Bedding Our new fleece-lined cage stinks - why?

[Rydley]

Hi! We have two girls in a 2x4 and recently switched from Carefresh to fleece. I love the easy clean-up and sweep/vacuum poop 2-3 times/day. BUT our cage stinks just a few hours after I put fresh bedding in it. I can't figure it out. Our fleece wicks great and stays dry. For under-layers, I've tried an absorbent mattress pad and puppy pads. The coroplast isn't wet when I take everything out for washing, and both layers have seemed to absorb the urine fine, but the whole room (a sizable bedroom) stinks! I put in new bedding yesterday afternoon and by last night it was already stinky and I felt like I needed to wash it again. Should I switch to towels or Uhaul pads? Or maybe fleece isn't for us? I know there will be some smell, but this is overpowering. Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Starthecavy123]

I find the uhauls control smell alot better than towels. When I used towels they would stink within a few days. While my uhaul stays smell free for the whole 7 days.

 

[pigger123]

Definitely try Uhaul pads. They are by far the best for odor control, and they really shouldn't make it smell for quite some time.

 

[Princess_Piggie]

Do you have a kitchen area with disposable bedding? I find that while kitchens help control the mess, they require cleaning/changing more often as they're a smaller area, that often has the highest concentration of urine and droppings. I clean out the dirty bedding from my kitchen area twice, sometimes three times a day depending on how often I see my girls using it. It took me a while to figure out that it was that and not the whole cage that smelled though.

 

[daisy1cow]

Agreed Princess. My kitchen gets the most use being that it has food, hay and water bottles so most business is done in there. Also being a smaller area. I clean hay and poopies every day and do a complete change every maybe 3 days. I always wipe down the coroplast with vinegar water as well, you never know if there is dried pee on it!

 

[bpatters]

What do you use to wash it with? It needs detergent, hot water and bleach.

 

[PrincessAngel]

How many layers have you been using? I do at the very least w layers of large towels and 1 layer of smaller absorbent 12"x12" towels. My cage really doesn't stink until it's been sitting for a week. And I have 3 girls in a 2x5 cage. They are guinea pigs so they are always going to have their own natural smell regardless of being, some are just better at masking the smells. I either have a fan or a small airfilter on and that really helps with smells. I wash my fleece and towels with "free and clear" detergent, vinegar and Borax, using either all cold or all hot water depending on how dirty it is. Air drying outside will get any remaining smell out too.

 

[kanojochan]

I've noticed that my piggies play area is pretty stinky by the time they're done with floor time. It's a sizable space too, about 6ft x 9ft. I put down layers of towels and fleece on top. Their urine is so pungent x_x; Even after doing laundry the fleece and towels still smell just a little bit :< Pretty sure I'll be sticking to kiln-dried pine since all I smell is a little bit of hay.

 

[Rydley]

I appreciate all the info and advice! The bedding always smells perfectly fine after washing and their cage stays that way for a few hours. I always wipe down the cage with vinegar as well even though it looks brand new. I don't have a kitchen area with disposable bedding, but I noticed that there tends to be more pee by their water bottles. We've been mainly doing just one layer of very thick mattress pad, and it seems to absorb well. With Carefresh, the cage didn't smell offensive at all, but it's spendy and they love the fleece, so I'd like to figure out a way to stick with it. I will look into getting UHaul pads. The recycled denim ones, right? I see that they're large, so I imagine people just cut them to size? Do you put down just one layer or more?

Thanks!

 

[PrincessAngel]

I don't have a kitchen area with disposable bedding, but I noticed that there tends to be more pee by their water bottles.

Are your pigs draining the waste from the bottle? Do you have anything under the water bottle? It could be they drip water on the fleece making it wet which would make it stink. I'd suggest either a litter box under it with either a fleece pad you can change our disposable bedding, or just a fleece/towel pad with a brick and still change it everyday. I have to do that to keep my cage from smelling.

 

[daisy1cow]

Maybe make an extra peepad for the water bottle area. One denim pad will do a 2x6 cage folded in half. I just take the pad, fold in half long ways and lay in cage and put fleece over it. I just got 14 free uhaul pads from our local outlet. We're a college town and it was moving week and they had all these pads sitting out and it rained a bit and he told me I could take what I wanted!

 

[pigger123]

My pigs also tend to pee by their water bottle for some reason. Maybe they think they should put the water back where it came from. They never play with their bottles or drain the water out, they just pee there.

2 layers of uhaul pads under the fleece works best for most people, I find that with just one layer the urine soaks through to the bottom. It's the recycled denim one, don't get the quilted kind. They are quite large, but they can easily be cut without fraying or shredding. If you plan to cut it to size though, you'll want to wash it first so that it shrinks before you cut it, since it does shrink a good bit.

 

[Rydley]

I do put an absorbent layer and fleece under their bottles, and they don't seem to play with them, they just seem to pee there a lot.

I appreciate all the replies! I will get the UHaul and fold it. Thanks, everyone!

 

[Rydley]

I have an update! So, I changed their cage on Saturday and I put in a folded over UHaul pad as a liner. Today is Wednesday and their cage smells like...hay! Oh I'm so happy! Thanks!!!

 

[kanojochan]

Glad that everyone worked out!

 

[Flowering]

I have an update! So, I changed their cage on Saturday and I put in a folded over UHaul pad as a liner. Today is Wednesday and their cage smells like...hay! Oh I'm so happy! Thanks!!!

I'm glad you've found a solution. I found fleece never worked for me. I now use bright pink washable bed wetting pads. These smell fab require no under or over layers and last for ages

 

[janinehunt]

I'm glad you've found a solution. I found fleece never worked for me. I now use bright pink washable bed wetting pads. These smell fab require no under or over layers and last for ages

So my similar bed pads arrived today. How long do you go between cage cleanings?

 

[Flowering]

So my similar bed pads arrived today. How long do you go between cage cleanings?

I could go ages they take up to 3 litres of liquid before they feel wet. However I like to put fresh pads every 5 to 7 days.