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Fleece Pee pads instead of litter box?

bluebird15

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Hi! We are relatively new guinea pig owners. We've had ours for a little over 6 months. We were wondering if you HAVE to use a litter box! Our pigs just don't like to use it! While googling stuff, I've come across lots of guinea pig pee pads. Are these to put in the corners of the cage to "catch" their pee and poop instead of using a litter box?
 

bpatters

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I don't recommend pee pads. They have an attractant added to them -- an odor that encourages pups to use them. But the pups use them and then go away, while the guinea pigs are on them all the time, with their noses close to the source of the odor.

You don't need a little box per se. If you provide a private corner, the pigs will probably use it. You can clean that area daily, or make fleece pads to go in those corners that can be changed daily.
 

lissie

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I've come across lots of guinea pig pee pads. Are these to put in the corners of the cage to "catch" their pee and poop instead of using a litter box?

Do you mean the washable ones? If so, they are useful to use in sleeping corners. I find that using smaller fleece pads that can be swapped out everyday helps keep the main cage fleece stay clean longer.

I still like to use litter box. Because hay sticks to fleece, so I prefer disposable bedding in the hay area.
 

bluebird15

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Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant homemade fleece pads. I thought if I took some old towels and topped them with fleece and put them in all the corners, it might work to replace an actual litter box.
 

bluebird15

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Curious to know what you use for disposable bedding in the hay area? We try to be as eco-conscious as possible as a family...
 

spy9doc

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I don't recommend pee pads. They have an attractant added to them -- an odor that encourages pups to use them. But the pups use them and then go away, while the guinea pigs are on them all the time, with their noses close to the source of the odor.

There is another issue with using the disposable "pee pads"........and one of concern. That same attractant that is put into the pads to lure puppies to them also seems to lure cavies.......and your piggies will chew on the plastic and swallow it. Now the stage is set for intestinal obstruction.

As an example, I had a female who had pea eye and poor vision. But, those beady little eyes could spot that blue plastic and dig it out no matter where it was. I've had problems with my current boys doing the same. I needed a bit of extra absorbency under my liners and tried to hide the puppy pads. One of the boys would root under the liner until he found the pad and pull on it with his teeth until he could easily access it and chew to his heart's content. I finally had to totally stop using the pads for obvious reasons.

Some cavies will use a litter box and some won't. I use a plastic kitten litter box with a layer of SoPhresh crumbled paper litter (from Petco) and then a layer of hay over that. My boys love their litter box SO much that they sleep in it about half the time. They love being able to do two things at once.......munch on hay and pee/poop. Of course that means that one has to be extra diligent about tidying the box, but my Sparky loves the box so much that I can't bear to take it away from him even though he needs frequent butt baths to keep him clean.

If you do decide to experiment with a litter box, don't get one of those useless little corner style boxes. The box needs to be large enough for an adult cavy to stretch out in. Don't worry about how they will get in/out of it. Mine have been just jumping over the sides since they were quite small.

EDIT: You and I were posting at the same time. We too try to be eco-conscious whenever possible. I have tried all types of litter and seem to always return to Petco's So Phresh. It is superb at controlling odor and quite reasonably priced for a large bag.
 

bluebird15

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Thank you! No, we are not using those disposable puppy pads. I cloth diapered my babies and I have all sorts of supplies left over from those days that we've been using in the guinea pigs' cage. The litter box we were trying to use was a large, clear, plastic box we bought at Home Depot. It's like a double wide shoe box. The sides were quite high but we cut out one of the sides so they could easily hop in and out.

Alright, perhaps I won't give up just yet on the litter box issue....
 

lissie

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Since you know cloth diapers, you must know Alova suede cloth. Those are quite good with hay. Hay sticks to them less than fleece. You can try them in the litter box.

I like paper or wood pellets in the litter box. Since I live in a townhome and can't compost, I post free ads on Craigslist for people who want the used litter for compost.
 

spy9doc

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Below is the litter box(s) that I use. It appears large, but I can look over at my cage and see that my bigger boy needs every bit of that room to be comfortable in the box. They are generally advertised as "kitten litter pans". Once in a while you can find them at WalMart, but I gave up and just ordered them online. Again, no need to cut a hole in the side. If your cavies are quite young, just use a bendable wooden bridge or other ramp until they can jump in/out of the box.

With regard to Lissie's post, I recycle used hay, poops, litter and all and put it in my neighbor's garden.

Kitten litter pan.jpg
 
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wheekermommy

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Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant homemade fleece pads. I thought if I took some old towels and topped them with fleece and put them in all the corners, it might work to replace an actual litter box.

Hello so for my three guinea pigs I have two, 1x2 hay areas. Both of them I use 1x2 fleece liners, sometimes topped with 10x10 fleece potty pads. All bought from etsy with 2 layers of uhaul fabric in them. I just pile my hay on top.

Once a day I sweep off the poops and old hay and then flip over or replace with a new one depending on how urine soaked it is. I still have a coroplast kitchen but I use the fleece instead of disposal bedding inside it. This works for me, and my piggies seem happy with the arrangement.

I have just used fleece without the coroplast kitchen, but found cleaning a bit more difficult since all they hay wasn't contained. I do give my guinea pigs a giant pile of hay so that could have something to do with it.

Oh and not sure if you already do, but if you partially cover their litter box/hay area they probably will be more likely to use it.
 
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