New member

[mcarranza]

Hi guys,

I've been reading your forum for over a year and have just now decided to join . I have 5 guinea pigs (3 males and 2 females). Two of the males (nacho and max) live together and 1 male + 2 females live together in another cage. Both cages are 5 x 2 but I'm hoping once I move into my own space I can give them a bigger cage. I've been using bedding for years and would LOVE (can't stress that enough) to switch to fleece but everytime I try I find it is too much work maintaining the cage and after a few days I can't stand the smell. The bedding seems to last 7-8 days with spot checks. Also, the biggest problem I have is I don't have access to a washing machine. Does anyone hand wash their fleece? If so how messy is it and how do you control the smell in the cage? Any information would be very appreciated.

[Petlovr]

Aren't there any laundromats in your area? I guess you can hand wash, but any little hay pieces would probably stay on the fleece. If you do hand wash, let it soak in detergent/water for about 30 min, and then rinse, rinse twice with water/vinegar solution (about 1 cup vinegar to 5 gal water sounds about right) , then line dry. You can let the bedding soak for about 30 min in the vinegar rinse water, too, that should help any smells. Hope this helps. I thin khand washing fleece sounds like a hard job...

[CavyMama]

Is the male living with the two females, neutered?

As for the bedding question - what are you using underneath the fleece? It should not smell that quickly. If you have prepared the fleece properly, all the moisture should be wicked down to the absorbant layer and away from the surface.

[mcarranza]

There are laundromats but I'm afraid of getting animal hair and hay in the machines and messing up another person's laundry. I'd rather hand wash since it's only once a week. Thanks for the advice.

[mcarranza]

Yes the male is neutered. I only tried the fleece once and went back to bedding because of the smell. I pre washed the fleece 3 times with no fabric softener. I had towels underneath the fleece. I would spot check daily but in about 2-3 days I couldn't stand the smell. Maybe I'm just sensitive.

[CavyMama]

Maybe it was the towels. I used to use towels but wet towels might start to smell quicker than say, a u-haul pad or puppy pads. Maybe try one of those as your absorbant layer.