Do Guinea Pigs Really Stink?

Actually, I've never found males to smell worse than females as far as urine. But, you will need to clean out the anal sac of a male or he can get impacted. Some people find that really gross and yes, that smells really bad. So if you've smelled a male that smelled much worse than a female, it probably was in bad need of a cleaning.

Then that was probably the case. Guinea pigs were never my thing, so to speak, I've always worked mostly with dogs and reptiles. But every so often I'd be called in to pig-sit by friends who had the little buggers. Cute critters, just not for me.

Yeah, they aren't for everyone. Rats weren't my thing, as I found out when I fostered some. Thankfully, I was only fostering and hadn't made a long term commitment (they were adopted out within 2 months).

Anything will stink if you don't clean it! Guinea pigs themselves do not stink. Keep the cage clean and it won't either - provided they have enough room. As with any living thing they do have to eliminate themselves but if you provide them with enough space and stick to a cleaning schedule all will be find. I have two males in a good sized pen and as long as I scoop their sleeping spots and the corners out every few days it's fine.

It depends on the pig if they're low maintenance. Some people have told me they thought it was much easier to care for their dog. It takes me less than 5 minutes to scoop out a cage with a dustpan because I use coroplast bottoms and stuff doesn't stick to that (unless you leave it and let it get dirty). And each morning I just toss some veggies in after rinsing them, and at night as well. And I tend to put in 1/2 flake of hay at a time so that it lasts for 3 days or so and it gives them enough hay to run through as well as eat. But guinea pigs can easily develop health problems that make them require a more specialized diet (such as bladder stones or sludge). And they can run up some very expensive vet bills! So it's definitely not a responsibility to take lightly. Also, they are social animals so they should be in pairs or groups. Consider adopting a friend for your piggie from a rescue or shelter near you. Check www.petfinder.com or www.petharbor.com to see guinea pigs in need of homes near you.

Very good advice.