Bedding for piggies with possible respitory problems?

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obsessedwithanimals

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Hi guys,

My piggys seem to have slightly wheezy/rattly breathing when I first put fresh bedding in (they were on fleece but are now on finacard) they seem fine otherwise and the slightly noisy breathing only lasts a bit usually when I've just cleaned their cage out but I was just wondering if the bedding was prehaps a bit dusty especially when I first put it in?

Can anyone recommend any dust free beddings as I don't what them to get something like URI.

I think the finacard seems a bit stuffy because its made of cardboard even though it says it's dust free. :/

I find this with a lot of beddings, they say they're dust free when they aren't really.

Any ideas for truly dust free bedding?
 
When I first got my two I used carefresh from Pets At Home and found it lovely, but rather too expensive for general use. I now use megazorb which isn't too dusty, but I think the only truly dust free bedding would be fleece or vetbed.
 
Care fresh is good but mega expensive. I now use easi-bed. It's actually horse bedding but safe for guineas, I found it great for my respiratory piggy before he passed on. I still use it now as its cheap and soaks up the wee so well that I can never smell the cage anymore :)
 
That's really odd, as I'd always recommend cardboard bedding as being the least dusty. It's something that mice and rat owners often use for that reason.

Another alternative to try would be Back-2-Nature paper pellets, but I still think they'd be a bit more dusty than the cardboard.

Might it be what you are cleaning the cage out with?
 
pelicano said:
That's really odd, as I'd always recommend cardboard bedding as being the least dusty. It's something that mice and rat owners often use for that reason.

Another alternative to try would be Back-2-Nature paper pellets, but I still think they'd be a bit more dusty than the cardboard.

Might it be what you are cleaning the cage out with?
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Mmm, I usually just sweep out the cage with a dustpan and brush and sometimes clean out any bits where the bedding has stuck to the wood with disinfectant ( Clean 'n' Safe from pah) and then wipe that bit with water as I'm alway worried they'll get disinfectant on their hay although it couln't really happen I suppose.
I also thought cardboard bedding would be good but I'm assuming if it's dusty it'll be caused by the tiny cardboard particles in the cardboard if that makes sense and that might affect their breathing? Thanks for replying to this thread so far guys I really appreciate any advice you can give me as I love my piggies and want them to be cared for as best I can.
 
Jerrybelly said:
Have you considered fleece or vetbed?
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Yes, as I said in my OP I did have them on fleece but put them on finacard as I ran out of clean fleece BUT I'm not sure if I'll be returning to fleece any time soon as they love burrowing and they get under the fleece and I can't fix it so they can't do it as they live in a hutch and it's very difficult because of the opening doors on the side. They alway have bedding in their sleeping area as they pee there most and it's easier to change bedding then fleece. Maybe I should change them over completely to fleece? :)
 
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Has the disinfectant got a perfume to it? I'd definitely want to rule that out first before you try a new litter. In fact, you could do this easily by first just noticing whether they are just as bad whether you've sprayed the disinfectant or not (hope that makes sense!).
 
Surely a company cannot include perfumes in an animal disinfectant, it would obviously have a risk of causing stress to the respiratory system. As for the bedding I've looked all over the Internet and only ever heard good things about Fitch, I personally can't wait to try it!
 
MOC said:
Surely a company cannot include perfumes in an animal disinfectant, it would obviously have a risk of causing stress to the respiratory system. As for the bedding I've looked all over the Internet and only ever heard good things about Fitch, I personally can't wait to try it!
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http://www.petsathome.com/shop/john...ctant-for-small-pet-trigger-spray-500ml-15784

It is a deodorant however to be specified for pets I'm sure this has been tested at some point without cause for concern. I use this disinfectant from time to time and have never had any issues.
 
I use a steam cleaner. Zero chemicals so surely has to be the safest :)
 
MOC said:
Surely a company cannot include perfumes in an animal disinfectant, it would obviously have a risk of causing stress to the respiratory system. As for the bedding I've looked all over the Internet and only ever heard good things about Fitch, I personally can't wait to try it!
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Most of them have perfumes in. You can tell by the smell if there is a perfume in it, even if it doesn't list the ingredients.

Another thing that could irritate the respiratory system from these sprays are alcohols.
 
I hardly ever use the disinfectant in their cage so I doubt that'll be the problem - thanks for the replies though! Would water and vinegar be a better option? :)
I have only just heard about Fitch over the last few days but am slightly anxious to try it as not many people have used it with their piggies I believe?
 
If they are still having the same symptoms when you haven't even used the disinfectant, I doubt it can be that.

I think the thing I find weirdest is that they both have the same symptoms. Normally in an allergy one would have the symptoms and not the other, unless there was a ridiculous amount of dust. :{
 
This kind of discussion is exactly what I have been looking for in joining this forum. Have concerns regarding allergies and/or infections in my pig, and have been advised to look into alternatives to woodshavings. Having seen some info and read over this and other threads I will make the change for sure, feel mean for not doing it right this second, but going to do some shopping online and get an order in. So megazorb, vetbed and fitch are options. Will investigate! Also have come across this http://www.northeastguineapigrescue.co.uk/bedding/ as a guide. Wish I had joined sooner!
 
pelicano said:
If they are still having the same symptoms when you haven't even used the disinfectant, I doubt it can be that.

I think the thing I find weirdest is that they both have the same symptoms. Normally in an allergy one would have the symptoms and not the other, unless there was a ridiculous amount of dust. :{
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Milly pig tends to have slightly more raspy brathing in my presence then Pepsi, but they both do it from time to time when I'm looking after them. :{

I'm starting to think it might be their hay? They spend most of the time in the litter tray and last week Milly was determined she'd stay in the litter tray while I put fresh hay in and when I held it under her nose and she sniffed it she sneezed a couple of times. :{
 
obsessedwithanimals said:
Milly pig tends to have slightly more raspy brathing in my presence then Pepsi, but they both do it from time to time when I'm looking after them. :{

I'm starting to think it might be their hay? They spend most of the time in the litter tray and last week Milly was determined she'd stay in the litter tray while I put fresh hay in and when I held it under her nose and she sniffed it she sneezed a couple of times. :{
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Have cleaned the hutch out, put down newspaper with hay on top for the main area and given extra paper/veg parchment stuff bedding for the covered (bedroom) area. This makes me feel a bit better for now and hopefully the little guy will feel the benefit too. Really hope he isn't allergic to hay. It's difficult when you're wondering about pig health issues, which is why the forum is great. A little advice can go a long way. Have seen different types of hay available, I'm wondering if this makes a difference?
 
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