Fleece Pee Pads

[TinyPiggy]

HI
I'm going to start using cozy beds again after The Cozy Bed Mistake. I used cozy beds a year or so back, and...let's just say that I learned how much guinea pigs really pee and poop. So I'm wondering if I should start using pee pads, and if I do, what do I need to make them with? ( Also, I'm sorry if this has been asked before)
Thank you in advance

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I have been using incontinence pads. You can find them on Amazon. I use them in the 2x4 part of the cage, and I use two pads and one piece of fleece. Works VERY well and I change the bedding completely every 48 hours. Takes about ten minutes

 

[bpatters]

You can also make pads by sewing some absorbent material (U-Haul pad, cotton mattress cover, towels, etc.) between two pieces of fleece. If you make a bunch of them, you can put them in places where the pigs pee and poop the most, and change them frequently. That cuts down on the number of whole cage changes that are needed.

 

[TinyPiggy]

Thank you! Would microfiber car towels work for the waterproof layer?

 

[bpatters]

No, microfiber doesn't absorb anything. It's more like the fleece itself.

 

[TinyPiggy]

Hi
I'm not sure if I should just make a new thread about this but...here it is: do bath matt's work as a liner? I'll still use fleece, I'm just thinking about changing it up a little bit and adding a bit more variety.
Thanks!

 

[CavySpirit]

Bath mats vary greatly, but generally are not that absorbent and will be a nasty mess with poos that you can't clean up very well. It's really best to stick with cheap, inexpensive fleece with an absorbent material underneath. The most absorbent is 2 layers of Uhaul. Fleece and Uhaul are inexpensive materials. It just depends on what you do with them.

 

[TinyPiggy]

Oh...okay. Thanks!

 

[ItsaZoo]

I have experimented with the polyester chenille bath mats sold at Target and I have to say I really like those. I’ve used them for a few months now. They are soft, they wash well, and they seem to be absorbent. Here is a link showing the ones I bought: Polyester chenille bath mats

 

[4boipigs]

Hi
I'm not sure if I should just make a new thread about this but...here it is: do bath matt's work as a liner? I'll still use fleece, I'm just thinking about changing it up a little bit and adding a bit more variety.
Thanks!

There are people who really like the IKEA bath mats as liners. There's more about it on the UK guinea pig than on here. There's some Youtubers who use them too - I think It's Pigs! is one.

 

[CavySpirit]

Whatever you choose, be careful of thread stitching. Pretty much any exposed thread on edges or seams can be a danger. I was just speaking with a customer the other day who bought a cheap cozy or pad somewhere. She didn't realize the stitching had started to unravel. Her guinea pig ended up losing a toe because of it and it was a nightmare for her. Those kinds of problems have been reported over time. So, just a cautionary tale to avoid using products with exposed stitching with thread. Avoid things that a guinea pig can get a toenail caught in, like looped fabrics.

 

[SSLee]

@ItsaZoo, thank you for your first hand feedback. All the YouTubers I watch use the chenille bath mats. Some use it in place of a fleece liner but the majority use them as a pee pad. In fact, one YouTuber is planning to sell it in his online store. I am looking forward to trying it also.

 

[SSLee]

I've tried the Target chenille bath mats for several weeks now and they work very well. I also bought other brands during the recent Amazon Prime Day. In particular I prefer the ones with the short nubs as they are easier to clean. The long nubs seem plusher but poops are more likely to get trapped. I'm looking forward to using more of these in the future and wish they come in a smaller size so I can put them under the individual hidey houses.

I have also used microfiber towels as the absorbent layer and they work OK. When I ran out of fleece pee pads, I put down a folded microfiber towel with a layer of fleece over it. With that combination, I had to change it daily and the microfiber towel was really wet. However, it helped to have another option.

Another absorbent layer I tried was the dish drying mat with fleece over it, which also falls into the OK category and I will only use if I'm out of fleece pee pads.