Why Is My Guinea Pig Eating Bedding? -

Last updated on January 22nd, 2023 at 06:48 pm

Guinea pigs eat hay, vegetables, and other plant food and drink water every day. But sometimes they know to eat the bedding.

Eating bedding is not good and can harm their health especially if they eat in large quantities.

Why is my guinea pig eating bedding?

Guinea pigs eat bedding when they are hungry when they are dehydrated when they are bored, and sometimes when their teeth are overgrown.

In today’s article, you will learn all about the reasons why guinea pigs eat bedding and what you can do to stop them.

Table of Contents show

Why is my guinea pig eating bedding?

Guinea pigs eat bedding for a number of reasons and this must be changed before their health becomes a problem.

Guinea pigs should eat hay, because it is the main source of nutrients for them, and the bedding does not have those ingredients and is therefore harmful.

When Guinea Pigs eat bedding it may be because of:

hunger
dehydration
boredom

lack of toys
lack of socialization
overgrown teeth

So let’s look in detail at all these reasons why guinea pigs eat bedding and how to wean them from these habits.

Hunger and dehydration

When guinea pigs are hungry or dehydrated they may eat the bedding.

When guinea pigs do not have enough nutrients and vitamin C in their daily diet, they start eating the bedding.

The solution to this situation is to increase the amount of food and make changes to the daily menu of the guinea pigs.

If a guinea pig is pregnant then it requires more food to satisfy its needs.

It is also necessary to give them a variety of food so that there is no lack of nutrients, which will force the guinea pig to eat the bedding.

First and foremost is that they always must have an unlimited amount of hay and water, they need them the most.

Hay is the main food for guinea pigs and is represented by 80% of their daily diet. Hay helps to absorb nutrients and reduce tooth decay.

Sometimes it can happen that guinea pigs don’t want to eat hay, and start eating other types of food and bedding.

If the guinea pig does not want to eat hay, you should check the quality of the hay, whether it is wet, whether it is old, whether there is a lot of dust and similar things related to the hay that can influence your guinea pig to refuse to eat hay.

Apart from hay as the main source of food, here are some vegetables and fruits that are good for their health:

oranges

pears
kiwi
tomatoes

carrots
peaches

How much better is their diet, regular drinking of water is a condition so that they do not end up in a situation where they eat bedding.

Toys

If you don’t want the guinea pig to eat the bedding, there should be enough toys in the cage.

Toys are an important part of a guinea pig’s life when living in a cage because they reduce stress and maintain their teeth.

Toys for guinea pigs are made to be chewable which reduces problems with their teeth. You can buy various types of toys such as balls, chew tunnels, and many other toys at pet stores.

The more toys there are in their cage, the less likely the guinea pigs will eat the bedding.

Smell

Guinea pigs sometimes eat the bedding if they find the smell interesting.

Our pets are curious and they will want to try the new bedding to taste it and see if they like it.

Activities

Guinea pigs also eat the bedding when they are bored. They like to explore and find new things, in fact, they are very smart animals.

Put some of their favorite food in a maze and they will find it and of course, be happy about it.

The more activities there are in their daily life, the less they will eat bedding.

Another guinea pig

When you have two guinea pigs, life is much more interesting and fun for them. Guinea pigs are social animals that need companionship with either another guinea pig or their owners.

If you only have one guinea pig then you should play with your pet and take some time to spend with him.

The more the guinea pig is socialized the less it will eat the bedding.

If you keep two guinea pigs and they start fighting, then put them in separate cages, but put them next to each other so they can still be close to each other.

Teeth

Guinea pigs’ teeth are constantly growing and if there is nowhere to reduce them, they will start eating the bedding.

Therefore, they should have enough toys and eat hay so that they do not need to eat bedding.

If the guinea pigs do not reduce their teeth, serious health problems can occur, because they will not be able to eat properly, and the teeth will be sharp and can hurt their mouth.

When guinea pigs have dental problems, the following dangers arise:

weight loss

loss of appetite
facial swelling

These and other symptoms are serious and guinea pigs must be taken to a veterinarian to help reduce their teeth.

In any case, eating the bedding can be related to their teeth, so care should be taken.

Change of bedding

To stop the guinea pig from eating the bedding, you can also try replacing it with another type of bedding that they may not like as much.

Or put hay on top of the bedding so he can eat hay and get full before he gets to the bedding layer.

In any case, the problem of eating bedding must be solved because it is not good for guinea pigs to eat bedding, they should eat hay.

Can guinea pigs eat bedding?

Guinea pigs can eat the bedding, but it is not good for their health.

They should not eat the bedding, our furry friends should eat hay, which is their main food. Bedding cannot offer them the nutrients they need.

WHEN guinea pigs eat bedding, it can harm them because there are various types of bedding, some less and some more dangerous for them.

What bedding is toxic to guinea pigs?

If guinea pigs use pine and cedar bedding, then it can cause dangerous health problems because it contains chemical ingredients that can be toxic to them.

If pine and cedar are not treated they can cause diseases in guinea pigs such as:

liver diseases
diseases of the respiratory system

So stay away from this type of bedding that is dangerous for your furry friend.