Fleece Pros And Cons

Status
Not open for further replies.
Blossom15

Blossom15

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 4, 2015
Messages
82
Reaction score
101
Points
250
Location
Surrey
Just wandering if someone could spend a few minutes writing up a few pros and cons of fleece bedding. Suddenly interested as I use wood shavings but one of mine has respiratory issues. Also a major problem is the huge bags of dirty bedding I normally go to the skip every week as it doesn't all fit in the normal bin.

So anything to do with maintenance, how quickly it smells, how many wash loads you use, economic dis/advantages, etc..... Thanks!
 
Pros-
Looks attractive
Reusable so less cost on bedding
Gentle on feet
Not dusty or sharp
Change every three to four days

Cons-
Hidden cost in washing machine
Needs at least three washes before introduction to piggies
 
Pros:
Soft and comfy for the pigs.
Looks neat and tidy if you maintain it well.
More environmentally friendly than disposable bedding as it gets washed and reused.
Cheap as you can buy it cheap and then you reuse it for ages before you need to replace it.

Cons:
Maintenance - I spot clean every day and do a full cage clean every 4 days. I don't know how this compares to other bedding options though because I've always used fleece right from getting them.
You need to wash the fleece 3 times before you can use it so that it wicks the wee through.
You have to wash it which costs money in electricity and isn't as easy than just binning it all.
If you use puppy pads as your absorbent layer like I do, well, it's not cheap. I'm not sure how it compares to other disposable beddings though.
 
Also unless you use a litter tray with hay on top, the fleece set up does not promote the natural piggie habit of foraging. I personally do not like to use hay racks because of this. i know hay racks keep the hay from being peed on but to me they turn the whole hay eating into a piggie drive by. Litter trays with hay in them changed once a day, are great because they get excited and jump in there and rummage around in the new hay, picking out the bits they want. The added bonus being that their wee and poo whilst they are doing it doesn't end up on the fleece. So the fleece also lasts longer between washes.
 
pros - once the fleeces are washed three times then you are good to go - I bought my set of fleece liners a year ago from Ziggy's Piggies and they still look great, wash well and are even more absorbent - so a great investment - I wash at 60 degrees on a quick setting and in summer they dry outside easily and in winter they can dry over a few days on an airer or an hour in tumble dryer - I normally air overnight then finish in the drier to save money!

Cons might be that I have to shake them off daily and scoop the poop, and then turn daily then change the third day (my boys pee alot!). If I didn't do that the poop would quickly mount up and some area would maybe get wet - but the liners are great at absorbing pee. Will all depend on how big you guinea house is and how many pigs you have too. My newest boy Chewy only seems to poop on the liners and only pees on hay so that makes a difference too.:)

My boys live in hutches in the shed now but when they lived in the house my OH never liked the sight of poops in the cage and did comment on the subtle smell of hay and bedding etc, So even if the boys do make funny smells or a huge display of poops only me and the cat who visit the shed notices them! :lol!:

I can stuff a lot of liners in one wash so its not making the electric rocket. I use alot of hay in their bedrooms too so I am happy that there is no other bedding to be binned as my bin would never have room for household stuff!
 
Pros:
My guins love laying flat on it
I find it cheaper to buy fleece and wash it rather than disposable bedding
Looks pretty, you can give your cage a theme if you want
Tidier than loose bedding which spills over the sides
You won't sit down at work to find sawdust stuck to the back of your tights
I have a C&C cage and cannot leave the correx exposed because one of my guins is a chewer, so using fleece allows me to cover the sides
I found it better for long haired guins as there is no sawdust to get stuck to them
In my opinion, I would say it smells less.
Easier to notice if a guin isn't eating or has 'off' poos
Once you've made it/bought it, you don't need to buy anymore for ages - the only reason I've bought more is when I've seen some pretty fleece, not because it needed to be changed!

Cons:
You still need to use an absorbent layer underneath. I started with newspaper, but moved to bed mats, which can be expensive.
Hay gets stuck to the fleece, so you need to give it a really good shake and pat down...
... and I annoy the neighbours when I shake the fleece out the back door and the wind catches the hay and spreads it all over their garden
Poos are more visible so you'll probably find yourself doing a poo picking session every day or so
I have at least one extra washing load every week
It's more time consuming to clean the cage out
I really like the smell of sawdust, so I miss that a bit!
 
Interesting information. Thanks all. I'm looking into fleece as an option for my boy (and hopefully a girl once he's safe from his operation on Monday) and have heard that some people think fleece isn't such a good idea as it limits pigs natural 'burrowing'.

If I gave them litter trays of hay rather than hay bags, would that meet that foraging need?
 
Last edited:
I use vet bed fleece and agree with all the above pros and cons, pros far outweigh the cons for me I would hate to have to go back to shavings. They do love to burrow so I use litter trays with hay, also cardboard boxes and paper bags which cause great excitement. My choice of groceries these days is often influenced by ifIMG_7145.webp I can use the containers for the piggies, remember to watch out for and remove any staples.
 
Well I've definitely been persuaded! I'm currently looking for good correx suppliers - I would buy from C and C guinea pig cages but I really need it before half term. Going to build a 2x8 C&C with a 1x2 hay loft for my four sows. SO EXCITING! :)
 
I got two made to measure cage liners from cosybedandburrows. They are absolutely amazing. Had them years and they still look brand new. They have a special liner inside which retains the pee. If you give Jenny your measurements she'll give you a quote.

Best you can choose your fleece as well and she's super reasonably priced!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top