Cage Care fresh VS. Kiln Dried pine shavings VS. Aspen VS. Kaytee Clean and Cozy

[Bella13]

So I have two female guinea pigs, one is a Peruvian and the other is a short haired. I've used fleece for a while now and thinking about switching to bedding for a little bit to try it out. I'm not sure which kind of bedding is the best/safest for my piggies. I've used the brown care fresh in the past and wasn't very pleased.
I've researched each bedding and every website says different! Any answers/ tips are greatly appreciated!

 

[labgirl5]

I've never used wooden shavings, but I found that CareFRESH has much better odor control than Kaytee C&C. I've read good reviews on aspen's odor control, especially when mixed with another paper-based bedding.

 

[Starthecavy123]

I use aspen in my boys kitchen you can probably find some shavings with odor control. I really liked using yesterday's news cat littwe paper pellets. But if you want it for the whole cage I would just try a few till you find the one you like.

 

[Bella13]

I would like to use the bedding for the entire cage. I have a 2x5 C&C cage.
Also, for people that have switched from fleece to bedding: Is there any odor difference? Or less maintenance from one to the other?
Thanks again!

 

[Starthecavy123]

Towels are what start to smell really bad. The uhauls stay fresh longer. With fleece depending on the size cage and how many pigs you have you could probably go 7 days. For my boys cage I only need to switch the fleece every 5-7 days. Plus with fleece you have to vacuum it at least twice a day.

 

[Bella13]

@Starthecavy123 which do you prefer: fleece or bedding?

 

[Starthecavy123]

I prefer fleece because it's reusable so it saves me money. The prepping is what drives me crazy. Some fleece takes longer to wick than others. But I would like to mention fleece is definitely not for everyone. After the prepping its pretty easy.

 

[kanojochan]

I use kiln-dried pine shavings. Feed stores have really big packs for much cheaper than most pet stores. One pack lasts me roughly a month. I have no experience with fleece bedding for guinea pigs so I can't really compare, but I already know that the amount of laundry that will need to be done will be too much for me, especially since my machines aren't great. I have a 2x6 C&C for 3 guineas and I've found that most of the poop gets "lost" in the bedding, and therefore the cage looks cleaner. As far as odor goes, I only smell hay and a little bit of the wood-esque scent. Floor time consists of fleece and towels and is smellier than their cage

 

[Bella13]

I decided to go with aspen bedding. Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[lost_lover]

Glad you made a choice but I just wanted to add for anyone to search this topic.

I was a huge fan of carefresh, the odor control is great. It is to pricy to do a whole cage with, I tried, so I switched to fleece I put carefresh in the kitchen.

Since then I have notice how much 'dust' the carefresh puts off. It even builds up in my floor fan super fast. When I scoop out parts and mixed it since the odor control will allowed you I do that several time I now noticed breathing in the dust.

I still think the odor control is unbeatable. After Christmas I bought the store out of their holiday colors for like 60% off so I continue to use it but I really want to switch to some type of pellet when it is gone.

I am giving loose fleece in the kitchen a test. It is not working very well, unless I completely change it every day.