[Gpdd] HEALTH - Harvey's funny smelling toilet problem!

[Nicola Atkins]

Sorry we've been away (again), but I've been trying to get the home network set up! I thought I'd update everybody on removing the wee stains; and there's another weird question I have to ask!!

Firstly, the wee stains in Harvey's cage. I kept for getting to get white wine vinegar when we went shopping, so, stood in the kitchen staring at the chalky white stains, I thought, 'in for a penny, in for a pound', and decided I'd try it with just standard malt vinegar! And it worked a charm!! I put it neat in the corners where the stains were worse, and slooshed it around with a little hot water. Then I left it to soak for a few minutes...and tada! I didn't even really need to scrub it - it came off so easily! And because Harvey's cage base is brown anyway, the vinegar didn't stain - I don't know whether malt vinegar on a white cage base would stain, but on Harvey's brown cage base, it was fine! And I really am amazed at how well it's cleaned the stains!! Thanks to the many of you who offered advice on this - and just a note; I am still washing the cage base out with mild washing-up liquid after I've vinegar soaked it. It totally gets rid of the vinegar stink, and I just can't get out of the habit!!

The other problem I'm having is more peculiar. I clean Harvey's cage thoroughly twice a week - more than ample for most guinea pigs. But lately, especially in the last month or so, his cage has been really stinking just two or three days' after I've cleaned his cage. And I mean really honking - like rotten cabbages, and a really strong, dank urine smell. It's not vegetables going off in his house or cage surroundings - I always check for them, and besides, he always eats all his food almost immediately after I put it in. Usually, we get the rotten cabbage smell first - two days or so after clean-out - and then, a day or so later, we get the most disgusting strong urine smell. And I'm not talking that slight 'pet-wee' smell all pet owners know well, I'm talking, strong, dank, disgusting - rather like human urine. It seems to happen in a pattern. Since I got him his Igloo house he's stopped ripping his newspaper up, so it can't be ripped newspaper/no bedding causing the smell.

This only seems to have started since he had his two 'strokes' (there was never an exact diagnosis as to it definitely being strokes, but I'm 99% sure that's what they were - as his actions and symptoms were identical to stroke victims')...as well as his balance never returning to 100% normal (his balance is more like 70% normal now), we have this weird 'stinking' problem. I always layer loads of newspaper down when I clean him, as well as a thick layer of sawdust, then plenty of hay on top of that.....so I can't understand why he's smelling so much. It's not normal guinea pig smells, it's much stronger than that. Does anybody have any idea what it could be? Do you think I need to get him to the vets? Our vet is a nice chap but a little on the clueless side when it comes to piggie ailments - he told me when Harvey was ill that I'd probably need to have him put to sleep - yet he has made a remarkable recovery. I would be grateful for any help in solving this very stinky problem - it really is making the whole house pong!

Thanks all,

Nicola and Stinky Harvey :-)