Fleece back to shavings?

[chexxy]

I am considering switching from fleece back to shavings. My problems are with fleece is that-
-It looks terribly gross. You can see the poops every where.
-It doesnt stink but I miss the smell of shavings.
-Its a little gross in the washer
-It takes so mcuh work!
-The pigs used to all ways popcorn on clean shavings, but with fleece, they dont popcorn half as much.

But shavings get everywhere. Expenses I dont care about, I can get bulk shavings (No cedar), pine I think, it might be kilnd dried but i air it out. So what do you think I should do?

 

[pigsforlife]

In the end it is your choice.

I have no choice. Buttercup has to be on towels as her environment must be as dust-free as possible, at least until we find out what is wrong with her and what is causing her re-occuring URIs.

It is alot of work but my girls are more relaxed on the towels. I had to switch them to kiln-dried pine for a week whilst I was away so that my pig-sitters didnt have to clean out their cage twice a day, and they just couldnt get comfy, the shavings stuck to them and it was messier around the cage. They got shavings in their food bowl, and the shavings stuffed up the water bottle spout.

You make the choice based on what you think is best for you and your pigs. For me personally, towels are the only way.

 

[newpiggiemommy]

My vet recommended no wood shavings. He says it can irritate the respritory system, it can cause skin problems, and it is not sanitary!

 

[fourboys4now]

I have boy piggies and felt so bad that pine shavings ended up in their butts Personally my boys seem happier on fleece, but every piggy is so different. I hate seeing the poopies on the fleece, but that motivates me to clean it more. My husband is glad I switched because I kept stopping up the shop vac.:grumpy:

 

[Moon00]

You really have to do whatever works best for you and your pigs. Personally I prefer fleece, I only use shavings for the small "kitchen area" of the cage because I hate when hay sticks to fleece. But fleece overall works out better for me because it's less messy and not dusty, which is a big issue because my guinea pig is in my bedroom. And while fleece is extra work and poops don't hide well on it, I don't really mind spot cleaning twice a day and the rest of the extra work with it. Plus my piggy seems to enjoy the fleece alot more.

As for it being gross in the washer I have to agree, I take my fleece to a laundry mat and wash it. But I'm going to be buying one of those small stack washers/dryers soon for my pets stuff.
So yeah you just have to figure out what works best for you and go with that.

 

[chexxy]

Well, i switched back to shavings for a trial. The cage defiantlly looks alot beter, so we will see how this goes.

 

[valfl]

I am just switching back from fleece as well. I felt like I had an infant and was always washing cloth diapers.

I know the fleece is more economical but it seems to take more work for me to clean it out of the cage and then the additional work of creating more laundery. (Like anyone wants more stinky laundry to wash!)

The fleece always seemed to smell like amonia to me. The urine smell was very strong no matter how often I changed and washed the fleece. I used vinegar in the wash and that did not really cut the smell either.:yuck:

I also feel like it will be easier for my kids to step up and help out more with the cage cleaning. I think dumping out shavings will be much more child friendly then trying to carry soiled fleece and have them try to get all the poo and hay off of it and then put it into the wash.

Best of luck to you with your change. Hopefully I am also making the right choice. And if not we can always just change it back again.

 

[xPiggiesx]

I recently switched back to carefresh after trying fleece for a while, I think the pigs were more comfortable on the carefresh, and it's easier for me to keep clean!