Indoor Cage Bedding Question

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spudwynk

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Hi all,

I've had Brushy and George for 4 months now, from a rescue, both aged about 2yrs. They've been living outside in a hutch with a big run all summer and I've just made them a 4*2 C&C cage for them to live in the conservatory for the winter as the weather in Newcastle is so inclement now.

In the hutch I've used newspaper, shredded paper and hay as bedding but I'm looking at less messy alternatives for indoors.

I like the theory of fleece and inco bed pads but I have some questions.

1) Is this suitable for piggies who are not litter trained? Assume wherever they wee it would soak through to the pad and hte wicking nature of fleece would keep them dry

2) From reading it looks like a change of fleece twice a week and bed pads once a week. Am I correct?

3) What kind of fleece do I buy? Ready made blankets or a cheaper alternative? Anyone have a good weblink?

Any other hints and tips?

Many thanks

Jo (and Brushy and George)
 
You can't really litter train a guinea pig, some do have corners they will wee and poo in out of preference, others will just go wherever they like!

I use a combination of vet bed with fleece on top on the bottom of my cage and just fleece and hay in the upper level. I do a full clean out twice a week and give them a sweep out once or twice a day depending on how messy the cage is. I just buy whatever fleece I can find really, some are pet blankets, others are throws which I pick up from primark/poundstretchers etc
 
Fleece. Is. Amazing.

When I swapped my piggies to fleece I couldn't quite get over how good it was. I was so worried about how much I'd have to clean them, but they absolutely love it, and cleaning them out is so easy, and so much less messy than hay and bedding.

I put a layer of newspaper, then a layer of towel (two if they are thin towels) and then a layer of fleece. I have picked up fleece from all over, but if you can get to a fabricland (www.fabricland.co.uk) they sell it really cheap by the metre. I have just picked up some lovely plain light blue for £3 a metre, and some dark-cream-with-paw-prints for £2.50. It's really wide as well, so allows for shrinkage. The width actually did for the length of my single boy Bertie's cage (a 3x2 with hayloft... he refuses to live with anyone!) I washed it three times before using it - it hasn't shrunk since.

Cleaning-wise, I brush out the cage twice a day for poops (takes a few seconds for my 'clean' pigs... Bertie poops more than any pig I have ever known so takes a bit longer!) I do a massive clean out with change of fleece and towels once a week. However, I do put small fleece-and-towel blankets that I have made in my girls cage, just in the places where I know they sit a lot (under the ramp etc), which I change twice a week. Literally just sewed towel and fleece together.

I have one girly who is a 'burrower' - if I don't secure the fleece down, she will get under it. Even when I have secured it to the correx with clips, she has found a way under! But I think she is unusual. I am in the process of sewing the fleece into a sort of tray shape that it slips over the correx perfectly and fastens onto the correx with velcro. I haven't had any trouble with any other pigs, and as far as I'm aware, very few people find this 'burrowing' a real problem.

I also have two dustpan and brushes ( I am becoming a bit obsessed with the fleece thing...) One to do their haylofts and brush up poops, one to brush the fleece down quickly before I shove it in the washing machine. I also stick everything into an old duvet cover before I chuck it in the washer, just in case there's some stray hay or something (I can't be bother to pick it all off). I've also heard that sticking some white vinegar in can reduce the piggy smell on the blanket, but I've not tried that yet.

I seem to have written a bit of an essay, no doubt going over what you already know, but for ease of changing, and for reduction in mess, I cannot recommend fleece highly enough.
 
Thanks for the help. That's really useful. My last question would be, our conservatory can go as low as 1 degree in the winter. I know if I used hay and paper as I do at the moment, I could make them a box full of hay to snuggle down in. What's the option with a fleece and towel lined tray? I saw someone mention elsewhere microwaveable pads which keep warm for 10-12hrs - is that the answer?

Thanks
Jo
 
Sappho said:
I've also heard that sticking some white vinegar in can reduce the piggy smell on the blanket, but I've not tried that yet.
Click to expand...

I used white vinegar to wash the kids nappies in when they were little (they are 4 and 6 now) and it is brilliant. Don't bother with small bottles from the supermarket - try and go with someone to Makro. They sell it in 5 litre bottles for a pittance

Cheers
Jo
 
On really cold nights and days I would use those warming pads and more fleece or warm fabrics to crawl underneath and snuggle into. Also fleece over the cage to trap the warm air.
 
Have you ever stood in a muck heap at a yard where horses are stabled? The fermenting shavings/straw/hay heat up, and are pretty toasty on a cold day.. this happens in a bed used in an outdoor hutch, the damp shavings actually act like a heated pad (dropping removed obviously), and the thicker the bed the better ;)
I deep litter my horses in the winter for this exact reason, the extra thick bed heats up and can be surprisingly warm on an icy morning..
I also deep litter my piggies, so they're never cold during those long days when I'm at work, and the heating's not on..
This must only be done in the winter, to prevent fly strike,and it's not needed then anyway (spring/summer), as it's warm enough at night for them:)
 
My guineas live in a double glazed summerhouse/conservatory type thing. Over the winter I do a mixture of things. In the past before heating pads, I used hot water bottles overnight (I put them in a cover AND wrapped a small towel around so they really couldn't get into it!). There is always the danger of them getting at the water bottle or the stopper coming out (never happened to me) which is why the heating pads are good if you can get hold of them for a reasonable price (I think they are around £10-15 each?) Most come with covers (snugglesafe ones in particular), if not you can make one out of fleece quite easily.

I also put 'winter' cozies in their cage (once again homemade!). It is two layers of fleece with batting between. When I had my two girls, the cozy was big enough for them both to get into together. In my single boar's cage, he also gets a cozy. I also, like Wiebke says, put a fleecy blanket in their cage for them to burrow under, and also chuck one over the top to keep the warm in.

I'm moving in a few weeks to somewhere where I can get a reliable electricity source to where my piggies are (again it will be in a conservatory type-thing). I have an oil filled radiator that can be put on low all night to keep guineas warm.

Of course if you don't mind getting lots of hay on the fleece, a cardboard 'house' stuffed with hay would be ideal, maybe with a fleecy blanket thrown over it for extra insulation.

Thanks for the vinegar tip too - I really resent paying high prices to the supermarkets!
 
Hi,

I use fleece and towels and it is great!

I have two boars in one cage and they poo/wee everywhere! so I change the fleece etc every two days.

My sows toliet in a littertray 99% of the time they just seem to go in there. I change thier fleece once a week and the littertray once a week.

For cold nights I use cavy cozies which are fleece lined and they go in the wash with the fleece.

I get them from here

http://www.cavycouture.co.uk/
 
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