Bedding Best bedding choice for 22 guinea pigs-you heard me, 22!

[sbadaracco]

I am one of the foster parents for Portland Guinea Pig rescue in Portland, OR. Currently I have all the pigs in giant C&C cages and was using carefresh bedding but due to yearly cost I have switched to fleece. I love the fleece but it takes up too much time since I have to vacuum all the cages 2x per day with a shopvac to keep them poop free.
I am considering switching back to bedding - aspen for some and will have to use Carefresh for the texel cages (if you have texels you get it).
I am wondering if anyone has ever done a hybrid cage - I am thinking of doing bedding but still have their potty pads under their food and hidey houses.
Does anyone have this many pigs and which bedding option do you find the most efficient for keeping them clean? Thanks!

 

[PandaPiggle]

Have you considered doing inset kitchens with bedding but main cage with fleece? The mess tends to stay in the kitchen and then it's easier to vacuum the fleece and you'd probably only need to spot clean once a day.

I've got 5 girls on fleece, and I'm definitely thinking about expanding their cage with a carefresh kitchen because that's where most of the gross mess is.

 

[sbadaracco]

I did start with kitchens but then they just kicked the carefresh all over the fleece so ended up with a new problem. I do have corner potties for each set which they do use but not enough to now vacuum 2x perday

 

[lissie]

How about wood pellets with fleece or suedecloth on top? See the video on this thread. https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107419

 

[sbadaracco]

I don't have a problem with the pee - it is the poops I have to vacuum out twice a day so this doesn't help me really.

 

[lissie]

What about wood pellets on the bottom, and aspen shavings on top?

 

[wombats]

Could work, but the main downside is it's very heavy. One bag will fill a 2x3 cage, but it's 40 lbs of wood.

 

[pigger123]

You only need half a bag for a 2x3 cage. Especially with aspen on top, it doesn't need to be a super thick layer of pellets.

 

[lissie]

If you put some kind of netting between pellets and aspen, you could change the aspen weekly, and leave the pellets longer.

 

[sbadaracco]

First, I have 5 jumbo C&C cages 2 feet x 6 ft -so sounds expensive with pellets
Second - wondering why I would need the pellets since I would be changing the aspen weekly anyways? - how do pellets help me?

 

[Fay]

I don't think there really is an easier alternative. Wood shavings would be the cheapest non fleece solution but fleece on wood pellets or uhaul pads would be more cost effective.The wood pellets would also only need to be cleaned out every few weeks but of course then there's the daily fleece maintenance issue.

Have you looked into maybe finding someone to volunteer and help you out with the daily fleece maintenance? I mean 22 are A LOT of pigs to look after single-handedly.

 

[sbadaracco]

yes that's what I am thinking too. I have just taken in 10 pigs and have 30 more pigs arriving in the next few days from a Grants Pass rescue - they will stay about a month before being transferred to a rescue in So Cal. You can see why fleece is not an option when you are caring for 60 pigs.

 

[sbadaracco]

I do have one question on the wood pellets - most wood pellets are made from pine - and guinea pigs are not supposed to be on pine - does it make a difference that it is in pellet form instead of pine shavings?

 

[TandZpiggies]

22 pigs wow! I can't even imagine how much hay you must go through. As for the bedding situation, what if you used all fleece in some of the cages and all shavings (or Carefresh) in the others?

 

[sbadaracco]

And I just took in 10 more and will take in 30 more in a few days - all part of a Grants Pass rescue situation. Will keep the 40 for about a month till another rescue takes them.
I did think of shavings for some, fleece for others but that won't save me time because I will still be vacuuming fleece 2x per day. I think what I will have to do is some on aspen, and cages with texels will have to be on carefresh. I read more on wood pellets and have been reading it is bad to put pigs directly on the wood pellets since it brakes down to sawdust so understand why people are covering the pellets with fleece.

 

[sbadaracco]

Of the 22 pigs I have - 12 are mine and 10 are the fosters - along with the 40 more fosters I am about to take in. So I will temporarily have 50 fosters, but in a month I will be back to just my 10ish fosters.
When you compare - saying I own 12 guinea pigs doesn't sound like a lot - does it - LOL.

 

[Fay]

Is there anyone who could help you with the cleaning? At least for the crazy month? I think your best bet for now is wood shavings. It's cheaper and you can just scoop it up.

As for the wood pellets - you don't want to use the ones that smell heavily of pine and because it's covered by fleece it further reduces contact. I think there's a topic about it somewhere...

 

[sbadaracco]

yes I watched the video on the thread about it, thanks.

 

[lissie]

First, I have 5 jumbo C&C cages 2 feet x 6 ft -so sounds expensive with pellets
Second - wondering why I would need the pellets since I would be changing the aspen weekly anyways? - how do pellets help me?

Well, I thought it would at least help you cut the cost of bedding. Since pellets last longer, and you'd only need half the amount of aspen or carefresh you'd need.

Pellets only cost $6 for a 40lbs bag where I live. Since you'd be using thin layer, one bag will be enough for each of the 2x6 cage. Some people are able to use pellets for 11 weeks, let's say you use the pellets for a month, you'll be paying $30 for the pellets + half price of the aspen or carefresh you'd be paying for.

 

[sbadaracco]

no, I pay $10 for 4.4 cu aspen compressed, and $12 for a 60Litters of carefresh -
I carefresh takes care of 11/4 cages, 1 bag aspen takes care of 8 cages