What does everyone use for bedding? - Page 2 - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**envisionary333** · #21 07-20-07, 03:20 pm

I have eleven piggies! I only use Carefresh in the "kitchen" area of the cage, which is a 2 x 4 in grids. It gets stinky in about three to four days! (Look in my photo gallery and you'll see what I mean)

**Percy's Mom** · #22 07-20-07, 04:10 pm

Please remember that while you may get an excellent price buying bedding at PetSmart or Petco, purchasing supplies from a store that sells animals still supports the breeders and pet mills that we are against. There are many other places to get supplies. I use kiln-dried pine right now in my cage that I purchase from a feed supply store. I use carefresh in both the white and colors for my hamster though, and get it from Pet Food Direct. They usually have really excellent prices, always have an option for a 5% off coupon, and if you get on their email list, they will send you coupons from 13-25% off weekly.

**envisionary333** · #23 07-20-07, 06:23 pm

Amazon sells their Ultra Carefresh through Pet Food Direct, and it's actually a little cheaper on the Amazon listing. Not sure how the shipping and handling compares, though.

**Sopher7132** · #24 07-20-07, 06:37 pm

Yeah I have boughten a few supplies from Amazon but I usually purchase from Doctors Foster and Smith. Percysmom I will have to look at that website. Luckily I only use bedding now for the kitchen and bought a huge thing of Aspen shavings but I still need to buy carefresh for my rabbit's litter box. He has long fur and I brushing aspen shavings out would take forever! Plus trying to get the shavings off the fleece is a nightmare sometimes

**Sopher7132** · #25 07-20-07, 06:43 pm

Envisionary, I used that link you gave to the Carefresh bedding and it IS cheaper than any pet store. For a 50 liter bag, 14.39. Not bad!! Thanks!

**Kiki42** · #26 07-21-07, 10:22 am

I use Aspen shavings, but am in the proccess of building a C&C cage, so the bottom part is going to be Aspen, and the little top part will be fleece.

**TellTerry** · #27 07-21-07, 02:03 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

Please remember that while you may get an excellent price buying bedding at PetSmart or Petco, purchasing supplies from a store that sells animals still supports the breeders and pet mills that we are against. There are many other places to get supplies. I use kiln-dried pine right now in my cage that I purchase from a feed supply store. I use carefresh in both the white and colors for my hamster though, and get it from Pet Food Direct. They usually have really excellent prices, always have an option for a 5% off coupon, and if you get on their email list, they will send you coupons from 13-25% off weekly.

The only problem is that no ones hands are clean, please read this and you will see that cruelty goes on in every company almost and Friskies has just partnered with Pet Food Direct so they will now be selling these products.
Contracting With Killers They may not be breeders, but cruelty is cruelty right?

**Feather_n_Coca** · #28 07-22-07, 06:32 pm

I use Aspen Shavings. I buy the $14.00 bag about once every 2 weeks and I get 2 2x3 cage cleanings and the hamster cage out of it w/ a little bit left over. I clean both cages once a week on Saturday and use about 1-3 inches of shavings. My piggies seem to like it and I dont mind paying that much for it.

**envisionary333** · #29 07-22-07, 07:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sopher7132

Envisionary, I used that link you gave to the Carefresh bedding and it IS cheaper than any pet store. For a 50 liter bag, 14.39. Not bad!! Thanks!

No problem! That is definitely the cheapest source I've found thus far.

**FoolOnTheHill** · #30 07-23-07, 04:03 am

In my shed (yes I have to keep my pigs outside

) I have layers of newspaper on the floor which is covered in fleece, and in their hutch (lined with plastic) is newspaper and lots of hay. They love sleeping and eating in the hay, although you have to change it once or twice a day. Hay is quite cheap if you buy it in bales, and you can get it at a feedstore or online to avoid supporting pet stores. Most people have supplies of old newspapers anyway, or you may be able to get them from a recycling centre. Plus, if you have a garden you can compost the poop and hay to cut down on waste

**envisionary333** · #31 07-23-07, 04:08 am

Personally, I prefer not to use hay or newspaper as bedding. The newspaper has very little absorbency, doesn't last long, gets very smelly and soggy, and has to be replaced frequently. Hay doesn't have any absorbency either, plus it can get moldy, has to be changed frequently, and has sharp points that are a hazard to your piggy. My personal favorite material to use under the fleece is mattress pads. Love them! Extremely absorbent, fluffy, easy to arrange, easy to cut to size, and never need to be replaced. Anyway, that's just my opinion.

**FoolOnTheHill** · #32 07-24-07, 04:31 am

I know what you mean about newspaper but I change it morning and evening so it works fine. Pigs love snuggling up in hay and as it's changed twice a day it doesn't have a chance to go moudly, although if anyone does use hay it will need to be changed a lot, so for easy-upkeep it's probably not the best bedding! Also, I think there's a risk with most beddings, like aspen or kiln-dried pine could also hurt their eyes.
Anyway, if I get my pigs back inside for the winter they'll be on fleece, and I was thinking of using batting underneath instead.

**envisionary333** · #33 07-24-07, 04:44 am

Hay should never be used all over the cage for bedding. It is a hazard, and I have heard many stories of piggies being injured from living on hay all the time. You can have a pile of hay available to eat or play in, but it should not be the only bedding. It is fine to use newspaper if that is your preference and it is changed frequently. I just don't find it to be the most convenient because of its lack of absorbency.