General wood pellets for potty?

[Kiwi_girl]

Hello, currently we use kaytee paper shavings for our guinea pigs potties but as we now have 5 pigs instead of 2 it's going to be very expensive. When we got our 3 new pigs from the spca they were all using wood pellets in their potties and they told us how inexpensive they are. We also have 1 Peruvian guinea pig and she drags the paper shavings alllll over the cage. So with them being cheaper and less messy I'm thinking they might be a great option. The one concern I have is whether or not the pigs will try to eat the wood pellets. This would be very bad as when they get wet they expand and that could hurt the pigs stomachs. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with these and would be able to tell me if they are a safe option or not. Thanks!

 

[Qwertage]

I'm not sure about wood pellets. I have used fleece with puppy pads under. I sweep the cage 2 times a day morning and night, and I change the fleece and pads 2 times maybe 3 a week. I'm not sure if they will eat the wood pellets, it might not smell appetizing to them. They might want to chew on it?

 

[Kiwi_girl]

We do that too with the fleece for the rest of the cage but we have made a specific potty area with their hay and whatnot in an effort to get them to localize where they pee and poop. It was very effective at keeping the mess down until our little Peruvian came along lol.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Covering the wood pellets with the fleece, from what I understand is the best way to go.

 

[bpatters]

I used wood pellets for years. A couple of my pigs sampled them, but one nibble was enough. And I know plenty of people who use wood pellets who've never had a problem with a pig trying to eat them.