Is fleece where it's at??

[Guinea-Newbie]

Looking around in the photo galleries I noticed several cages with fleece on the bottom and no other (noticable) bedding. How does this work? Does the fleece need to be laundered every few days? Is there supposed to be less odor than with conventional beddings? How do you keep it in place?

Is it only for "potty trained" guinea's? If so, how DO you train them??

Some people also mentioned using fleece only on upper levels...is this because the piggies tend to go potty less if they're "upstairs"?

 

[Eventrocker33]

I use fleece in my cage. I just put 2-5 layers of newpaper then one layer of fleece. I don't have to pin it down, but sometimes I have to fix it. My pig is kind of potty trained. I just put some of her poop in a litter box and then she figured it out. She mostly pees in it so I have to poop scoop everyday. I change her cage every 3 days and wash the fleece then too. You have to have atleast two changes of fleece because it takes so long to wash. I never smell anything bad with the fleece either and it is much cheaper in the long run. If you look in my gallery you can see my fleece. My pig just loves it and I made cozies with the extra fleece. I use a plastic spoon to poop scoop. How many pigs do you have and do you have a c&c cage? I hope you try fleece, I like it much better than any other bedding.

 

[Guinea-Newbie]

I do have a c&c cage (2x5) with two girls in it, Peanut and Sluggy. I've been using kiln-dried aspen shavings, but that's adding up quickly, so fleece would be fabulous if it worked out.

What kind of container do you put the "litter" in so they don't tip it over? And what kind of litter do you use? We have a bunch of recycled newspaper pellets that we use for our rat's bedding...would that be appropriate?

Thanks SOOO much for the help...I'm off to look at your photo's!

 

[Guinea-Newbie]

I just figured out from your pic's that your Peanut's owner...you helped me out with one of my other questions...sorry I didn't figure that out a bit faster!

Did you mean that Peanut uses the litter box primarily for potty or for poop?

 

[stipma]

I went to Wal-Mart and in their kitchen section I got an "under shelf storage bin". It works perfectly for the litter. You can see it in the picture of my cage in my gallery. I use Yesterday's News. It's cheap and seems to work well. If you use it though get the stuff in the cat litter section rather than small animals. It's the same but you get a lot more for less money. The piggies love the fleece. It needs to be washed about every 3 days.

 

[Guinea-Newbie]

Perfect...I'll see if I can find something like it and give it a try. And Yesterday's News is exactly what we use for our rats, so that's great!

Do you also line your cage with newspaper under the fleece? I'm wondering if just a double layer of fleece w/o any newspaper would work (since we don't subscribe to our local paper).

 

[dagwellismypigy]

I LOVE fleece. I tried using newspaper underneath it this week, I don't reccomend that at all. I like to use a layer of fleece then cotton batting then towels.. Works great and its heavy enough that it doesn't slip around.

 

[Guinea-Newbie]

a layer of fleece then cotton batting then towels

I'm sorry to be dense, but what exactly do you mean by cotton batting...the stuff you buy to put in a home-made quilt? Do you wash that too?

 

[Slap Maxwell]

At the feed store I went to they sell litter bins specifically for small animals. Made by Super Pet. They are just high enough they will clip on to the 6" of coroplast. Eventrocker33 has a picture of one in her gallery.

 

[stipma]

I use newspaper. 2 layers of fleece might absorb too much and start to smell. I also hold down the fleece with velcro on the coroplast.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

Yeah the stuff you use for quilts. Makes it comfy-ier for the pigs. I sew the layers together, it takes a lot of time initially but afterit's done you don't have to do it again (unless you get new fleeece). Laying down newspaper under fleece defeats the pourpose of not having the weekly expense of bedding and putting 4-5 layers of newpaper down in my 4x5 takes FOREVER. SO I like the "pads" I make for their cage.Also, the whole point of fleece and why it is a good bedding is because it wicks the moisture away from the top and thats why you need good absorbing materials underneath. Newspaper doesn't absorb too well.

 

[Eventrocker33]

I use newspaper and it works great. Dagwell, why didnt you like it? I put a lot of it down under one layer of fleece and that lasts for three days.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

Well I got new fleece last week. I changed to it on Monday I already need to change it, and it is impossible to spot clean. When I use the pads It can last for up to a week and a 1/2 But I change it every week. Also with the newpaper my boys keep digging under the fleece in the corners. Also, it is a money thing, I can't afford to keep buying newspapers. Those are just a few reasons I don't like it. And it smells alot more.

 

[Guinea-Newbie]

Dagwell, I was wondering last night (while thinking of all things cavy, of course!) if sewing a few layers of flannel in between fleece layers would work as well as the cotton batting does. Kind of like a diaper idea. I'm not sure which is less expensive, but I'm on my way to the fabric store to find out.

As it happens, I think this is the perfect time of year to buy some fleece since it's all on clearance around here for some crazy cheap price like $3.00 a yard. Even to make several pads, that's one heck of a lot cheaper than buying bag after bag of bedding over the next several years!

Thanks to you all for the great ideas...I'm SOOOOO glad to have found this forum!

 

[suzy_99]

I also have fleece blankets made from cotton-batting and I really love them. I don't think that flannel would work in the same way. It is quite thin and does really absorb a lot. Batting is about the cheapest thing that you can buy. I completed 2 blankets for my cage and the battign cost me $3. I, however, hate towels. I find that they get vey musty after only a few hours and I had to remove them after the second day. I currently use puppy pads, but only in the spots that they tend to wet alot. I use to use newspaper but that was getting very expensive because I had to change them everyday. The puppy pads last about 3 days and I only have to buy about one pack a month, which cost me about $10, so it is much cheaper than pine, aspen, or carefresh and the 10 dollars is worth it because it is so much easier to clean. I get my mother to help me and it only takes us less than 5 minutes to replace all of their bedding.

 

[holli'smommy]

I just switched to fleece last night, I have about 10 yards of around here, I made alot of blankets for my two children, and I used one of their old crib pads for underneath, the pads worked great in their cribs at absorbing urine and they helped keep odor down as well. I hope it works out because they seem to really like the fleece. But I do have one question, what about nesting material? Do they need some? And if they do, what should I use?

 

[Guinea-Newbie]

OK, sounds like flannel isn't such a good idea...guess maybe I should stick with conventional wisdom and go with batting.

Suzy 99, do you put the puppy pads underneath the fleece or on top of it?

 

[dagwellismypigy]

NO guinea pigs aren't nesting animals.

 

[holli'smommy]

Sorry I guess that makes since.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

DOn't be sorry, I just messed up on the capitilization, wasn't yelling.