Bedding and Stuff

[DiamondCavy]

Okay, I had a couple of questions about bedding. Right now all I'm using for bedding is newspapers but i find that I have to change them every other day to every third day. I was wondering if there were other options where a total cage cleaning could be done at least every four days to once a week (though I know that's stretching it)?

For those who use fleece: is that all you use? or do you combine it with newspapers, carefresh under it?

Thanks in advance for everyone's future replies!

 

[Rachy1412]

I use fleece with layers of newspapers underneath. I have to wash it every 3-4days otherwise it can really smell! I also have to hover up all the poops every day. Also the hay in the hayracks get every and are hard to brush off.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

I use fleece, I sewed (right word?) cotton batting and towels to it, cotton between the towels and the fleece, Ihand-vac everyday and change the fleece out, like once a week or so. I'm thinking of using aspen for a while, as a comparitive thing.

 

[Piglet]

I use vetbed and I only change it like once a week or sometimes more. It is very absorbant and there is no smell. However, I clean the poops up twice daily with a dust pan and brush. Whilst the vetbed is drying, I use towels with newspaper underneath. These are less absorbant and so have to be changed every 3-6. My boys spend a lot of time outside, so there cage doesn't get that dirty.

 

[Katie]

Other options (besides fleece)
Aspen
Kiln Dired Pine
Carefresh
Eco Fresh
Yesterdays News
Pelleted Pine (many different brands)
Natural Hemp
Cell Sorb
Soft Sorb

You really need to find what works best for you, your pigs and your budget.

 

[pennick]

I use aspen on a 2x4 cage, 2 piggies, I change every 2 weeks. No smell, its great.

 

[DiamondCavy]

Wow! Thanks for everyone's quick replies! I think the idea of a hand vac for poops everyday sounds good.

Piglet: What exactly is a vet bed? How much do they cost?

dagwell: this might sound dumb, but what's cotton batting?

And Katie, thanks for a list of other bedding options, I'll check them out to see what's most affordable and what would be best (for now, I'll probably switch between them to see what each is like).

Thanks everyone!

 

[dagwellismypigy]

cotton batting is the stuff you use to make quilts with. You can find it in the fabric section, or ask for help finding it.

In the US vetbed prices are outrageous, but deffinatly worth it if you can afford the initial price.

 

[Eventrocker33]

I use newspaper then fleece and it works great!

 

[RustBottum]

I also use fleece with newspaper underneath.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

I use aspen. There is a little initial smell from the shavings, but much less than fleece would be in my case.

 

[charliesmommy]

I recently switched from fleece to a mix of Carefresh and Cell-Sorb Plus. I liked the fleece but it REEKED! Ugh. If you can litterbox train your pigs, I'm sure it works wonderfully, but I couldn't stand how bad it smelled after a day. I've never tried Cell-Sorb, so I'll let you know how I like it.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I use a few layers of newspaper, a sheet or mattress pad then one layer of fleece. If you spot clean the poo's daily it really cuts down on any odors.

 

[Piglet]

pennick, I thought you used vetbed?

Vetbed is like a sort of carpet material. It's fluffier and more absorbant that fleece and towels. The beauty of it is, is that the surface always stays dries. The urine is soaked through to the bottom layer, which means there is hardly any smell. However, like somebody pointed out, the initial cost is a lot.

 

[Percy's Mom]

Right now, I'm using aspen for Percy, but I'm considering switching to fleece with newspaper and/or towels under it. A friend of mine is getting new towels and offered to donate some of her old ones to my cause instead of throwing them out. The aspen has been really easy and is pretty easy to find, but Percy likes to run and kick, so I'm having to vacuum around his cage a LOT. From personal experience, I highly recommend a 1 gallon Shop Vac kept near the cage!

 

[Peaches]

I used to use fleece but my piggies tend to pee everywhere and it smelled too much. I have switched to layers of newspaper with pine on top. This way I can just roll up the news paper with the shavings on top and dispose of quickly. Seems to be working well and no smell problem

 

[pennick]

pennick, I thought you used vetbed?

Vetbed is like a sort of carpet material. It's fluffier and more absorbant that fleece and towels. The beauty of it is, is that the surface always stays dries. The urine is soaked through to the bottom layer, which means there is hardly any smell. However, like somebody pointed out, the initial cost is a lot.

I use vetbed on the 2nd and third level. I kept the shavings on the 1st floor since they are so used to it and I dont mind cleaning it out every 2 weeks. they run down to the shavings to urinate so it keeps the upper levels pretty clean for about 3 weeks. Why mess up a good thing.

 

[TurboPiggy]

Initially I used the white carefresh, that has been the favorite. Obviously too expensive for a decent cage. I then tried aspen...I couldn't stand the smell of aspen, maybe I'm just sensitive, plus I found it hard to spot clean. I have recently switched to newspaper with fleece on top. So far so good. I round up what little poops there are at the end of the day and wash the fleece every 3 days. I have also recently added a corner litter pan that he seems to use for most of his peeing and some poo'ing...so that helps a LOT. I am currently using the dark carefresh in Scooter's quarantine cage and I cant stand the smell of that either. I think it smells like wet newspaper.

 

[suzy_99]

I use fleece. I have no coroplast under my C&C so I just place the entire cage on a vynil tablecloth then I put down 2 crib pads (the big ones) and then I just place the fleece on top. I use to use newspaper, towels, puppy pads...etc, but I find that the crib pads work the best because all I had to do was buy 4 of them (so I don't need to wash them everytime) and I only have to change them when I clean the cage, which is about every 4 days.

 

[kalrik]

I use newspaper, then corduroy, then cotton batting, then fleece. The corduroy, cotton batting, and fleece are sewn together. I change maybe once a week. Just role it up, stuff it in a bad that will be shaken out later. Newspaper down, role down the new one. I have two of these blankets.