Other Bedding Options

[Iluvpiggies]

hello, i was just wondering about some other beddings. i looked at the pages already and still don't have an answer. my piggies (six to be exact) are all long haired so i need something that doesn't tangle up their hair. i like the carefresh, but it is just WAY too expensive for the size of cage i have. please help me

 

[TinaFabulous]

I really dont know, you could try kiln-dried pine or if they are alergic you could try other similar shavings, I think aspen is anther choice... Im not sure, you should check out the bedding page on the site, Ill post the link if I find it.

This should have been posted in the hay/bedding part of the forum, Chat is for general discussion and whatever dosnt fit in another topic.

 

[kennethlhm]

https://guineapigcages.com/bedding.htm

You can mix a layer of woodshavings first then only carefresh on top on it. This can save some $.

 

[ice_on_fire]

what about using fleece..?

 

[TinaFabulous]

o that might work for you, sew a few layers of fleese together and you can just wash them, alot of piggers love fleese. I donno about using woodshavings with cafefresh on top if you have long haired piggers (I herd it gets stuck in their hair).

I think fleese or kiln-dried pine are your best bet. You can buy kd pine bedding for very very cheap and its easier to get out of hair Although youll want to air out pine so theres no sent left

 

[Piglet]

You could try towels

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

Pine and aspen are all wood shavings that would get stuck in their hair. If I were you I would try maybe towels or fleece...that would probably be the best for you!

 

[TinaFabulous]

Yes, but wood shavings come off of long hair a ton easier then carefresh would, and thats what Ilovepiggies used before, Ilovepiggies liked it but it was just too pricy.

So Id reccomend a wood shaving, much cheaper

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

She said she liked the carefresh wich I assumed was because it didn't tangel in their hair...I believe shavings would was my point. lol I know it gets stuck to whatever I have in my cage...like my cozies for example that are made of teddybear material. So I would assume it would be more apt to get tangled in the hair...I have all short haired pigs, so I wouldn't know...just assuming.

 

[TinaFabulous]

yes, but carefresh because of its texture is worse then just savings. It gets easily somewhat matted in their hair, and shavings are really easy to get off long haired pigs you can just easily pet it off most of the time.

Shavings do get stuck to all materal but there is very little similar between hair and fabric. I don't own any long haired pigs, but ive been around enough ones using kd pine to know that it works fine.

I think you may need to reread the post, she said that carefresh worked it was just to $$. If carefresh works then normal shavings should work even better and at a fraction of the price.

Carefresh is great for short haired pigs, but lets face it it can be a pain for long haired pigs and alot of us dont have the money to be use it regularly. Just a note- If you anyone has short haired guinea pigs you can always mix carefresh with normal shavings or top your regular shavings off with it, thats what I will probably begin to do, I hear it works well.

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

I did re-read the post before I posted last time, and I got the point that it was the money...I just understood it to mean that she liked carefresh because it didn't stick to fur, but it cost to much...that's how I took her post. Whatever, it doesn't really matter! lol

And I can second that part about carefresh and aspen...I do it and it works awsome for me! I use about 2/3 aspen, and 1/4 carefresh and it has the best of both worlds...however I have to change it more frequently...but I think that might be partly because I went from 2 to 4 pigs at the same time I switched the bedding. But instead of using an entire bag of carefresh every couple weeks, I use one bag every month or so...much better! lol I can spend $20 a month!

 

[mncavylover]

Use a really thick layer of aspen with a small layer of carefresh on the top, or else use fleece (though that will mean you have to change every day and have many changes). Good luck!

 

[Iluvpiggies]

what is fleece?? i have never heard of that. and i cant seem to find anyone who has kiln dried pine. just my luck.

 

[TinaFabulous]

its a material that you can get at about any fabric store, like joanns fabrics. But Ive also seen some fleese at walmart. You can get it in different colors or designs. Usually people sew a few layers in the size of their cage together

Are you sure?? KD pine should be at almost every petstore, and if it isnt there I think I've seen it packaged for landscaping.... But Id try at your local petstore first

 

[Iluvpiggies]

also, to settle the argument, i do like carefresh for the most part because it doesn't tangle in the hair so if any kind of wood shavings are going to get tangle in their hair then i don't want it. also, my piggies aren't very sociable since i am in college and work full time it is hard for me to put out time everyday for six pigs. so, with that said, four of the six don't want me to touch them. yeah i could brush them maybe three or four times a week but everyday is not reasonable for me. thanks so much guys.

 

[TinaFabulous]

O what I ment was alot of people have found the texture of carefresh to be much worse in teh tangling issue. Don't worry if you chose to use pine its really really cheap and shouldnt tangle the hair. I get these huge bale like plastic bags of the pine and its half the price of a bag of carefresh and MUCH more. If it dosnt work out it was worth your $5s or so before you go sewing up a bounch of pricy fleese

 

[Iluvpiggies]

is aspen really all that better?? and does the aspen have to be kiln dried??

 

[TinaFabulous]

aspen is harder to find, a bit more pricy, and is just a better choice for pigs with alergies to kd pine, although like I said kd pine is cheap enough its worth a try.

No aspen dosnt have the sents and oils so i dont think it needs to be kd, but pine is the perfered choice because when it is kd it is cheaper and easier to find.

I wouldnt worry about aspen unless you find one of your pigs has alergies.

 

[Iluvpiggies]

the reason why i asked is because petsmart has aspen but not kd pine and for some odd reason i can't find kd pine anywhere. how is the price of the aspen compared to the price of carefresh

 

[TinaFabulous]

Im not sure, Furby does find with the kd pine so i stuck with that