Wood Pellets/Chips when do pellets need changing?

[tenar]

I have a C&C cage for 3 guineapigs with a 1x2 section for their kitchen. I'm experimenting with wood pellets with fleece on top in the kitchen.

I'm changing the fleece regularly, and the fleece catches most of the hay and poos. After 3 weeks, the pellets are now mostly expanded into crumble and the crumble seems slighly damp to me, but when I mix it around and leave it to dry I think it will be dry on top. It doesn't smell yet, other than of the wood.

When do you change your pellet bedding? The pellets are fairly expensive here (Australia), plus they create a heap of waste that I'm trying to avoid, so I'm trying to use as little as I reasonably can, but I don't want to compomise the health of the guineapigs.

 

[bpatters]

I left pellets in my 16 square-foot cage for 9-10 months, and could have gone much longer. But we had to move the cage upstairs, and it was too heavy to move with with all the pellets in it.

Just stir them occasionally so the wet spots can dry out. As long as they do dry, and there's no objectionable odor, they're fine.

 

[DCANB]

I've had mine in since July with no changing in sight. Granted, I have been spot cleaning a little bit. But that's mostly been me adjusting to my boys' poop habits and trying to figure out what works best. I keep a bin of 1 bag of wood pellets in the guinea pig room and simply replace a little each time. I only take out about one grocery bag's worth each week, if that. I have 3 boys in a 2x6 for reference.