinea pig is about to pee:
- Nipping
- Circling
- Backing up
- Chattering teeth
- Squeaking
- Fidgeting
- Pulling your clothes or towel
We are not saying that every single time that you notice your guinea pig doing any of the actions above, means that they intend to pee.
These are the normal behavioral actions that have been witnessed by many members of the guinea pig community and shared with us.
We tend to agree and we look forward to hearing from you if you notice any other types of behavioral responses before your guinea pig is about to urinate.
Can You Potty Train A Guinea Pig?
Yes. It is entirely possible to be able to potty train a guinea pig. Start with reducing the playtime or the time that they spend outside of the cage to a limited amount of minutes.
- Keep cuddle time between 5 and 10 minutes at first. Then put your guinea pig back into the enclosure and wait about 15 to 30 minutes before you continue outdoor play time again.
- While potty training is occurring, use the litter box, towels, pee pads and the best thing you can do is limit cuddle times.
- The last thing you can do is avoid giving your guinea pig too many watery foods during this time such as watermelon, cucumber or lettuce.
How Often Do Guinea Pigs Poop and Pee
Guinea pigs typically have a regular and frequent elimination cycle. The exact frequency of urination and defecation can vary slightly between individuals, but on average, guinea pigs tend to urinate and defecate multiple times throughout the day.
In terms of feces, guinea pigs produce small, firm pellets that are usually dark in color. They have a relatively fast digestive system, which means they pass stools frequently. You can expect to see multiple fecal pellets in their enclosure daily.
As for urination, guinea pigs also eliminate urine frequently. Their urine is usually clear or slightly yellow in color. Guinea pigs have a relatively high water intake, so they have a significant amount of urine output compared to their size. You may notice wet spots or damp bedding in their enclosure due to urination.
It’s important to keep their enclosure clean by removing soiled bedding and feces regularly to maintain good hygiene and prevent any potential health issues. Providing appropriate bedding material, such as paper-based bedding or fleece, can help absorb urine and keep the enclosure clean and comfortable for your guinea pig.
Do Guinea Pigs Pee a Lot
Guinea pigs have a relatively high water intake compared to their body size, which means they produce a considerable amount of urine. They are known to urinate frequently throughout the day.
The exact frequency and volume of urination can vary between individual guinea pigs. Some guinea pigs may have more frequent urination habits, while others may urinate less frequently but produce larger amounts of urine each time.
Guinea pig urine is usually clear or slightly yellow in color. They have a relatively efficient urinary system that helps maintain hydration and eliminate waste products from their bodies.
It’s important to provide appropriate bedding material in their enclosure that can absorb and control odors from urine. Popular options include paper-based bedding or fleece bedding, which can help keep their living area clean and comfortable.
Why Do Guinea Pigs Pee On People?
Some reasons why guinea pigs pee on people include the following:
- nervousness
- full bladder
- displeasure
- dominance
1. Nervousness
Guinea pigs want to learn who you are and understand how they belong in your home. A safe cage or private space to a large home setting could be daunting. Nervousness may cause the bladder to release urine.
2. Full Bladder
Guinea pigs don’t hold pee more than 15 minutes or so. Reduce the playtime to 5-10 minutes. Better yet, see if your guinea pig has recently peed, then play or cuddle on the couch together.
3. Displeasure
An upset guinea pig could pee. Peeing might be a displeasure to be left alone or extended isolation.
4. Dominance
Male guinea pigs pee often for dominance or to mark territory. It’s a right of passage and something we can try to control, but not entirely stop.
Is My Guinea Pig Peeing On Me On Purpose?
Unless your guinea pig is uncomfortable with you, your cute pocket pet is not trying to pee on you on purpose. The fact of the matter is that guinea pigs have a high metabolism and hydrate themselves regularly.
They are bound to pee on you when you spend more than 10 to 15 minutes together. If you are holding your guinea pig, you might be pressing against the bladder. A guinea pig that feels trapped may also release urine out of tension.
How Often Do Guinea Pigs Pee?
It is well-known that guinea pigs pee on average at about the 15-minute mark. A fun fact is that they also release pellets or poop up to 100 times in a single day.
Using a pee pad or a towel on your lap is a short-term remedy to protect your clothes or your body from the inevitable release of urine or defecation when your guinea pig spends more than 15 minutes at a time outside of their enclosure.
Is Guinea Pig Urine Harmful To Humans?
When guinea pigs pee or drop pellets on you, wash up immediately. Salmonellosis bacteria in guinea pig feces infects humans in rare cases.
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) is transferred from urine and can feel like the flu. Once again, this is rare, but for hygienic purposes alone, it’s best to wash up and clean up ASAP.
Do Guinea Pigs Pee On Each Other?
A guinea pig might pee on another guinea pig as a warning sign to let them know that they need to back off. Sometimes guinea pigs will establish hierarchies or mark territories. Male guinea pigs tend to do this more often.
It is not guaranteed that a guinea pig will pee on another. Males could also pee on a female guinea pig to let others know that this is his mate.
Persistent peeing of one guinea pig on another should be discouraged by removing this perpetrator from the enclosure and giving him or her a much-needed time-out.
Do Guinea Pigs Have A High Metabolism?
Yes. The metabolism of a guinea pig is very high and moves quickly. This is because they are always: drinking
- eating
- moving
- defecating
- urinating
The intestines of a guinea pig are meant to move faster than humans. The faster they nibble, the quicker they digest and you will notice urination happening at about an average of once every 15 minutes.
You may also notice over 100 pellets of feces each day. This is entirely normal and not noticing this healthy amount of urination and defecation means that there could be an intestinal blockage or something may not be right with your guinea pig’s digestive system.
Why Does My Guinea Pig Poop on Me?
Your guinea pig may have pooped on you for a number of reasons. The first time it happened to me (it has happened often), I was shocked and I wanted to know why this occurred.
I realized that these cavies need to visit the bathroom or excrete droppings as often as once every 10-20 minutes. We should limit our time with them on our lap to 10-15 minute sessions.
A guinea pig pooping on you could also be because they feel nervous or haven’t adjusted to life with you just yet. They are not comfortable with being held by a stranger or someone who they have not yet bonded to.
The poops will stop when you understand that you cannot watch a full TV show with them on your lap and must put them back in their favorite pooping area to let go of another one of their 100 or so droppings per day to prevent them from landing on you instead.
If you would like to find out about cleaning up guinea pig poop, here’s a great article you should check out about that.
What Does Guinea Pig Pee Look Like?
Guinea pigs pee quite often and it may mix in with their bedding or litter supply. The ammonia content will give it its foul smell. What does your guinea pig’s urine look like?
Guinea pig pee could look:
- Clear
- Cloudy
- Thick
- Creamy
- Milky
- Chalky
- Gritty
Cloudy, white, clear or thick urine is ok. What you are seeing is the calcium being expelled from their bodies. This is actually or more precisely calcium carbonate and ammonium phosphate crystals.
Gritty or chalky urine with a white residue is slightly concerning with excess calcium or the inability to process it properly.
Red or pink stains in the urine indicate that blood is present and this is more of a serious issue that needs medical attention.
To find out more about guinea pig pee color and illnesses associated with it, look at this article we wrote about that.
How Often Do Guinea Pigs Poop and Pee?
If you haven’t heard it from anywhere else, let me be the first to tell you. Get ready for more than 100 poops per day! That’s right.
Guinea pigs work through their food so quickly as their rapid digestion and constant grazing makes it so easy and necessary for them to poop this often.
You will have to limit your cuddle time on your lap or elsewhere to every 10-15 minutes. Otherwise you may get pooped on!
In related news, guinea pigs pee every 15 minutes as well. They will also let some urine slip while on your lap.
This is why it’s best to have a towel, fleece blanket, napkins or paper towels on your lap to absorb the likely urine or poo. Otherwise limit your hugs and lap time to every 15 minutes and you should be able to avoid it.
How Do I Manage My Guinea Pig’s Pee And Poo?
Would you like to know how to control the amount of pee and poo that is coming out of your guinea pig? Wouldn’t we all?
The fact of the matter is, they are going to do this as a normal part of their day, but we direct them in the right locations. Here are some helpful tips:
- Monitor the time.
- Use towels or pee pads.
- Wear old clothes during cuddle time.
- Keep your guinea in its home after meals.
- Scoop up your guinea pig slowly.
- Add litter boxes.
Guinea pigs are sensitive to being held tightly because you might be pressing against their bladder or causing them to feel nervousness or displeasure.
- Handle With Care.
Add more litter boxes around the enclosure near the couch. When you notice some tell tale signs of a guinea pig about to pee, gently pick up your pet and place them on the litter box immediately.
Do Fruits And Vegetables Make Guinea Pigs Pee More Often?
Limit watery fruits and vegetables such as:
- watermelon
- cucumber
- lettuce
- celery
- pear
- orange
Focus more on hay and pellets with fruits or veggies about the size of your pinky finger every other day or less frequently.
How Do You Potty Train a Guinea Pig Fast?
A guinea pig eventually wants to pee in the same area after being potty-trained. This can help us by setting up litter boxes in the same exact spots.
We should also reward guinea pigs after they have peed by giving them vocal, physical or treat praises.
Try to train your guinea pig to pee in his litter boxes outside of the enclosure or cage. Never get upset with your guinea pig if an accident happens because this is normal and that’s ok.
Do Female Guinea Pigs Spray?
Yes. A female guinea pig may spray urine if she feels stressed. This could be because she is mad at other guinea pigs or feeling discomfort by being held too tightly by you.
Guinea pigs who are females also can show dominance to other females or males by spraying urine.
Older and cranky guinea pigs could also get into physical matches with other guinea pigs and spraying urine can be a part of this altercation.
Why Do My Guinea Pigs Poop Everywhere?
A guinea pig may poop in different areas because of a fast-moving metabolism they cannot easily control or hold in. He or she may also poop in areas that are dark or hidden because it is a behavioral instinct to defecate in areas where predators cannot track or find any traces of them.
Another reason why a guinea pig is pooping everywhere is because he or she has not been potty trained yet. Use more litter boxes to encourage urinating in these spots outside of the enclosure when you are enjoying free-roaming or cuddling time together.
Thank you for visiting PocketPetCentral.com for the best information to help you enjoy the life of your pocket pet companion in a fun, safe & healthy way.
