Plywood use?

[GizznPixie]

I've made a big house for my three piggies out of normal plywood. It's perfect for the job but today when cleaning i've noticed for the first time at the bottom of the house, an off colour like the beginning of fungus.....

Should i have used a different wood, i know it's because the piggies are peeing on the wood at this point but i don't want them to start gnawing at it and get ill.....

I've bought houses before that were made of ply with no problem, should i have treated it with something or used outdoor ply that's already treated??

Help, don't want homeless piggies....:{

 

[Jane]

Is this a little house for them to hide in, or the whole hutch?

If it's a hutch, maybe you could line the floor with either lino or correx - that will stop their pee getting onto the wood

 

[GizznPixie]

It's a house to hide in, rather than have three houses in my 140 cage with no room to run about, i built some terraced housing at one end, this gave them the whole of the rest of the cage to play in with no obstructions, they love it but i'm concerned this fungi grows and they eat it.

They get cleaned out every second day so i'm hoping it never reaches the stage where it's grown far enough, but i'd rather re-build in treated wood and not have any fungus if it's a problem.....?

 

[Gaile]

My hutches are made with ply! But I use vinyl or lino as the flooring!
It is great in keeping the ply clean & dry!

 

[mackpossum]

Try giving the house a good scrub with hot water and let it airdry for a day or two in direct sunlight. That will get rid of the fungus and then you can use it again.
Other option is to use perspex for the sides that are sitting on the floor and just the top layer ply.
Have more than one house for the hutch and frequently change them for airdrying, so they won't stay wet for prolonged periods.