Towels

[CaliGirl]

I see a lot of pictures of people using towels instead of carefresh. It looks like a good money saver to not have to buy new bedding every month. So when it comes time to clean the cage do you just take the towel out, wash it, and put a fresh towel in? Do you have to use anything to get the urine smell out of it?

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

I see a lot of pictures of people using towels instead of carefresh. It looks like a good money saver to not have to buy new bedding every month. So when it comes time to clean the cage do you just take the towel out, wash it, and put a fresh towel in? Do you have to use anything to get the urine smell out of it?

I am using towels in one of my female piggies cage right now because I ran out of bedding. Um you have to change them every day and yes you have to wash them. I usually take mine to the Laundry place and it costs $1.75 for wash and dry. Fleece works better than towels that is my personal opinion. Don't know what any one else thinks.

 

[Treen]

Fleece does tend to draw the urine away from the surface much better than towels do. When I tried towels, I ended up having to change them three times a day to keep the surface dry. The best washable bedding I tried was something called VetBed which is a thick fleecy material designed for using with animals. It draws the urine away from the surface briliantly, so with a few sweeps up of poops in between, it's a couple of days before it needs washing.

Plus another 'con' for me (with anything washable) was that however well I brushed off the hairs, some got in the machine and clogged up the filter. Plus it was a drag doing all that washing, and if the weather wasn't nice enough to dry outside, drying was a pain too! I know it works well for some people, but it didn't suit me!

 

[CaliGirl]

Fleece does tend to draw the urine away from the surface much better than towels do. When I tried towels, I ended up having to change them three times a day to keep the surface dry. The best washable bedding I tried was something called VetBed which is a thick fleecy material designed for using with animals. It draws the urine away from the surface briliantly, so with a few sweeps up of poops in between, it's a couple of days before it needs washing.

Plus another 'con' for me (with anything washable) was that however well I brushed off the hairs, some got in the machine and clogged up the filter. Plus it was a drag doing all that washing, and if the weather wasn't nice enough to dry outside, drying was a pain too! I know it works well for some people, but it didn't suit me!

so do you still use it or do you use carefresh now?

 

[Treen]

I went back to newspaper and pine shavings topped with hay in the end - I can get really good quality pine flakes that don't smell and aren't dusty.

I tried carefresh (not that it's easy to get over here) and I didn't like it at all - reminded me of what comes out of a vacuum bag and it had a weird chemical smell when wet. I found megazorb (similar to carefresh but heavier and felt more natural) okay but it was too heavy - all the poops sat on the top rather than moving in with the bedding, so the pigs got smelly. And it doubled my weekly rubbish. Chopped straw beddings were good but they didn't absorb the urine as well and it made the living room smell quite farmyardy. Plus the washing/drying with towels, fleece and vetbed wore me down. I still wanted them to have mounds of hay to play in to sweeping all the final bits off before the bedding went in the wash was a bit dull. I use vetbed if someone's had an op or something as I think it works brilliantly, but other than that I stick to my tried and trusted combination as it works well for me and the pigs!

 

[blink1177]

I love my critter care (carefresh). I can easily pick out any poop or wet spots. I've had my pigs for a couple of months and I've never noticed any smells.

 

[loves2travel]

treen, where can you get this vet bed from?

 

[Piglet]

yeh, it sounds great. Is it expensive? Can you buy it over the internet?

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

yes you can i found it on this website (broken link removed)
or this one
(broken link removed)
or this one
(broken link removed)
they have some on Ebay
(broken link removed)
or
(broken link removed)
I couldn't find one located in the US all in Uk, Europe,etc

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

(broken link removed) scroll down to see the vet bed. It is the last item on page. They are located in U.S.

 

[Piglet]

Thanks for all the links cinn&sprinslave! Treen, how often should the vetbed be changed?

 

[Treen]

I got mine through a friend who had a rescue so had access to a pet supplies wholesaler. So it cost between £12-15 (I forget exactly) for each piece to fit a 2 x 4 cage. Unfortunately it is a bit more expensive without that discount, but it really is a good product.

I washed it every couple of days. Because it drains so well and the surface stays dry, you could probably get away with leaving it a day longer, but I liked keeping them fresh.

 

[Piglet]

I was looking at those links, and they are really expensive! I might just stick with towels, but get a few, so that they can be changed everyday.