Wood Pellets/Chips Wood stove pellet and kitchen

[Piglet333]

I just ordered my first C&C cage and got some fun accessories like a kitchen. I am aboutto order all the fleece liners but now am co sidering wood pellets. Do i need a kitchen with wood pellets? I was going to do the fleece on top so i can get the poops out easy but I am unsure if a kitchen is necessary, my pigs pee now by their hay and we are using bedding. Thanks

 

[thistlewriter]

I've seen other people use litterboxes or the bottoms of store-bought cages as kitchens. I myself will be using a cat litterbox. My guinea pig rescue uses wood pellets, so I'm also going to use those as well. I've heard wood pellets are great for odor control.

 

[spy9doc]

I use a litter pan for my boys with a layer of litter topped by a layer of hay. When they were very young, I used a disposable litter pan with a doorway in it for easy access (pic below). That type of pan eventually becomes soiled and must be disposed of. They soon graduated to what is sold as a "kitten litter pan" (pic below) and had absolutely no difficulty hopping into/out of it. They love being able to do two things at once in the litter and hay. The small pan can be found at some pet stores, and one can order the plastic one online (I can provide a link)

The only problem with this setup is that Sparky absolutely adores sleeping in the litter pan! He is a Dalmatian and with a white belly & bum, he tends to stain both. We have to clean out the poops and soiled hay throughout the day along with the wet litter so that he doesn't become too dirty. He monopolizes the litter box so much that his brother doesn't have the same opportunity even though there is an additional litter box in the loft. When I put fresh hay in the box, Chip makes a beeline for the box and dives in before Sparky can take it over.

Keep in mind that based on my experience, cavies just won't use one of those corner litter pans! The pan needs to be of a size that an adult cavy has room to stretch out if desired. This arrangement also keeps any hay mess relatively confined to the area. It sounds as though this arrangement would work for your cavies as well.