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Fleece 3rd attempt at fleece.. Failing again... Someone tell me what I'm doing wrong please

6piggies

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You're welcome!!! I always come back to these forums for help it has so many wonderful guinea pig owners with an endless supply of knowledge and I always try to help others with previous problems I've encountered. Granted I kinda fail at the housing aspect of owning pigs..I'm learning. I know quite a bit about health and behavioral issues though
 

bpatters

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@BarBGirl1999, you'll have to check the odor of those pine pellets. Get them to stick a hole in the bag and let you sniff them. If they smell strongly of pine, they won't do.


@wombats, the sawdust isn't a problem. The top of mine turns to sawdust really quickly, but I just stir it in when I change the cage. The sawdust really makes it easier, because you can just sweep the poop and hay off of it.
 

wombats

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Ah, I see! Fantastic! But how long should it last? Does it last as long as it would with fleece on top, or not? I would imagine not, but honestly I'm not sure.
 

BarBGirl1999

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@BarBGirl1999, you'll have to check the odor of those pine pellets. Get them to stick a hole in the bag and let you sniff them. If they smell strongly of pine, they won't do.

Good to know, thanks. I'll be sure to double check.
 

bpatters

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Pellets last so long it doesn't matter whether they have fleece on top or not. But as a matter of fact, they last just as long with or without. All the fleece does is keep the poop from falling down between the pellets before the pellets have turned to sawdust, and it helps get the poop and hay out of the cage.
 

wombats

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Wonderful! Well that saves me over a month of back-breaking which is great. This is one of those situations where I'm really glad I mentioned it and that I'm wrong--it saves me a lot of trouble.
 
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AnnikasMommy

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I typically get my bedding pellets from Tractor Supply. There are times they do smell a little strong but I just pour them into a large plastic container and let them air out a few days before I do a change out. My lower portion is incontinence pads and fleece. I think when I'm off my on call week I'm going to revamp their cage again so I can start using pellets again in the lower portion as well as the kitchen.
 

pinky

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That's a very good system you have there...like a hybrid fleece-bedding combo. Is fresh news a good bedding, though? I am not allowed to use fleece and while I love the pellets, changing them out every two weeks is killing my back because they're so heavy. If I had fleece it would be every couple months and I could deal with that, but 40 lbs is very heavy for my noodle arms and I'm trying to consider other options.

One thing I love about these discussions is just how many systems and opinions people have on bedding. Recently, a lot of people--including myself--have turned to wood pellets or the fleece/wood pellet combo, but that doesn't mean the ol' uhual lining and fleece suddenly stopped working, or that plain disposable bedding doesn't exist. It's kind of interesting to look at the crazy (yet ingenius) ideas people have come up with for this kind of thing, and how many options there are.
Fresh News is an unscented paper pellet. It's basically the same thing as Fresh News for small pets but the pellets are larger and it's a lot less expensive. The pellets don't stick to the fleece so it's easy to clean the cages and, since I'm only using them in a little more than 1/3 of each cage, it's not heavy. I line that area with brown paper bags so I can lift the soiled bedding out out very easily. I buy it at Pet Supplies Plus and it's usually about $10 to $12 for a 40 lb bag. Every few weeks they have coupons for $5 off $30 so it's even less.
 

savannahsatchel

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I put fleece over the top of mine (I'm currently trying suede) because it makes it so much easier to dump the poop and the hay. There's never any odor at all.

How are you liking the suede, bpatters?
 

bpatters

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I really like it. It has awful colors and patterns, but I can live with that for the convenience. I still have some pieces that will wick and some that won't, and can't figure out the difference.
 

CavyChrissy

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I really like it. It has awful colors and patterns, but I can live with that for the convenience. I still have some pieces that will wick and some that won't, and can't figure out the difference.

It's probably the ugliest patterns that wick!!! LOL!!!
 

savannahsatchel

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I really like it. It has awful colors and patterns, but I can live with that for the convenience. I still have some pieces that will wick and some that won't, and can't figure out the difference.
Awh :( well I hope you get it figured out! I think you've convinced me to at least give it a shot :)
 
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