Fleece Digging underneath fleece? & Few questions!

[Paperpapillon]

I started out using Carefresh and then once I heard about fleece I tried a homemade version. Well shortly after I was pretty sold. I still switch back and forth because my fleece situation right now is pretty ghetto! Here's what I've currently been doing - 2 layers of old fleece blanket/old polar fleece sheets, puppy pads, and newspaper. It works, but with all the separate pieces he tries to burrow underneath, and I can't just sweet up the poop because the fleece bunches up and turns into a mess. As it is now, I have to put TAPE every few inches around the cage to hold it down so he doesn't flip it up and burrow underneath. He is a bulldozer and will push around anything in his cage that isn't heavy or anchored.

*So I've seen all the videos and posts about making your own, and let me say I absolutely cannot and will not make my own....I just can't. Busy and I prefer to have it made right and worry free for me! I'm looking to get some made on Etsy or one of the popular piggie bedding websites. Any recommendations are welcome, and also ideas of what NOT to get. Like should I get one with the Uhaul padding, or the Zorb padding, etc? It's going to have to be a custom size because he's in a NatGeo rabbit cage.

*Also how do I stop him from burrowing and staying under the padding? I imagine I can't really tape this down....UGH! Ideas? I can't be the only one with this problem!

Thank you so much for any info. I'm really glad I found out about the fleece craze! Here's the little mister, Vinni. And I'm including a few (embarrassing) pics of my home-made pads.

 

[Paperpapillon]

Oops sorry I have no idea how the last pic came as an attachment! Still a little confused with the pic uploading on here.

 

[Saylavi]

I make them on etsy as saylaviliners, you would need your cage size in inches because I don't know anyone who makes liners for that cage standard.

what you can do to try and stop the burrowing is either (a) weigh down the edges, (b) ask for your custom liners to have 3inch edges and loops to clip to the cage or (c) for your layer situation atm fold the fleece around the other layers so your piggy will have a tougher time trying to paw the edge up

 

[pigger123]

Digging underneath fleece? & Few questions!

Before you invest in expensive custom cage liners, I would look into getting a larger cage. That one is less than 6 square feet, and even a single piggy does best in at least 8 square feet.

For that cage, is there a way you can use a larger piece of fleece to make it go up over the sides of the plastic base? That way he couldn't get to the edges to burrow under. I don't know if you would still be able to connect the wire top then, but it's worth a try.

 

[Legume Family]

he's in a NatGeo rabbit cage.

Please get your guinea pig a bigger cage. I use the National Geographic cages for travel cages and sick quarantine, but that is no permanent home for a guinea pig.

 

[Paperpapillon]

what you can do to try and stop the burrowing is either (a) weigh down the edges, (b) ask for your custom liners to have 3inch edges and loops to clip to the cage or (c) for your layer situation atm fold the fleece around the other layers so your piggy will have a tougher time trying to paw the edge up

Thanks so much for the ideas! I checked out your Etsy store and will probably be ordering from you soon. I saw your don't use any kind of absorbent padding though, does the cotton batting absorb the urine enough? I assume it does since you have such great reviews. I appreciate your response!

 

[Saylavi]

The cotton batting is the absorbent layer, it's a little thinner but works about as well as uhaul

 

[Paperpapillon]

Re: Digging underneath fleece? & Few questions!

Before you invest in expensive custom cage liners, I would look into getting a larger cage. That one is less than 6 square feet, and even a single piggy does best in at least 8 square feet.

For that cage, is there a way you can use a larger piece of fleece to make it go up over the sides of the plastic base? That way he couldn't get to the edges to burrow under. I don't know if you would still be able to connect the wire top then, but it's worth a try.

Sigh....yes I know the cage isn't ideal. I'm well aware.....I've done my research and and I'm no dummy.....I'm a vet tech and I can't tell you all the things I see every day that upset me. I could probably find things about everyone's dog/cat care on here that irk me to the moon. But plain and simple the cage is the biggest I can have at this time for multiple reasons. He gets the best food, care, and everything possible. He has his very own huge dog ex-pen that he runs around in for hours each day. He's not neglected or a poor sad pig. Yes I know he should be with another pig, yes I know everyone hates ANY kind of cage unless it's the C&C cages. Sorry, that isn't my question right now :-\

Anyway....I appreciate your idea for a larger fleece pad. I suppose I could just get it bigger and have it cover the sides, up to where the wire connects to the base. That's a good idea I'll have to consider. Thank you

 

[Paperpapillon]

Please get your guinea pig a bigger cage. I use the National Geographic cages for travel cages and sick quarantine, but that is no permanent home for a guinea pig.

SIGH....please see my comment to the other person who said something similar. If it's not answering my question, I really don't think it should be brought up on my thread. I really wasn't looking for another "get another cage" comment. This thread was about the fleece. If you want to get technical it's a 6.6 sq foot cage which is 1/2 sq foot less than the recommended 7. I can't imagine using a 40 x 22 x 17" cage as a "travel cage" so you must be talking about the smaller guinea pig or rat cages they make. Anyway, thanks for your concern.

 

[PotterThePiggie]

SIGH....please see my comment to the other person who said something similar. If it's not answering my question, I really don't think it should be brought up on my thread. I really wasn't looking for another "get another cage" comment. This thread was about the fleece. If you want to get technical it's a 6.6 sq foot cage which is 1/2 sq foot less than the recommended 7. I can't imagine using a 40 x 22 x 17" cage as a "travel cage" so you must be talking about the smaller guinea pig or rat cages they make. Anyway, thanks for your concern.

Technically with the hidey house, food bowl, etc in there he has much less room to run around than 6.6 sq ft. As a veterinary technician you should know the negative affects having inadequate room would cause a GP. Even with the time spent in the dog pen he's not able to run around on his own accord. When he needs/wants to. They don't understand that is the time for them to run around or not.

As for the fleece problem you can attach it to the sides with clips (much easier to do if it were a different cage situation) and the fleece pads made are usually heavy enough where they don't burrow under. Maybe a nice cozy sack for him to burrow into would help to satisfy that need for him.


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[Paperpapillon]

Technically with the hidey house, food bowl, etc in there he has much less room to run around than 6.6 sq ft. As a veterinary technician you should know the negative affects having inadequate room would cause a GP. Even with the time spent in the dog pen he's not able to run around on his own accord. When he needs/wants to. They don't understand that is the time for them to run around or not.

As for the fleece problem you can attach it to the sides with clips (much easier to do if it were a different cage situation) and the fleece pads made are usually heavy enough where they don't burrow under. Maybe a nice cozy sack for him to burrow into would help to satisfy that need for him.


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Oh good lord....you do know people tend to listen to advice if it's not given in a condescending manner, don't you? Really, you guys scare away SO many people who could benefit from learning great things from this forum. I thought this was a "non judgemental group" that people could ask questions (and be answered in a relevant way). I'm very disappointed so far. I will thank you for your little bit of "friendly" advice above, because that's all I asked for.

My GP is not suffering in the least, I assure you. It's honestly NONE of your business; it has nothing to do with the question I asked. I'll be sure to carefully inspect every photo before posting it on this website because it'll be picked apart and critiqued by some online experts. It saddens me that instead of looking how loved the pet in question is, you just come down on the person like they've committed a cardinal sin by not doing one thing right. I TOTALLY understand your frustration with people not listening to basic care advice, I do. I deal with that every single day. But seriously that post sent me over the edge. FYI, not that you care, but those pictures were from a month ago when he was brand new, when I was experimenting with different things for his cage. It's totally re-vamped now thanks to a $65 order from Dr Fosters & Smith for some needed updates after some research

For the record, if you really think my poor neglected/abused/deprived GP is suffering so badly, whatever you do, DON'T google anything about guinea pig cages or ask the regular Joe-Blow what his GP basic care is like. I think you might self destruct from the inhumanity of it all. And I'm not being sarcastic....it's pathetic how a lot of small animals are treated. Mine is nothing close to that. The situation he came from was a 10" by 16" plexiglass section of cage, with nasty pellets and no other form of food. Now that's something to complain about. If I've learned anything in my life and working with people, it's that you absolutely cannot judge someone without knowing their situation. It's not your right to judge someone, period. And that you catch more flies with honey.

So I guess what I'd like you to take away from this is that the way you seem to attack others and talk to them like they're morons and don't know anything, it's really not helping the GP in the least bit. It probably makes people spiteful if anything to not want to listen to your advice, no matter how correct it is. I urge you to take some lessons in nicely educating the public because you won't get too far with your method.

::stepping down from my soapbox to go cuddle my poor Vinni::

 

[CavyMama]

@Paperpapillon - no one has been condescending or judgmental toward you. People here are passionate about pigs and want the best for everyone's pigs and their responses reflect that. They really are trying to be helpful. So take a breath....exhale and think about how people might simply be trying to help. Once you've taken some time, look back over the responses you posted and see if maybe there was a bit of an overreaction to what was said. People are coming from a variety of different experiences and are all aiming for the same goal - good quality care for guinea pigs.

 

[Simpsonspiggie8]

you could put velcro on the edges of your fleece and the bottom of your cage! or you can get a liner that has sides that go over the base and even drape over the outside those work great for pigs who burrow/dig a lot ! i used to have one of those type liners from piggy bedspreads.com

 

[Legume Family]

SIGH....please see my comment to the other person who said something similar. If it's not answering my question, I really don't think it should be brought up on my thread. I really wasn't looking for another "get another cage" comment. This thread was about the fleece. If you want to get technical it's a 6.6 sq foot cage which is 1/2 sq foot less than the recommended 7. I can't imagine using a 40 x 22 x 17" cage as a "travel cage" so you must be talking about the smaller guinea pig or rat cages they make. Anyway, thanks for your concern.

I apologize if my comment offended, it was not intended to. I was simply urging you to reconsider your cage—doesn’t have to be right away,your pig looks quite young and small, just a general encouragement. I had the rabbit and guinea pig cages from NatGeo and connected them for a while to house my Peanut when he had been a single pig, but it was barely enough room for him (he was almost three pounds). They make excellent travel cages for 1-2 pigs (once you decide to upgrade).

I don’t mean this offensively, either, but this is a forum to spread ideas about proper guinea pig care; moreover, as it is a discussion forum, responses will not always be on topic. Also, not all vet techs are as knowledgeable as you (nor are full-fledged vets), so please consider other people’s responses despite our lack of formal training.

Off topic: your piggie is very adorable and reminds me of my first (Oreo). He looks like he gets a lot of your love.

 

[PotterThePiggie]

Oh good lord....you do know people tend to listen to advice if it's not given in a condescending manner, don't you? Really, you guys scare away SO many people who could benefit from learning great things from this forum. I thought this was a "non judgemental group" that people could ask questions (and be answered in a relevant way). I'm very disappointed so far. I will thank you for your little bit of "friendly" advice above, because that's all I asked for.

My GP is not suffering in the least, I assure you. It's honestly NONE of your business; it has nothing to do with the question I asked. I'll be sure to carefully inspect every photo before posting it on this website because it'll be picked apart and critiqued by some online experts. It saddens me that instead of looking how loved the pet in question is, you just come down on the person like they've committed a cardinal sin by not doing one thing right. I TOTALLY understand your frustration with people not listening to basic care advice, I do. I deal with that every single day. But seriously that post sent me over the edge. FYI, not that you care, but those pictures were from a month ago when he was brand new, when I was experimenting with different things for his cage. It's totally re-vamped now thanks to a $65 order from Dr Fosters & Smith for some needed updates after some research

For the record, if you really think my poor neglected/abused/deprived GP is suffering so badly, whatever you do, DON'T google anything about guinea pig cages or ask the regular Joe-Blow what his GP basic care is like. I think you might self destruct from the inhumanity of it all. And I'm not being sarcastic....it's pathetic how a lot of small animals are treated. Mine is nothing close to that. The situation he came from was a 10" by 16" plexiglass section of cage, with nasty pellets and no other form of food. Now that's something to complain about. If I've learned anything in my life and working with people, it's that you absolutely cannot judge someone without knowing their situation. It's not your right to judge someone, period. And that you catch more flies with honey.

So I guess what I'd like you to take away from this is that the way you seem to attack others and talk to them like they're morons and don't know anything, it's really not helping the GP in the least bit. It probably makes people spiteful if anything to not want to listen to your advice, no matter how correct it is. I urge you to take some lessons in nicely educating the public because you won't get too far with your method.

::stepping down from my soapbox to go cuddle my poor Vinni::

I don't think anything I said was unkind but if you took offense I do apologize. We all care about piggies and having a proper cage is one of the most basic care essentials so it's something many on this forum are passionate about. If you look at many of the responses they relate to cage size. And if you post on the forum publicly you do make it our business. If you don't appreciate our responses then take no mind to them. Just pull the information you want from them. I never intended to say your piggie was ill treated in the slightest. I know he is well loved or you would not be here and so passionate in your own responses. And for $65 you could have put together a great cage with plenty of room


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[Paperpapillon]

And for $65 you could have put together a great cage with plenty of room

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Alright, seriously...I was going to just let it go because I have enough on my plate, and some people just don't get how to word things better, but that last sentence was really unneeded. Even though again its none of your business, I cannot have a C&C cage or anything else at this point in time, so no my $65 could not have put together another cage. If you want my Malinois, 3 other dogs and cat to kill my pig within 20 seconds of being in a C&C cage, then continue to push that down my throat. This was stuff that I *needed* to better his life, add some really nice fun things, different treats and foods. So if you want me to post my whole breakdown of what I spent my $65 on, just let me know.

Honestly I am FAR from argumentative but I got a really, really bad taste in my mouth from everyone jumping in and doing what *I* felt like attacking me. I KNOW my cage is not ideal. I said that in my very first post, I listed the cardinal sins of GP ownership that I committed in the short time of me owning him. I'm sorry if me feeling attacked is wrong on this group, but I just think it's really wrong how everyone approached me about it. It had nothing to do with my question. And picking apart every other post I make isn't ok either. I wish the admins would stand up for someone being picked on, I feel really outcasted and really upset.

 

[Paperpapillon]

I apologize if my comment offended, it was not intended to. I was simply urging you to reconsider your cage—doesn’t have to be right away,your pig looks quite young and small, just a general encouragement. I had the rabbit and guinea pig cages from NatGeo and connected them for a while to house my Peanut when he had been a single pig, but it was barely enough room for him (he was almost three pounds). They make excellent travel cages for 1-2 pigs (once you decide to upgrade).

I don’t mean this offensively, either, but this is a forum to spread ideas about proper guinea pig care; moreover, as it is a discussion forum, responses will not always be on topic. Also, not all vet techs are as knowledgeable as you (nor are full-fledged vets), so please consider other people’s responses despite our lack of formal training.

Off topic: your piggie is very adorable and reminds me of my first (Oreo). He looks like he gets a lot of your love.

Thank you, I get where you're coming from and I sincerely appreciate your post. No hard feelings

 

[CavyMama]

Something else to consider - C&C cages. They are not expensive to build. A box of grids costs around $18. If you can't find coroplast, you can use a shower curtain and use loose bedding like Carefresh or solid bedding like fleece clipped to the grids. Another great thing about C&C cages is that they are super customizable. You can create as large of a cage as you want and you can reconfigure it as many times and in as many ways as your space will allow. With more space, any odor will be less and your pig will get to exercise on their own time (running laps is their favorite!).

As for your other pets and your concern that they will get into the cage, there are many options for a lid on the cage. I have two cats. I used heavy wire shelving as my lid and my cats never got to my pigs.

 

[Paperpapillon]

@Paperpapillon - no one has been condescending or judgmental toward you. People here are passionate about pigs and want the best for everyone's pigs and their responses reflect that. They really are trying to be helpful. So take a breath....exhale and think about how people might simply be trying to help. Once you've taken some time, look back over the responses you posted and see if maybe there was a bit of an overreaction to what was said. People are coming from a variety of different experiences and are all aiming for the same goal - good quality care for guinea pigs.

I appreciate you looking into this, but no I don't see any overreaction on my part. I do see someone being very rude, sarcastic, and condescending to me. I wanted an admin to stick up for me feeling like I was being picked on. The others weren't as bad, I understand you see a lot of really NOT bright people that treat their pigs like pet rocks. I'm not one of them.....I thought that would be apparent. I'm really disappointed right now. I searched for a nice group for weeks before I found one I wanted to join. A group is only as strong as it's admins...and I hope you won't let me down in telling me *I'm*the wrong one here.

 

[PotterThePiggie]

Alright, seriously...I was going to just let it go because I have enough on my plate, and some people just don't get how to word things better, but that last sentence was really unneeded. Even though again its none of your business, I cannot have a C&C cage or anything else at this point in time, so no my $65 could not have put together another cage. If you want my Malinois, 3 other dogs and cat to kill my pig within 20 seconds of being in a C&C cage, then continue to push that down my throat. This was stuff that I *needed* to better his life, add some really nice fun things, different treats and foods. So if you want me to post my whole breakdown of what I spent my $65 on, just let me know.

Honestly I am FAR from argumentative but I got a really, really bad taste in my mouth from everyone jumping in and doing what *I* felt like attacking me. I KNOW my cage is not ideal. I said that in my very first post, I listed the cardinal sins of GP ownership that I committed in the short time of me owning him. I'm sorry if me feeling attacked is wrong on this group, but I just think it's really wrong how everyone approached me about it. It had nothing to do with my question. And picking apart every other post I make isn't ok either. I wish the admins would stand up for someone being picked on, I feel really outcasted and really upset.

I know that's never a nice way to feel and I apologize in making you feel that way. Many C&C cages can be made to cover the top. I have 2 dogs myself and understand how that is. None the less I'm not trying to make you feel like I'm still arguing or anything, I just wanted to mention that. Have a wonderful day with your furry loves.


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