How To Contain Hay+Litter Mess?

[Zuidy]

Hey everyone!

I have 2 Litter Boxes sitting next to each other in my girl's playpen, which is connected to their cage. Then, I have 2 homemade litter boxes, 1 in their cage and 1 in their playpen.

Next, they have 2 Hay Mangers, 1 made out of a grid and the other home made as well.......

I set the litter boxes under the hay mangers, and that helps contain most of the piggie's poop. BUT, their litter and Hay still get everywhere! What ELSE can I do to try to prevent some of the mess?

So, how should I contain the litter and hay? Does anybody else have similar problems? Thanks!

[MissJean]

I've been eyeing these myself :                        PiggyBedSpreads.com Making Your Guinea Pig's World a Beautiful Place!

[Zuidy]

I've been eyeing these myself : PiggyBedSpreads.com Making Your Guinea Pig's World a Beautiful Place!

$25? Noooo...... Sorry!

I already have litter boxes as well, but I just don't know how to keep it from getting everywhere. Perhaps I will put fleece on top and put the litter below the fleece, that way it will "wick" it away.

[casey's mommy]

$25? Noooo...... Sorry!

I already have litter boxes as well, but I just don't know how to keep it from getting everywhere. Perhaps I will put fleece on top and put the litter below the fleece, that way it will "wick" it away.

that is the idea in the link. you cant use the idea, it give pretty good steps , and make it yourself with the box you already have.

[Zuidy]

that is the idea in the link. you cant use the idea, it give pretty good steps , and make it yourself with the box you already have.

I don't quite understand. Sorry!

[lissie]

These are some of my favorite versions of my old cages. With higher coroplast walls for the loft, hay and bedding never get tracked down to the lower level.









I've also had a hay basement (a 2x2 kitchen on the lower level) and it keeps everything from getting to the fleece on the top main level of the cage.

[Zuidy]

Thanks @lissie !

[grace505]

Zuidy, i used small cat litter boxes and cut one side down so they could hop in and out but left a sizeable lip on it and it really helps keep everything in, hay, litter, CareFresh, etc. I have pictures in my album if you want to see it. I didn't on my first one and boy, was it a mess! The lip makes all the difference!! Good luck!

[Kristine]

I put the litter box and hay bin in the loft area. This way they aren't running through it and not flipping it out all over.

[casey's mommy]

I don't quite understand. Sorry!

so the idea in the link is to have a litter box, you can use the one you already have, and to put a fleece liner in it instead of litter. the fleece liners i am making for my cage as well as little potty pads are a layer of fleece a layer of u haul and a layer of fleece all sewn together.

[grace505]

so the idea in the link is to have a litter box, you can use the one you already have, and to put a fleece liner in it instead of litter. the fleece liners i am making for my cage as well as little potty pads are a layer of fleece a layer of u haul and a layer of fleece all sewn together.

That's a really good idea, i think i might try that. To not have to buy CareFresh anymore, ahhhh. I would still put hay in there, though, they love sleeping and fooling around in the hay!

[casey's mommy]

That's a really good idea, i think i might try that. To not have to buy CareFresh anymore, ahhhh. I would still put hay in there, though, they love sleeping and fooling around in the hay!

i also say a thread the other day about making your own carefresh using news paper and hot water. i might try that.

[grace505]

i also say a thread the other day about making your own carefresh using news paper and hot water. i might try that.

I saw that too, but it seemed like a lot of time, effort, work, etc. I was weighing all those factors against the cost of CareFresh. I use half shredded newspaper on the bottom and then half CareFresh on the top, so i'm only buying one large bag of CareFresh every one to two months, so i figure that's not bad.If i did the whole cage in it, that would be a lot!! I'm absolutely going to try the pee pads idea, though, i don't know why i didn't think of that before, duh!! I really don't mind doing the laundry, i work at home so i can run it through easily while i'm working.

[casey's mommy]

i havent used any carefree since i went to fleece. i have news paper under the fleece as a back up and it makes cleaning the cage easier. i am debating a litter box because they make such a mess. but i dont think i would put newspaper in it because everytime a little paper comes up under there fleece they eat it and i think that cant be good.

[pocketmonster]

@lissie , where did you get that hayrack? It's awesome!

[grace505]

i havent used any carefree since i went to fleece. i have news paper under the fleece as a back up and it makes cleaning the cage easier. i am debating a litter box because they make such a mess. but i dont think i would put newspaper in it because everytime a little paper comes up under there fleece they eat it and i think that cant be good.

I only use it in the litter boxes and they use the crap out of those boxes! They did eat a little bit of it at first, but really do seem to leave it alone. I guess they realized it wans't nearly as tasty as hay or veggies!

[lissie]

@lissie , where did you get that hayrack? It's awesome!

It's kitchen organizer I saw at work. They were throwing them away so I asked if I can take them home. The spacing are too small making it harder to get hay out. I've stopped using it a while ago.

[Zuidy]

so the idea in the link is to have a litter box, you can use the one you already have, and to put a fleece liner in it instead of litter. the fleece liners i am making for my cage as well as little potty pads are a layer of fleece a layer of u haul and a layer of fleece all sewn together.

But then wouldn't it get to the bottom of the boxes instead of absorbed?

Of course, that wouldn't ruin plastic. Duh.

I will try that! I have enough fleece left over to (probably) do that in all of their boxes. The Joann's fabric cutter couldn't cut length, so I have quite a bit left over.

Thanks!

[grace505]

Zuidy, casey's mommy is saying using fleece and then something to absorb, that should help soak it up and if you change it often it shouldn't be leaving it wet on the bottom, at least i would think. If it is, maybe try changing it more often. I'm going to try it too, so i can give an update on how it went for me too.

[Zuidy]

Zuidy, casey's mommy is saying using fleece and then something to absorb, that should help soak it up and if you change it often it shouldn't be leaving it wet on the bottom, at least i would think. If it is, maybe try changing it more often. I'm going to try it too, so i can give an update on how it went for me too.

Thanks! I was curious as to what to use for absorption? I don't think I want to use U-Haul pads, but that may be on option. What would work best? Right now I just cleaned their cage and I am using just Fleece for now. I do change often-- Every day it is checked and usually wiped down.