Bedding

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Claire K

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Hi, yes another question for you all i'm afraid!

I have only had my piggies for a week but in this time I have used newspaper, wood shavings and hay in their bed area but have noticed that a lot of owners on this site use fleece or vet bed etc in the bedroom areas.

Could anyone advise what is best for the guineas please?

Claire
 
do not if at all possible use wood shavings as they can affect their feet and there are chemicals that can come from wood shavings that cause respiratory problems - if you like the shaving look use megazorb or i think another alternative is carefresh. I have my girls on fleece because i like to throw it in the washing machine less landfill. Alot of it is down to personal choice but there are alot more informed people on here who will probably give you a better answer, Eleanor
 
It depends what type of cleaning routine you are looking for. The safe traditional beddings include:

CareFresh
Megazorb
Newspaper and hay

For these, you have to buy continuously as all used bedding goes in the bin/compost heap.

There are also alternative, material beddings which are reusable, and you should only need to buy replacement bedding every 1-2 years (although many pieces of fleece and Vetbed are perfectly usable after 5-10 years!). Your choices for alternative beddings are fleece or Vetbed. For this type of bedding, you will need to wash them frequently, so access to a washing machine is quite important. Handwashing is possible, but is a challenge!

For outdoor piggies I personally prefer to advise newspaper and lots of hay, as it does a better job of keeping the piggies warm, they are better able to burrow into a warm spot. Indoor pigs, and pigs in an adapted shed, tend to do very well on fleece or Vetbed.

Do have a look at all the sticky threads in this section, there are reviews on many types of bedding, and an article about the use of alternative beddings, all of which should help you decide which is best for your situation.
 
My girls are on vetbed with newspaper underneath,and i find it best for keeping them clean and dry.I wash it every other day by hand,(not by choice but because it won't go in my washing machine!)Kim has had an allergic breathing problem.and this is much improved since changing from hay bedding to vetbed.
 
I use wood shavings, newspaper and hay for most of mine and they're fine *touch wood*. I find it's easiest for us all round. I only use Vetbed with my Skinny (hairless) pig as the wood shavings could scratch her :)
 
lovelygirl said:
do not if at all possible use wood shavings as they can affect their feet and there are chemicals that can come from wood shavings that cause respiratory problems - if you like the shaving look use megazorb or i think another alternative is carefresh. I have my girls on fleece because i like to throw it in the washing machine less landfill. Alot of it is down to personal choice but there are alot more informed people on here who will probably give you a better answer, Eleanor
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i completely agree with this,i have one cage hay and newspaper and 3 cages newspaper/towel/fleece and i find that the newspaper/towel/fleece option works much better than anything else,i would never use wood shavings only hay or safe material like fleece or vetbed x
 
Hi, Have just been out and purchased some megazorb after my chat with some of you a few days ago.

Is it practical to use megazorb and hay in the play area part of their home but use newspaper and vetbed in the bedroom ?

Have not used vetbed before - will it keep them warm in winter and should i use anything else in there with it?

Claire x
 
I have used fleece but i dont get on with it. personally i think as the piggies wee soaks into the towl newspaper and fleece it begins to smell after a day!

sawdust is the best i think, my girls love looking for food i hide in it and they even sleep on it sometimes as i put loads in there(they do have beds in their cage too)
 
*Liil-Roo* said:
I have used fleece but i dont get on with it. personally i think as the piggies wee soaks into the towl newspaper and fleece it begins to smell after a day!

sawdust is the best i think, my girls love looking for food i hide in it and they even sleep on it sometimes as i put loads in there(they do have beds in their cage too)
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sawdust and shavings are not suitable bedding for guinea pigs due to the chemicals that come out of the wood and can affect their respiratory systems. also shavings can be rough on their feet and lead to foot problems. You can litter train your piggies not to pee on the fleece and in a litter tray instead
 
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