Fleece: fleece

[Vixen]

okay so i have 2 guinea pigs. both females. i built them a 2x4 grid C and C cage. and it has 2 storys (website i made. some thgins have changed) guineacage and i now have fleece. which is not working well what so ever. it has little wrinkles threwout the cage. and home how my girls can get there poop right under it then lay on it to get the poop nice and in the fabric... and the pee is not soaking in (we are going to wash the 2nd pair of sheets a few more tiems before we change the cage)

so i need some advice on how to get the stupid fleece to stay night and tight on the floor of the cage. right now all we can afford is newspaper for under the fleece. i may try some cotton towels i saw on a website that are good to use under it.


ALSO i have a doorway open for the piggys to wander out and about (closed on the website pages) but they dont use it... i have guinea proofed my room blocking off the bottom of hte bed and closet and doorways with extra cloroplast. but they wont come out. and when i bring them out for floor time. they sit there next to eachother and eat eachothers hair...

how can i encurage them to come out and wonder around and whenthey are out not to sit in 1 spot?

thank you for all of the help and reading this. (sorry if things are mispelled)

[PiggieMom]

Did you wash the fleece before you put it in the cage? Many times fleece needs to be washed several times to 'prep' it so it wicks properly. Most people wash and dry it three times before use. Honestly, however, your main problem is that you have nothing absorbent under the fleece. Newspaper isn't going to work at all. If you are short on cash check out Goodwill or Salvation army. Many times you can get large cotton towels there for a dollar.

As far as floor time: guinea pigs are prey animals so therefore they are naturally afraid of wide open spaces. The best way to encourage exploration is to give them a lot of hidey places to explore through. I use bent grids covered in fleece for tunnels, but regular cardboard boxes with several holes cut out. Also, several piles of hay and veggies throughout the space will give them motivation to explore.

[akstrohm]

Piggiemom's advice is excellent. Also read the fleece project sticky. Fleece is not supposed to be absorbent. After you read up on how it works you will have better luck.

The dollar store may be a place for towels as well. Or if you have any old mattress pads, those work great too.

As for floor time, give them lots of veggies scattered throughout the area and lots of places to hide. Do it regularly even if they don't move much. They'll eventually become more curious.

[Toadies]

Vixen, I like your water dish idea. How does it work for your "kids"? Fleece can be difficult to get to lie smoothly, depending on what you have under it, but that doesn't affect its effectiveness. Perhaps placing something around the edges (bricks or half bricks, wooden dowels or such) will weigh it down enough to keep the piggies from "placing" poos underneath it. Remember, these are piggies and sometimes I think the name is incredibly appropriate, as they are NOT neat at all. Their messiness seems to bother us humans more than it bothers the piggies. Also, this is good time of year to pick up beach towels at WalMart, etc., if you have access to something of the sort. Even a single towel would work better than newspaper. Best wishes on your finding a solution.
PS- Remember NOT to use fabric softener in the washer or dryer and to add vinegar the the rinse water for your fleece.

[SageCleo1]

I LOVE FLEECE!
I have 2 females as well, and just had my first cage change today, I have had the piggies for a week. I sweep it every morning when I do their veggies and it stays clean enough all day that I just need to do it again the next morning. They seem to do most of their business in the litter box where all their food is

I have 2 towels and fleece on top, the cleaning went really easily today, picked it up put it in the basket to go to the washers.. I had a few stray poos to sweep up, sprayed with vinegar and water and they are good to go.

Right now my girls are all sprawled out on the fleece not even in hidey houses which is a bit abnormal for them

It makes me happy to see them enjoying their cage

[CavyMama]

I had a quick question about fleece. I just got some and Im washing it - without the fabric softener - like it said in Fleece Project.

A couple of questions. It says wash/dry 3-4 times. Does this mean wash 3-4 times then dry once? Or wash/dry...wash/dry....wash/dry...wash/dry?

Also, I noticed when pulling it out of the dryer that it's very static-y. Without the use of fabic softener can we use dryer sheets to take that static cling away?

[Scout.Layne]

I'm just a newbie at this as well but I'm pretty sure it's wash/dry wash/dry wash/dry...ect. And as for the fleece being all staticy...you could always just hang it up and dry it that way. Right now I have my fleece drying in my bathroom with a towel on the floor under it to catch the drips.

[lissie]

You wash/dry wash/dry wash/dry. You can use white vinegar in the wash as fabric softener.

[akstrohm]

Yes, wash and dry cycles, although you can let the fleece air dry.

Don't use dryer sheets either--anything that reduces static will reduce wicking. And vinegar can be used, although it is not a fabric softener.

[pigsmakemesmile]

Toadies....you made me so giggle. Piggies are just that! "piggies" to me, my boys are just "poo-making machines" And the places I find them amaze me. They would be the most perfect little animal friend if it weren't for these little poo's...imagine if they were "big" poo's heheh. Anyway, I found puppy pads under the fleece helped a lot. I bought all mine from the flea market for 2 bucks. I switched back to shavings though last week when I moved my boys into my breezeway that I just painted. I hung bamboo blinds up over the screens to help block out moisture and excessive sun. I use fleece during the winter months when I have them in the house as shavings are messy. I never had a problem though with the fleece wrinkling up, but then again, it was pretty used when I bought it. I'm using it now to cover their pen up during the night to keep out any drafts. It's July and it's been in the lower 60's during the night.

[CavyMama]

Okay, I'm on my final wash/dry cycle. The fleece is in the washer now. I added the vinegar so hopefully that will help with the static. I haven't used dryer sheets or any fabric softener.

My next question is about fitting the blankets to the cage size. If I cut them to size, are the edges likely to fray? I was thinking about folding them to size rather than cutting.

Also, how many layers of fleece and how many layers of towels? Are beach towels okay? This is my first try with fleece and I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

[pigsmakemesmile]

I think it's a matter of preference and easy cleaning. I layered my pen by using a solid base, then real old cotton towels with fleece on top. Then I placed placemats in the areas they spent more time laying on as this made it easier for me to keep the pen clean. Every other day I'd throw the old placemats into the machine for washing. It made having to wash the fleece less often. I also kept extra fleece for complete pen changes.The towels I used were pretty beat up but worked well. I personally found the placemats quite absorbent. I experimented often until I found what worked the best for both me and my piggies. I never bother cutting the fleese to fit the pen, I just folded it to the size of the pen. I did keep shavings in their hideys which were a couple of old cat carriers.

[Ilovemypiggies1]

If you have any setts that you don't use you can put those in the corner of the cage, because they are high in weight your guinea pig won't be able to really move the fleece around the corners and edges.

For an absorbent layer underneath i used some beach towels that were not going to be used. Newspapers as an absorbent layer will not work, they to not absorb good and will often leave your cage smelly and dirty with yucky newspaper all over the place. I have 4 towels which makes 2 layers for my 2x6 C&C cage. Like others have said you will want to wash,dry,wash,dry,wash,dry and do not use any fabric softener when drying. In the washer i like to add a cup of white vinegar to the piggies' laundry.

[CavyMama]

Yeah, Im planning to use beach towels under the fleece. Beach towels should be pretty cheap this time of year if I need to get more. I got two fleece blankets for each of the cages so there will be something to replace the fleece when I do the laundry.

So if I use one layer of fleece, one layer of towel under that, I should be okay? I thought about using newspaper as the bottom layer (under the beach towels). Any thoughts on this? Alternatives?

[CavyMama]

Okay fleece is done. I'm hoping that this washing it 4 times is only for this initial time and not what happens every week?? Tell me that after today it's just one go 'round washer/dryer :-)

So now that this is done, if I take these blankets home, put down a beach towel then the fleece, I should be okay? I could have them on fleece as early as tonight?

[akstrohm]

Fleece does not fray.

I would cut the fleece an extra six inches on each side so you can fold it around the towels. But if you already cut it, whatever you have should be fine.

I wouldn't bother with the newspaper. It won't really help, but it will get messy.

And yes, after this it is just one wash/dry cycle each time you clean the cage. The fleece will get better at wicking over the next few weeks though (as it gets washed more), so if it's not perfect at first, don't worry.

And yes, a layer or two of towels and then the fleece will be just fine. If you notice the cage smelling, try adding thicker towels or more layers of beach towels, as beach towels are not the most absorbent. How well they work will depend on your pigs and your cage.

Also, I recommend a litter box in the most commonly used area.

[CavyMama]

Okay, fleece is in place. Duff has a large igloo and wood house and a hammock to sleep in. Where does he lay down? Out in the open in the middle of the cage. If he had thumbs, I think he would be giving the fleece a thumbs up! :-)