suggestions for bedding

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Lez

hey I'm having problems deciding on a bedding to use for my piggies

i started off with recycled paper, but it just wasnt absorbant enough, then switched to carefresh. been using carefresh for months but its so expensive for such small packets that ive had to stop buying it.

at the minute I'm using newspaper with loads of hay on top, but the problem is as the temperature is getting more humid, and my piggies are inside, ive found this combination to be a little more smelly, ad my piggies are drinking and therefore peeing much more. also the newspaper is marking the cage as the ink print sticks to the bottom ;D

any suggestions would be helpful: the piggies are kept indoors in my bedroom, in a nero 3 cage. anything cheaper than carefresh will be helpful, I'm struggling for money at the moment, and just cant afford carefresh.

once i move house next week they will most likely be in the run a lot more in the house too, so was also wondering if vetbed can be used in runs? that way i can leave them to play all day so they can get much more exercise than they do at the moment. ive read about vetbed in the review threads but not sure how it works
 
forgot to mention the only pet shop i have access to is pets at home, but will consider internet shopping if its the right price...
 
I have newspaper for my lot... and I have hay and shredded paper in there too... ive tried fleece but the pigs managed to climb under it and made a huge mess all over it...
You could use towels...

Hope you find one you like :)
 
daftscotslass said:
What about fleece? It's cheap and easy to clean and there's a big thread about it here - http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html
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ooo thanks for that, the article was really interesting.

so if i use fleece, i put something underneath it, like a towel or news paper? also what would i do for the piggies bed? do they need any other bedding to snuggle up in, or would it be ok with just the fleece in? just asking cos at the min my piggies have a thing with burrowing in the hay and making little "nests" 98) lol would the fleece be enough for their bed?

sorry if I'm asking too many questions lol
 
When I tried fleece I had newspaper under it but towels work much better... the fleece should be fine for their bed... they will prop try to snuggle into it... do you have boxes or somthing dor them to hide under?
 
theyre in a nero cage which has the sleeping area under where the food bowl is

http://www.ter.nl/webwinkel/images/Nero3deluxe.jpg this is the cage i have so u can see what the sleeping area is like. they really like it in there and like to snuggle in there for hours when theyre being lazy, but they have arches/tubes in their cage too
 
Aah okay... you could always have fleece with hay on top for them to snugle into :) Looks like a nice cage :) O0
 
thanks for the advice :D

i think i will go into town tomorrow and look into getting some fleece, was going to nip to pets at home to buy more bedding, but i think ill go buy some fleece instead :) never really thought of using it before, an unusual choice as mentioned in the article lol

once i leave uni and get myself a proper house and a better job i plan on getting them a much bigger cage using those cube things (always forget what theyre called!) as i plan on eventually getting more piggies, I'm hooked after getting these two, but for now trying to find the best way to keep them clean and happy in this cage :D
 
Good luck :)

My lot are in a C+C cage (grids) but I dont have the coroplast stuff... so its harder to keep them clean ;D
 
thanks :D
thats what i meant the C+C cage once i have a bigger house would love one of those!

the only bad thing about the nero cage is that the plastic bottom bit seems to get stained easily. hopefully switching bedding will reduce this too :)
 
yer hopefully :)

I have my C+C cage on a big peice of wood that sits on boxes, so it is off the ground... and I found that the wood got stained easily so I put some black platic over the top of it :) I guess thats what the coroplart is or ::) LMAO ;D
 
Lez said:
thanks :D
thats what i meant the C+C cage once i have a bigger house would love one of those!

the only bad thing about the nero cage is that the plastic bottom bit seems to get stained easily. hopefully switching bedding will reduce this too :)
Click to expand...

My piggies loved their fleece. O0 When you wash it don't add fabric conditioner as this forms a barrier & the wee won't soak thru but will stay on the top :)
 
thanks for the advice :)

i dont usually buy fabric conditioner anyways as I'm allergic. do i use washing powder still when i wash it?

i always use "bold" washing powder, will this be ok, or should i wash it without any added cleaner
 
Niki said:
Lez said:
thanks :D
thats what i meant the C+C cage once i have a bigger house would love one of those!

the only bad thing about the nero cage is that the plastic bottom bit seems to get stained easily. hopefully switching bedding will reduce this too :)
Click to expand...

My piggies loved their fleece. O0 When you wash it don't add fabric conditioner as this forms a barrier & the wee won't soak thru but will stay on the top :)
Click to expand...

Damm! thats why! ;D ;D
 
Lez said:
thanks for the advice :)

i dont usually buy fabric conditioner anyways as I'm allergic. do i use washing powder still when i wash it?

i always use "bold" washing powder, will this be ok, or should i wash it without any added cleaner
Click to expand...

bold has added fabric softener in it, so i guess you need one that hasn't
 
ok, i just washed it once with bold, then washed it 3 times without any powder at all in. will that be ok?
 
Lez said:
ok, i just washed it once with bold, then washed it 3 times without any powder at all in. will that be ok?
Click to expand...

It'll be fine :) you could wash it with bold then do a rinse afterwards O0
 
ive been using the fleece and towels for 2 days now, and all seems to be going well :D

munchie loved it and popcorned around the cage (which is rare for him!)

bob was scared of it for a while, and wouldnt leave the top level above his bed, but he now likes it and popcorns all round the cage :D
 
I have always used shavings for mine - nothing else seems to absorb the pee in the same way! I think as long as you get the good quality ones its fine. I get a bale of Bed Down shavings for mine from the farm shop. I get hay by the bale too and in winter I use barley straw as well to keep them toasty and warm!
 
After reading this thread i have decided that i'm going to use fleece and towels from now on and not wood shavings. Bu there is just one question i would like to ask but will apologise now if it sounds stupid! Do i cover the entire floor of the cage with towels and fleece or do i put something else in the sleeping area? Also is the flat sort of fleece ok or does it have to be the 'woolly sheep' looking kind of fleece !

Luv Tracy
 
Tracy C said:
After reading this thread i have decided that i'm going to use fleece and towels from now on and not wood shavings. Bu there is just one question i would like to ask but will apologise now if it sounds stupid! Do i cover the entire floor of the cage with towels and fleece or do i put something else in the sleeping area? Also is the flat sort of fleece ok or does it have to be the 'woolly sheep' looking kind of fleece !

Luv Tracy
Click to expand...

I used to cover the whole area (including their sleeping area) with towel then fleece & the sort of fleece you use is personal choice, the fleeces i used were fleecy pet blankets from the £ shop. :)
 
i laid fleece in the whole cage, including bed area. as my piggies love to play with hay, i just made one of those toiletroll tubes stuffed with hay to keep them happy lol

the fleece i used was a basic 100% polyester fleece, that i got cut at a local market, and it seems to be working fine :)
 
Lez said:
i laid fleece in the whole cage, including bed area. as my piggies love to play with hay, i just made one of those toiletroll tubes stuffed with hay to keep them happy lol

the fleece i used was a basic 100% polyester fleece, that i got cut at a local market, and it seems to be working fine :)
Click to expand...

I did the same thing with mine with the hay ;D Glad they're liking the fleece O0 The polar fleece (woolly sheep stuff) i think, would be similar to vetbed - the hay etc may get stuck in the bobbles & believe me when shaking it, especially on a windy day, a face full of piggy unmentionables isn't one of the greatest experiences ;D ;D ;D
 
Niki said:
Lez said:
i laid fleece in the whole cage, including bed area. as my piggies love to play with hay, i just made one of those toiletroll tubes stuffed with hay to keep them happy lol

the fleece i used was a basic 100% polyester fleece, that i got cut at a local market, and it seems to be working fine :)
Click to expand...

I did the same thing with mine with the hay ;D Glad they're liking the fleece O0 The polar fleece (woolly sheep stuff) i think, would be similar to vetbed - the hay etc may get stuck in the bobbles & believe me when shaking it, especially on a windy day, a face full of piggy unmentionables isn't one of the greatest experiences ;D ;D ;D
Click to expand...

Hehe, i can imagine ;D i purposely didnt buy the wooly one as i wasnt sure if stuff would stick to it worse, and the fleece i bought was much easier to get hold of. so far ive just been scooping out the poops so they dont build up, and clean up the hay mess a bit if it gets too bad. i plan on washing it for the first time tomorrow night. Munchie has tried a few times to pull up the fleece, but he seems to have grown tired of trying that now :)
 
Right,well i have put 2 towels in the bottom of the cage and 3 layers of fleece. My boys seem to like it they keep popcorning all round the cage which is hilarious to watch. But they keep pulling it all up especially in the corners and then they poo and wee there-any suggestions?

Luv Tracy
 
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