What is the most economical bedding? I just bought a bigger cage, and ohh man!

[Pinkstiletto66]

Hey all. Before I had a Midwest Habitat cage. So I just finished putting up my 2x4 with a 2x2 second level, and man do I need more litter! I am using Aspen pellets. I but it for about 15 dollars, cheaper than I thought I was paying, and thats about twenty pounds. Anywho, I had a previous thread asking about pine, and was suggested I get bedding from a horse bedding company. Well yea, no luck with that. Shipping is CRAZYYYYY! I don't remember the price though. Anywho, I don't own a dryer so I can only do laundry at the laundromat once a week, so how does the fleece situation work. Is it more economical. With the size of my cage it looks like I will need three, maybe four bags, which is about $45 just to fill out the cage. Before with the western, it was about 1.5 to 2 bags tops. I might consider aspen at the bottom, fleece at the top. Would bring it down a bag. But any info is greatly appreciated. Keep in mind I can only order online, I can not go to far places to get supplies that might warrant having a car. I can however, travel to the local 99 cents stores if I need towels to try out the fleece towel thing. Thanks a bunch!

[RubyRain]

I only change my fleece once a week so doing laundry once a week would work fine. I honestly think you need more than a few cheap towels underneath though if you want it to last a week. The uhaul/moving blankets (about $6) or some thick towels layered would be needed.
It will save you a bundle though over the bedding! Even having to pay $3 or so for laundry once a week it's way cheaper.

[Pinkstiletto66]

Where do you buy your fleece? Do they sell the uhaul blankets online?

[knj240]

I have a fleece baby blanket I was using in mavis's smaller cage and it is cheaper fleece that I love because it seems to work well for us and have found the same type at walmart, Not all walmarts have a fabric section though. But other fabric stores will have fleece, like hobby lobby, joanns fabric etc,.. As far as price goes, I can't give you an estimate on those as I am going tomorrow myself to buy a few feet. Hopefully others will chime in with where they get theirs.

[lissie]

Joann's fleece are on sale (50% off) now.
fleece fabric  : fabric  : Shop | Joann.com

Uhaul blankets can be purchased online. You can also check if they have them at your local uhaul store.
U-Haul: Moving supplies: Furniture Pad

[bpatters]

One big warning -- washing fleece bedding in laundromats isn't particularly cheap, and some laundromats won't allow pet bedding to be put in the washers.

You could get just enough fleece to cover your floor areas, with about 3 inches extra on all sides. Use old towels or mattress pads for the absorbent layer -- the mattress pads are really cheap from thrift stores. Try it out for a couple of weeks and see how you get along -- whether it smells, how often you have to clean, how much of a hassle the laundry is, etc.

One tip to make the laundry easier, if you decide to keep on with the fleece, is to make pads smaller than your cage. Say your cage is 2x4, then make 2 2x2 pads, and then you can just change the ones that get the dirtiest more often. Or make a bunch of smaller pads, and put them under the hideys, in the corners, under the hayrack, etc, and change them as needed. That'll make the big fleece pads last longer.

The absolute cheapest bedding I know of is wooden pellets (horse bedding, but it's also used in wood stoves), but how you'd get it in NYC is beyond me.

[teatea121]

Hands down to fleece! I used to have aspen bedding, and like you said, Oh Man! We including the piggies are so much happier with fleece because it so much cheaper and easier to clean. Anti-pill fleece works great, and I have about 5 to 6 layers of cotton towels and fleece mixing underneath it for the best filtering effect. This usually lasts for about two weeks, but it also means two loads of laundry. If you are doing it once a week, less layering would be fine, say 3 levels of towels plus the fleece on top.

I get my towels from thrift stores just because they are more affordable and decent after washing. Though if you find cotton towels in your local store, that shall work just fine! The towels will get used up and need to be replaced sooner or later.

I order my fleece online from Pico Textiles. They have sales ranging from $4-6 per yard, min. 2 yards purchase. Shipping costs 10 for 1-4 yard purchase, and a bit more if you buy more yards.

https://www.picotextiles.com/index.php

Also when I was doing research like you, I found this thread to be extremely useful.

All you need to know about the Fleece Project:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html

[Pinkstiletto66]

Hands down to fleece! I used to have aspen bedding, and like you said, Oh Man! We including the piggies are so much happier with fleece because it so much cheaper and easier to clean. Anti-pill fleece works great, and I have about 5 to 6 layers of cotton towels and fleece mixing underneath it for the best filtering effect. This usually lasts for about two weeks, but it also means two loads of laundry. If you are doing it once a week, less layering would be fine, say 3 levels of towels plus the fleece on top.

I get my towels from thrift stores just because they are more affordable and decent after washing. Though if you find cotton towels in your local store, that shall work just fine! The towels will get used up and need to be replaced sooner or later.

I order my fleece online from Pico Textiles. They have sales ranging from $4-6 per yard, min. 2 yards purchase. Shipping costs 10 for 1-4 yard purchase, and a bit more if you buy more yards.

https://www.picotextiles.com/index.php

Also when I was doing research like you, I found this thread to be extremely useful.

All you need to know about the Fleece Project:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html

I will check out that thread thanks. How many yards do I need for a 2x4 bottom, and 2x2 top?

[Pinkstiletto66]

One big warning -- washing fleece bedding in laundromats isn't particularly cheap, and some laundromats won't allow pet bedding to be put in the washers.

You could get just enough fleece to cover your floor areas, with about 3 inches extra on all sides. Use old towels or mattress pads for the absorbent layer -- the mattress pads are really cheap from thrift stores. Try it out for a couple of weeks and see how you get along -- whether it smells, how often you have to clean, how much of a hassle the laundry is, etc.

One tip to make the laundry easier, if you decide to keep on with the fleece, is to make pads smaller than your cage. Say your cage is 2x4, then make 2 2x2 pads, and then you can just change the ones that get the dirtiest more often. Or make a bunch of smaller pads, and put them under the hideys, in the corners, under the hayrack, etc, and change them as needed. That'll make the big fleece pads last longer.

The absolute cheapest bedding I know of is wooden pellets (horse bedding, but it's also used in wood stoves), but how you'd get it in NYC is beyond me.

Wouldnt their little poos get stuck on the fleece, I can see the reasoning for the laundromats to not want that. Thats the part I want to know. Even if I did it in my washing maching first, wouldnt the poos still remain?

How would I make pads? Get a big one and cut them in half? Btw I'm taking notes and responding before I go check out that other thread. Thanks..

[teatea121]

Hmm... you kinda need to do the math because I have a different size cage, 3 x 3.5.

But 2 x 4 would be about 28" x 56", and 2 x 2 would be 28" x 28". Then always remember to add 3" or more on all four ends because fleece tends to shrink after washing.

At Pico Textile, their fleece has a width length of 60", and 2 yard is 72". You could get more yards and do some cutting on your own to make two fleece that fits. You could use the little leftover fleece bits creatively to decorate the cage. I like to make fleece curtains, and my three piggies love to run through them.

I know it is confusing trying to figure out how many yards. So I always lean on the safe side and get more. Hope this help.

[Pinkstiletto66]

Hmm... you kinda need to do the math because I have a different size cage, 3 x 3.5.

But 2 x 4 would be about 28" x 56", and 2 x 2 would be 28" x 28". Then always remember to add 3" or more on all four ends because fleece tends to shrink after washing.

At Pico Textile, their fleece has a width length of 60", and 2 yard is 72". You could get more yards and do some cutting on your own to make two fleece that fits. You could use the little leftover fleece bits creatively to decorate the cage. I like to make fleece curtains, and my three piggies love to run through them.

I know it is confusing trying to figure out how many yards. So I always lean on the safe side and get more. Hope this help.

Uhh okay, I was just about to ask about the 60'' width thing. So 2 yards would be 72 inches equally? Like a square (72x72x72x72.) Because I was like, "okay a yard is 36",) then they threw in the width as being 60'' and I was like " Wha???" You can tell I don't buy fabric, never been in a store. Wait.. I think I got it. If I bought one yard it would be 36" length by 60" width? Two yards would be 72" length, 60" width? Yea, all this adding gets me crazy.

So it's safe to say that I would need 1 yard for the top and 2 yards for the bottom? Btw do you have pics of your cage?

[Pinkstiletto66]

Btw do the poos get stuck to the fleece?

[Pinkstiletto66]

Disregard last post about poops. I'm currently reading the fleece thread.

[Travelingirl916]

You can also buy the 50"x60" fleece blankets at walgreens or rite-aid. That is where I buy mine and they work well. Right now walgreens has theirs on sale for $2. They fit a 3x4 C&C perfectly, so they would fit perfectly in a 2x4. I just buy the towels at thrift stores, garage sales, etc. So for a total set of bedding I spend less than $10! Of course, you still have to factor in laundering costs, but it is still much cheaper. I have been using the same fleece and towels for over a year now, and they are still going strong, so a set will last you a while. I have 2 2x5s with this setup and there is no odor as long as you sweep the poos every day. I personally cannot stand shavings or Carefresh, so I will always use fleece.

[piggypuppylove]

I am using Aspen pellets. I but it for about 15 dollars, cheaper than I thought I was paying, and thats about twenty pounds

With the size of my cage it looks like I will need three, maybe four bags, which is about $45 just to fill out the cage

Do you mean that you will need 3 twenty pound bags of aspen to fill one 2x4 cage? That seem like WAY too much! I buy large $11 bags of aspen and I can completely change my 2x4 about 3 times, with extra to do spot cleaning with. I buy my aspeen at tractor supply company.

[Pinkstiletto66]

Do you mean that you will need 3 twenty pound bags of aspen to fill one 2x4 cage? That seem like WAY too much! I buy large $11 bags of aspen and I can completely change my 2x4 about 3 times, with extra to do spot cleaning with. I buy my aspeen at tractor supply company.

One twenty pounnd bag barely covered the bottom. The top has nothing on it.

[bpatters]

I think we're talking about two different things here. Aspen bedding comes in both shavings and pellets. The pellets are more expensive and don't cover as much area, but I can't speak to how well they absorb or how often you have to change the cage with the.

I have a 16+ square foot cage, and 1 bale of aspen shavings will cover it completely with some left over. I don't know how many bags of pellets it would take, but more than one.

I do use pellets in my cage, but I use softwood pellets made for stoves or horses -- $5 or $8 for a 40 pound bag, respectively. One 40-pound bag covers the cage nicely.

[Pinkstiletto66]

I think we're talking about two different things here. Aspen bedding comes in both shavings and pellets. The pellets are more expensive and don't cover as much area, but I can't speak to how well they absorb or how often you have to change the cage with the.

I have a 16+ square foot cage, and 1 bale of aspen shavings will cover it completely with some left over. I don't know how many bags of pellets it would take, but more than one.

I do use pellets in my cage, but I use softwood pellets made for stoves or horses -- $5 or $8 for a 40 pound bag, respectively. One 40-pound bag covers the cage nicely.

I use pellets, not shavings. I do not have access to the bigger more affordable bags. I am in NYC, and I don't drive so I can't find a place locally, and shipping was about 30 to 40 dollars. After doing the math I wasn't saving.

[piggypuppylove]

Oh ok! I didn't even know they made Aspen pellets! Sorry!

[FuryanGoddess]

I have pine pellets and some aspen shavings... The savings stick to any kind of cloth and the pellets, like stated above, hardly cover. I've been using them in the "litter" pan, in hopes they will use it, but... I think that's just a dream.

I put down a blanket yesterday for the first time because we just finished the new cage. I like how it covered, but it was weird seeing the pee sit on top. I'm gonna look for some fleece baby blakets at the dollar store and see if I can get some of those that way I have a way to change it during washing. I'm new to the cloth bedding, but it looks neater, lets see how it holds back wetness and odor