Bedding: Using zeolite for their litter box?

[fridzalone]

My piggies are quite litter trained. And it really help me a lot with the cleaning issues. I use wood shavings on their litter box, since using hay is quite expensive. The problem is most wood shaving brands in my country don't label themselves and don't give any information about what kind of wood they're using. It's difficult to me to know am i using the right wood shaving or not.

So i was thinking to change it into zeolite, but i'm not pretty sure it's safe for guinea pig. Should i change their wood shavings into zeolites?

[fridzalone]

Why there's no one answer this question. Please, i need your answers a lot.

Zeolite is a sand that usually used for cats/dogs litter. I'm planning to use it if it's safe for my piggies. I'm kind of worry about making this decision since my friend told me that some rabbits have allergic to zeolite.

[Milkingit]

Nope, never sand or anything like that.

The Piggies can eat it and it will not digest properly and they can die.

[fridzalone]

Originally Posted by Milkingit

Nope, never sand or anything like that.

The Piggies can eat it and it will not digest properly and they can die.

Ok, thanks a lot.
So is there any other way to know what kind of wood shavings that i'm using?

[akstrohm]

To be on the safe side, I would assume that they are not good to use.

If you are using fleece, I would just take out the litter box. Add some extra layers of towels under the area they use most, and change those towels out more frequently. Or you could keep the litter box in and use newspaper. Newspaper is really not ideal. It will get wet and smell quickly so you will have to change it very often. But it is safe to use and easy to get.

If you insist on using the wood chips, I would let them air out for a while away from your pigs before using them. This should let some of the phenol evaporate. But I think that just getting rid of the litter box is the easiest and safest method.

[fridzalone]

what if i combine zeolite, newspaper, wood shavings,towel and fleece together? I'm thinking of (bottom to above):
-2 layer of newspaper
- zeolite sands
-newspaper again
-wood shavings
-newspaper again
-towel
-fleece

will it work?

[Wheekie]

Why go to all that trouble when all you have to do is not use the box? They usually do all their 'pooing' in one corner anyway (maybe a stray here and there, but they're easy to pick up), so to me, a litter box might be nice and cute, but it's not really needed!

[Wheekie]

Sorry...one more thing! The way piggies can dig and chew...I'd be afraid he'd get to the stuff that he's not supposed to eat. I've seen My Cotton be so determined that he's burrowed through 3 layers of fleece for no other reason than it was there and he wanted to!

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I would not use the zeolite at all. Most cat litters are not safe for guinea pigs.

Why is hay expensive?

Do you not provide it at all times?

[fridzalone]

Originally Posted by rabbitsncavyluv

I would not use the zeolite at all. Most cat litters are not safe for guinea pigs.

Why is hay expensive?

Do you not provide it at all times?

I only provide them as their food. It's pretty expensive in Indonesia because we import it, so i don't want to use it as their litter. I still haven't found fleece here in Indonesia since i i don't really know what we called it in Indonesia, i found some fabric that looks like fleece but they said it's flannel, so fleece still on my searching. For now i only use towel and wood shavings. Since my piggies pee a lot both wood shavings and towels easily get wet a lot, so now i change both wood shavings and towels once a day (sometimes twice a day). Plus i don't know what kind of wood shavings i'm using ( i never try newspaper, i think it'll get worse because newspaper don't absorb that much ).

There's only 2 kinds of bedding here in Indonesia : zeolite sands, and unknown wood shavings. I'm also thinking of craft recycled paper, but also think i need another additional bedding to keep their cage dry.

[lissie]

Can you get horse hay where you live? Piggies can eat horse quality hay.

For fleece, try looking at baby blankets in department stores. Fleece are 100% Polyester. You can try other polyester fabric too.

You can also try shredded paper for bedding. Buy a paper shredder and shred your newspaper or white paper.

[akstrohm]

Hay is not a good bedding anyway--it's not absorbent. It only need to be provided (in unlimited amounts) as food.

Zeolite could be dangerous to your pigs, and it sounds messy as well. Don't use it. The wood shavings could also be harmful. Don't use them. Newspaper is not absorbent, but it is safe. I would not use it, but if you really want to put it in a litter box and change it at least daily, you can.

I'm sure you can find fleece in Indonesia--it's a very common material for blankets. It should not be hard to find. As already mentioned, anything that is 100% polyester should work.

The towels are absorbent, which is why they should be under fleece, not used alone. I would use only fleece on top and towels on the bottom--no other bedding. There is no point in using the wood shavings, zeolite, and newspaper.

[fridzalone]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

Hay is not a good bedding anyway--it's not absorbent. It only need to be provided (in unlimited amounts) as food.

Zeolite could be dangerous to your pigs, and it sounds messy as well. Don't use it. The wood shavings could also be harmful. Don't use them. Newspaper is not absorbent, but it is safe. I would not use it, but if you really want to put it in a litter box and change it at least daily, you can.

I'm sure you can find fleece in Indonesia--it's a very common material for blankets. It should not be hard to find. As already mentioned, anything that is 100% polyester should work.

The towels are absorbent, which is why they should be under fleece, not used alone. I would use only fleece on top and towels on the bottom--no other bedding. There is no point in using the wood shavings, zeolite, and newspaper.

I know that i can find fleece somewhere in this city. But since lots of people don't use the word "fleece" it's really difficult to find the right ones. I'm not familiar with fabric things, and i really have no idea how fleece looks like (i only see them on the internet). The other fabric that confuse me is xx% cotton and XX% acrylic, it looks pretty similar to fleece that i've seen on the internet.

Yesterday, i found something looks like fleece, but the seller told me that it's flannel, it's quite pricey so i chose not to buy it before i really know that's fleece. Here's the pic that looks like the one i saw yesterday.

Is it fleece?
http://wb5.itrademarket.com/pdimage/...mut-popeye.jpg
http://wb4.itrademarket.com/pdimage/...4_dsc00497.jpg

[akstrohm]

You don't want acrylic or cotton. What you gave pictures of might be fleece. Does it have a tag? Look for something that says 100% polyester on the tag. Fleece is very soft.

[Ly&Pigs]

Not everything that is 100% polyester will wick like fleece. I believe there are only a very few materials that have wicking properties. I've used 100% polyester mattress pads and they do not wick at all.

Those photos look like they could be fleece as fleece does come in a variety of patterns but so does flannel. I've even tried flannel and it doesn't wick.

If I knew what language you speak, I might be able to help you translate the word fleece into your language if you don't already know the word for it in your language.

Also keep in mind when posting questions that sometimes you may get answers right away while other times it can take a day or two before someone responds. Just have patience.

[fridzalone]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

You don't want acrylic or cotton. What you gave pictures of might be fleece. Does it have a tag? Look for something that says 100% polyester on the tag. Fleece is very soft.

Most seller in Indonesia don't give tags on the things their sell (especially for fabrics, blankets and bedcover, rugs, etc) unless they're import them which make those fabrics very expensive. And i've search for 100% polyester but there's a lot kinds of fabrics that have "100% polyester" on it, 100% polyester silk, 100% cotton, etc. But none of them are fleece 100% polyester.

I bought a blanket today, that i thought it might be fleece (even the seller told me that it made from flannel, but i don't trust her). It's quite pricey but i think it worth a try, i'll post the pic later ( i don't have camera, so i need to borrow it from my friend first).

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

Those photos look like they could be fleece as fleece does come in a variety of patterns but so does flannel. I've even tried flannel and it doesn't wick.

If I knew what language you speak, I might be able to help you translate the word fleece into your language if you don't already know the word for it in your language.

What are the differences between flannel and fleece? I mean by the texture of the fabric, how they look like, the way they wick water, the heat we get from the fabric, etc. Maybe by get this information i'll know what fabric i bought.

I speak Indonesian, and it will be a great help if you translate it for me (i used google translate and it came in nonsense). That's very nice of you

[Amiee]

I asked my Bahasa-speaking friends for the translation, but all they could come up with was fleece as in wool (a sheep's fleece), which is not what you're looking for. I found a couple places online where you could buy it, but it's definitely expensive by Indonesian standards! As long as what you bought wicks moisture, it's probably fine. Try stretching it out, pour some water on it, and time how long it takes to go through. Being from Canada, I know fleece, so I'll keep an eye out for any places that sell it, especially chains that you might also have in Bandung.

As for wood shavings, fleece is definitely better, but my understanding is that, as long as it doesn't smell, it should be safe. But someone may correct me on that.

[fridzalone]

Originally Posted by Amiee

I asked my Bahasa-speaking friends for the translation, but all they could come up with was fleece as in wool (a sheep's fleece), which is not what you're looking for. I found a couple places online where you could buy it, but it's definitely expensive by Indonesian standards! As long as what you bought wicks moisture, it's probably fine. Try stretching it out, pour some water on it, and time how long it takes to go through. Being from Canada, I know fleece, so I'll keep an eye out for any places that sell it, especially chains that you might also have in Bandung.

As for wood shavings, fleece is definitely better, but my understanding is that, as long as it doesn't smell, it should be safe. But someone may correct me on that.

Should i wash it before i do that stretching out and pouring water things? Or can i do it just now?

[Amiee]

Yes, you need to wash several times with no softener before you try - unwashed fleece doesn't wick at all!

If you haven't read this yet, you should.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ect-study.html

[fridzalone]

Originally Posted by Amiee

Yes, you need to wash several times with no softener before you try - unwashed fleece doesn't wick at all!

If you haven't read this yet, you should.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ect-study.html

I've read that before, but thanks for the link anyway^^
Btw, can i hand washing it? I rent a room and the owner don't allow me to do the machine.I mean will it make a different between hand wash and machine wash?