Alternative to woodshavings

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gingersusie

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hi all
i'm looking to move on from woodshavings as it's getting a pain in the bum being dragged around the house, my piggies are indoors all year round apart from summer grass time,
can anyone recommend a different bedding please?
i don't want to use fleece as i don't want to be washing all the time,
could you please provide reviews and links as to what you find works best for you?
would be eternally grateful :)
many thanks
 
I am a total fitch convert. I started with shavings but, as they are not recommended for piggies, I tried megazorb but hated the stuff - really dusty and smelly. I then went back to shavings while I came up with plan C.

Fitch is really absorbent, does not smell. The size of the pieces makes it easy to clean up and it is really soft. I just put newspaper underneath and clean out the soiled stuff every other day.

http://www.fitchrecycling.co.uk/animal-bedding/horse-bedding.html

I get a 20kg bag and it lasts about 5 weeks.
 
Has anyone tried Dengie Medi-bed? I tried it for my horse and whilst it was too expensive for bedding down a stable it looked lovely for guinea pigs.....?
 
My top bedding would be fleece, but obviously it’s not for everyone, and like you say it involves a lot of washing etc. hence why i only use it for one cage as the thought of having to clean two fleece cages is too much haha.

But i have tried fitch for one of my piggies and personally i didn’t get on with it as well as i hopped i would so i’m back to wood shavings for now, but i wouldn’t not recommend it, i think it’s just one of those things you need to try, so heres my fitch review ;)

Pro’s

It’s really insulating, just putting your hand in it feels really warm which is great for winter. It’s fairly cheap compared to some other beddings. I only had to clean once a week compared to twice a week with fleece. I borrowed some from a friend and she just gave me a carrier bag full to try and it lasted two cleans so even as big as the bags it comes in are, it still is really compact like sawdust and just expands to cover a wide area. It also has the benefit of being white so It was easy to pick out any bits of veg that he’d hidden around his cage, where as it seems to just sink into sawdust and disapeer all his cucumber skins were easy to see so i could just pick them out. Its also a good way of keeping an eye on the colour of your piggies wee if there was any blood etc.

Cons

Wet patches spread really quickly. This may sound odd but my piggy is awful at dribbling when he drinks from his bottle, he just makes a mess, and i found that the small patch from his bottle just spread through his cage really quickly where as with sawdust it stayed in one patch and just got absorbed more. Also, i have no idea where i’d keep the bag of it just because it is such a big bag!
I tried it during the summer and my piggy kept pushing it away from him in his igloo, he would just sleep on the bare base of his cage and have the bedding in a donut around him, so not sure if he just got too warm or something but he just wouldn’t sleep on the actual bedding but he’s an odd ball.

I’ve tried other beddings that look a bit like cat litter (Called eco something or other) and he would just rumble while he walked around because it made a sound that he didn’t like when he moved so he is just very fussy. So for now i’m back to the sawdust until i can find something that suits him.
 
the fitch stuff looks good, i might give that a try and put a bit of fleece in a tray under the water bottle to soak up the drips? my two aren't messy drinkers though so i don't think that would be a problem, i didn't know i could use newspaper either ? many thanks
 
I'm a bit of a Fitch fanatic (my poor friends are probably completely fed up of trying to be converted!) I personally haven't had the same issues with wet patches spreading although my boys don't seem to drink much at all. I have put some fleece under the water bottle just in case (and to at least catch the inevitable first few drips when you put the bottle in) I certainly haven't noticed it being an issue with urine spreading through it all. Personally I mainly use puppy pads and only reinforce the main toilet areas with newspaper but that's purely personal preference and nothing to do with which is better.
 
I've tried all-sorts including:- shavings, vetbed, fleece, megazorb, fitch, white paper (tea bag offcuts) bedding, fitch, maxibed & auboise. I'm now using a combination. On the up levels (where it's not practical to put stuff that you've got to get out of a bag) I use vetbed on top of towels. In their beds (cat lit trays) I use a newspaper covered by white paper (tea bag offcuts) bedding then a lathe pile of hay on top. In the rest of their run I use a layer of Auboise covered by a thin layer of hay. I've only used Auboise since the weekend but it's looking good. You can get vetbed on ebay or Amazon. White paper bedding from http://www.lawsonanimalfeeds.co.uk/rabbit-bedding/240-white-paper-bedding.html & Auboise from Farm Stores or https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken_keeping/poultry_bedding/9198/aubiose_bedding_-_20kg/
 
I've tried all-sorts including:- shavings, vetbed, fleece, megazorb, fitch, white paper (tea bag offcuts) bedding, fitch, maxibed & auboise. I'm now using a combination. On the up levels (where it's not practical to put stuff that you've got to get out of a bag) I use vetbed on top of towels. In their beds (cat lit trays) I use a newspaper covered by white paper (tea bag offcuts) bedding then a lathe pile of hay on top. In the rest of their run I use a layer of Auboise covered by a thin layer of hay. I've only used Auboise since the weekend but it's looking good. You can get vetbed on ebay or Amazon. White paper bedding from http://www.lawsonanimalfeeds.co.uk/rabbit-bedding/240-white-paper-bedding.html & Auboise from Farm Stores or https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken_keeping/poultry_bedding/9198/aubiose_bedding_-_20kg/

Gosh - that sounds very complicated!
 
I had to do this because not one thing covered everything. The vetbed is spot cleaned daily, their beds are changed every 3 to 4 days & the whole run gets cleaned weekly with the unsoiled Auboise being re-used. So it's 5 minutes everyday then another 10 minutes on a Wednesday night & 2 hours on a Sunday morning including checking them, weighing them & nail clipping etc.
 
I use Medibed with puppy pads underneath. It's a horse bedding so comes in a big bale. Works fab for me and my piggies and they only need cleaning out once a week :)
 
Sarah - does the medibed/puppypad combination smell at all and are yours indoor or outdoor piggies? x
 
that medi bed looks good , i'm so torn what to buy now as there's so much choice out there, i have asthma so i think the fitch is looking like the likely candidate, thanks for all your help guys.x
 
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