Cage How much bedding?

Hm, seems like an interesting idea.

How often does the fleece need to be washed vs. How often bedding would need to be changed?

I have an old fleece blanket that I never use and could easily cut or fold to fit the bottom...

I've heard that with litter training some people put newspapers int eh cages to condition them to go on newspapers and then go back to regular bedding while having a litter pan with newspapers. Do you think that could work with using bedding for the first month or two, and then changing to fleece with a litter pan of bedding to train them that way so the fleece wouldn't have to be washed as often?

Sorry for all the questions. This will be my first piggy

I second the fleece and towels idea!
It costs a lot to keep buying bedding for a C&C because they are big.
The fleece works great for me!
I sweep poops up once or twice daily and I change the fleece and towels every five days.

Fleece is great! But if you really want loose bedding, get a few bags. You will go through it very quickly. Make sure you get something safe like carefresh, aspen, or yesterday's news. Corn cob, cedar, and pine that isn't kiln-dried are all harmful.

Are you only getting one pig? Guinea pigs are social animals and need to be kept in pairs. They do not do well alone.

I agree with everyone, fleece is the best choice. It is a lot easier to manage and clean. It also is a lot cheaper than having to buy bags and bags of regular bedding.

I started with aspen bedding before switching to fleece, and it took about 3/4 of the largest bag they had at the store to fill the whole cage. Unfortunately I don't recall how big exactly the bag was, but I checked the store's website and it was probably a 4 cubic foot bag, which is 113 litres, according to the packaging. When I found I didn't have enough in that giant bag to last me two weeks, I spent the money I would have spent on a new bag of aspen on enough fleece and towels to last me... well, until I expanded my cage and had to get bigger fleece.

=D My parents surprised me and lent me the money to get my pig today instead of waiting 2 weeks until i got paid

I got a giant bag of aspen bedding, and it took less than half of it to fill the cage- it expanded a lot. I think eventually I'll switch to fleece but for now I'll stick with the bedding- get him used to doing his business on the bedding and hopefully that will help for future litter training.

He's so cute

Llamasomething said:

How often does the fleece need to be washed vs. How often bedding would need to be changed?

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Fleece needs to be spot cleaned daily and changed every 4-7 days depending on your pig(s) and the size of your cage. If you have more than one set, which most of us do, then you can wash it either after you change it or save up and wash more than one set.

Llamasomething said:

=D My parents surprised me and lent me the money to get my pig today instead of waiting 2 weeks until i got paid

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The money? Are you buying your pig? Please adopt instead. You'll be saving a life.

CavyMama said:

The money? Are you buying your pig? Please adopt instead. You'll be saving a life.

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I know, I hadn't seen the information on adopting a guinea pig before I got him. I had no idea shelters carried guinea pigs D: When I get him a playmate I will definitely adopt if there are any in shelters near me.

CavyMama said:

The money? Are you buying your pig? Please adopt instead. You'll be saving a life.

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Sadly, I wasn't educated about adoptions when I went to buy my piggy. When I get him a friend, I will definitely adopt. I've found a small animal rescue shelter not too far from my town.

You need to take your new pig to a cavy vet for check up. Odds are you have a missexed and sick pig.

Llamasomething said:

Sadly, I wasn't educated about adoptions when I went to buy my piggy. When I get him a friend, I will definitely adopt. I've found a small animal rescue shelter not too far from my town.

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On your post (which was 2/14) you said you got the money to get the pig "today" (as in 2 days ago...or 1 day before I posted). So in 1 day you've "seen the light"??

CavyMama said:

On your post (which was 2/14) you said you got the money to get the pig "today" (as in 2 days ago...or 1 day before I posted). So in 1 day you've "seen the light"??

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Take it easy Cavy Moma, while i don't support purchasing pigs from a pet store, it is how I came to get my first 2 and unlike the post here state. My pigs were sexed correctly and did not have mites/fleas/lice or etc (I got Lucky , I know). Knowing better later I adopted 2 more. As long as llamasomething understands the error in his/her ways I am sure he will adopt in the future!

We are not the worlds Cavy Adoption Policing Agency (wish we were, so we could bring breeders and pet stores to task). That being said however, We can spread the word without being or sounding accusatory. We should be mindful of the tones of our posts. I know when I found out I was very upset and wished I would have discovered this site earlier. As long as we continue to educate the people the error of their ways is the best we can hope for.

CavyMama said:

On your post (which was 2/14) you said you got the money to get the pig "today" (as in 2 days ago...or 1 day before I posted). So in 1 day you've "seen the light"??

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I have. I never really browsed this site too much before yesterday, and didn't hop around to all of the forums and pages.

I discovered the adoptions forum and petfider.com yesterday, where I searched for my area, and found the local shelter I just spoke about.

I didn't know about this beforehand, I had never heard of a small animal shelter, I didn't know some SPCAs held Guiena pigs, I didn't know about breeders.

Yesterday I also learned that the food I had bought that day was crap, and found the proper nutrition chart, I found out a lot of things yesterday that I did have misconceptions about when I bought Stanley.

I assure you I did not buy from a pet store knowing that I was supporting breeders, I do have a heart.

I have looked through the guinea pig selection of that shelter and there seems to be a huge selection of little piggies there that I will coax my parents into letting me choose from when it's time for Stanley to have a friend.

rabbitsncavyluv said:

You need to take your new pig to a cavy vet for check up. Odds are you have a missexed and sick pig.

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Are vet checkups costly? I am literally over $100 in debt right now and I can't afford anything else.

The pet store never actually told em the sex of the pig, so before I get a second one I was planning on finding someone to sex (Him?) for me.

As for him being sick I have read up on all of the symptoms for common guiena pig illnesses, and he doesn't sneeze constantly, his eyes are fine, nose is fine, no wheezing form what i can see, his poops seem fine, he doesn't scratch a lot, he's very active, very social, his coat is the softest i've ever felt on a guiena pig...

If any symptoms come up i will take him to a vet, but he seems to be in perfectly good shape for now. Maybe I was one of the "Lucky" ones who got someone healthy. He wasn't in the store for very long because I have been going into the store and looking at their selection of pigs for a long time.

To bring my two pigs for a check up its 87 euro.

For me(just a check-up no medication or anything) per pig, is $60 canadian(I see you are from B.C).