Fleece Is fleece bad??

[guineapiglove12]

I went to the bvet today and he asked me what type of bedding i used, so told him i used aspen , but planned on using fleece. Well, he then said that fleece is definety not recommened because if he chewed onit, it could cause impact. Which I believe means he cant go to the bathroom. Is this true??? My mom was'nt sure about it at first and now she is pretty much all against it!! I dont know what to tell her and i thought it was okay. What do I do???

lol Actually fleece is expensive at first but is much better than bedding!
I'll tell you why, you can wash all the poo off and it is much more cozy and clean when your guinea pig popcorns! Here is the answer to your question. No it is not true, many of the best guinea pigs were raised using fleece, and no impact! So maybe that guy just wants to scare you or that's just his oppinion! (Or he is a liar:liar Hihe! I don't have a guinea pig but I know a lot about them! There is a big thing on fleece and bedding these days and fleece is winning!
And never get....offtopicOoops!

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I really doubt the vet is a liar or is doing it to scare her. A lot of vets just aren't up to date on the latest in care trends.

Someone made mention earlier of rats and fleece. Rats are more prone to be chewers than pigs. Rats tend to chew about anything they want to pieces. My gang were always that way. I had to buy new rat stuff every few months because they'd chew it all to pieces. There was one hammock that I've had for the longest time that I had made, I guess the boys liked that one because they didn't chew it up. I still have the hammock but the boys have all passed on.

 

[cherrytop108]

Thanks everybody!!! I think i'll try it, but first i have to convince my mom. Since the vet said it's bad she dosent think people on here know what they're tlking about.

 

[Katie_Kutthroat]

My pigs love the fleece and I have never seen them chew on it, and they chew on pretty much everything. I got mine for a buck at a goodwill with a bunch of towels for 50 cents each. It is so much easier to clean every day than the shavings, and I saved a ton of money on not have to buy it twice a weeks. My male used to chew on the wood shavings so I had to switch him to care fresh which he didn't chew on at all for some reason but it was sooooo expensive. And I think that it cuts back on smell because it's easier to clean up all the poop and as for the urine if it gets funky I just toss it in the wash about once or twice a week. Try it out and see if he does any nibbling. He might chew on it to see what it is, but that should be pretty much it.

 

[Kipsie]

Well, i'd just call the vet again, redirect him to the guinea-pig cages home site, and take him to the page with the reviews. Many of those have fleece reviews, as well.

 

[cherrytop108]

Thankk-you thank-you thank-you!=]

 

[Katie_Kutthroat]

My mom thought I was so odd when I told her I wanted to put fleece in the cages. She was convinced it would smell like a barn and it was nasty that I wanted to put something animals defecated on in our washing machine. She was not a huge fan until I bought the stuff anyways and saw for herself how much better it was.

 

[cherrytop108]

That's exactly what my mom said!!! I'll try it. She's sort of convinced but she still doesnt think it'll work.=(

 

[Kipsie]

We live in an apartment and my mom let me wash the guinea-pig bedding in the owner's washing machines only if I snuck out late at night and did it when no one (especially the manager) was watching. I always sneak to the other side of the apartment building where not many people wash at around 10pm on like, a sunday. No one see's me heaving a ton of stinky bedding, and no one smells it while i'm out there. It works like a charm.

 

[meaakn33]

You should give it a try, I prob spent $15.00 on my 1st try at fleece. I got towels on sale at walmart, and fleece for 5 bucks at kmart. Since summer is around the corner fleece blankets will be clearancing out! Im not sure exactly on the type of fleece but the what I got works awesome. I did wash/dry 5 times in a row before I used them the first time. I also bought a dustbuster and small hand brush with a dustpan. During floor time I Dustbust it, others i just sweep it up.
FYI.. Our cage is in my youngest room and I woudlnt switch back to any other beddding!!

 

[Katie_Kutthroat]

I shake out the poops outside in the garden and do part vinegar and laundry soap, I have no problem with smell in the machine. You can always hand wash it in the sink and clean it out with anti bacterial dish soap afterwards if the using washing machine freaks your mom out still.

 

[ojars]

This raises an interesting point. Does the odor come from the fleeces or the urine-sodden towels beneath the fleeces?

Our transition to fleeces went very well and we are pleased with the results. Don't know what the piggies think of it, but the humans are loving it!

 

[bpatters]

Smell them and see. I'm betting that the fleece has a lot less odor than the towels. I'd test it myself, but my fleece is sewed to mattress padding.

 

[Lizbeth]

We just switched from shavings to fleece- and I love it. The shavings made such a mess and were such a pain to scoop into and out of the cage. We have our vacuum plugged in to the corner socket right next to the cage- all I have to do is lean over in the evenings, grab the piggies for floor time, and clean out the poop with the handheld attachment. Works like a charm.

The piggies seem to enjoy it a lot more too- they're a lot more active and playful, without any sneezing, and they are able to find their toys and wood chews.

 

[Duffinvt]

This raises an interesting point. Does the odor come from the fleeces or the urine-sodden towels beneath the fleeces?

Our transition to fleeces went very well and we are pleased with the results. Don't know what the piggies think of it, but the humans are loving it!

In my opinion, from the towels. I often put my towels down in thirds, one on each end and one in the middle of my 2 x 5 cage. I flip up the fleece on the ends and take out a towel, quick wipe with vinegar solution, replace towel with a clean one and put the fleece back. It entends the time between cleanings. I keep the used towels in a plastic bag or bucket of water and wash when I do the "big" wash. Cut pieces of fleece over small towels placed in corners or favorite pee spots also extend the time between cleanings. I aim for a once a week big wash and my cage never smells between cleanings.

 

[hurleyslave]

Mine just bites on it from time to time, but usually when I'm holding him. But he's learned that when he starts biting on his fleece blanket that I have him on, I immediately stop petting him. When I stop petting, he stops biting. When I start petting again, he waits awhile and then starts to bite and then I immediately stop and he stops too. I think he finally caught onto the fact that if he continues biting the fleece, I will stop giving the full-body massages

 

[fieryone]

My vet actually recommended fleece for my male after his neuter. I told him that I already used it as my bedding of choice and he seemed surprised and even pleased by that. My pigs don't eat it at all, and even if they did it would take quite a bit of chewing to get a piece off. However I do have a pig that eats Yesterday's News like it's candy so I cover it with Carefresh. I use this combo in the kitchen area for better odor control.

 

[Evangela]

Re: Poop, Poop and more Poop!

:silly: I have three female Guinea Pigs. I use bedding in the kitchen area and a beach towel of the rest of the area. I have a 2x5 cc cage. I change the towel everyday and broom it twice a day. By the next day it is smeared with poop. It isn't the urine that is the problem it is the poop. Even if I used fleece it is the same thing. Do you think I am giving to much greens. I have to wash their little feet weekly, all poopie!:yawn: