Fleece: Finally, done away with the pine!

[Hillary]

So yesterday, I went out and bought two pieces of fleece for my Guinea Pigs' cage. I was using pine before, and was getting tired of it magically making its way into every my room. Also, I introduced my two piggies yesterday, and I knew I would have has to change the bedding anyways, and mine as well switch to fleece then. I can't believe how much I love the fleece, and would recommend it to anyone thinking of switching to it!

Before:



After:



I'm looking into getting/making a bigger hay rack then the temporary one that's in there right now. And getting them some toys!

I have a few questions, about managing the fleece:

Do you know where I can get big cheap towels that I can cut to fit? I checked the local thrift store, but found nothing. Right now, I'm using an old mattress pad and some small towels (2 layers).

How often do you spot clean, and what do you use to do it? Would a dust buster (very small, hand held vacuum) work okay? The pigs would be in floor time when I do so, but would the noise spook them?

Here's a picture of Reese and Patrick about half an hour after introducing them, just for fun:

[princesspoppy]

Isn't fleece great. I remember from living in the u.s that k-mart was pretty cheap. I spent 3 months up in canada nova scoita but don't recall seeing any such stores.
I spot clean (poop)every morning with dust pan and brush. The dust buster works well also. Not so noisy as a vaccum.I change fleece twice a week.

The pigs will get used to the dust buster noise if you use it. Just ensure the fleece has been washed several times first as it won't be effective.

[Wodentoad]

I don't know how I could have spent so much money on bedding for so long! Smelly, dusty, expensive.

I sweep up hay and food and make sure the poopies are loose from the fleece so that I can vacuum them with the dust buster every morning. My boys scamper to the other side of the cage, but I'm sure to leave their house up so they have somewhere to run to, then my hubby watches them for some cuddle time while I pull out the coroplast and replace towels and fleece.

I have a couple of champion poopers who love corners, so on the corner I can't reach with the hand broom, the dust buster is a life saver!

[crazyaboutpigs]

Do you have a big lots or one of those overstock stores anywhere near you? You can get the really nice thick towels for very cheap. Another thing that works is dog pee pee pads. They don't work as well as towels, but they can absorb quite a bit of liquid. Definitely wash the fleece several times in hot water for full effectivness. Also, do not use fabric softener. I use the dust buster right in the cage with the piggies. I used to take them out, but they couldn't care less now. I think one of my males has made friends with it. It is a quiet model though.