I currently have wood shavings and hay but read about replacing the shavings for fleece which sounds good, but does anyone use an alternative to hay? My 4 new piggies have always been indoor but are outdoor now they are with me and I worry they might be cold. They get fresh hay twice a day but its always all gone or squashed when I go to replace it. What are your set ups and also what do you use for dens? Both sets have one of those plastic toilet things but they flip it over and use it as a den at the moment. I want to get them back to using them as toilets and replace them with a better den - any ideas? Thanks!
Best outdoor bedding and hutch set up?
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Bekki
Senior Guinea Pig
They must have hay, if its all gone by the end of the day then they are not getting enough hay.
Put up some nice big hay racks on the walls and keep the hay of the floor, my pigs wont eat floor hay!
Put up some nice big hay racks on the walls and keep the hay of the floor, my pigs wont eat floor hay!
Salt n Peppers mum
Adult Guinea Pig
This sticky might be of help to you to show you how other members have arranged their Hutches
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53209
Its very important to feed hay ab lib. Its also good for them to snuggle in to keep warm and forage about in. So hay racks and lots of hay especially in their bed area of hutches is ideal.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53209
Its very important to feed hay ab lib. Its also good for them to snuggle in to keep warm and forage about in. So hay racks and lots of hay especially in their bed area of hutches is ideal.
claire8234
Teenage Guinea Pig
Hi
I have kept my guinea pigs outside and inside - here's what worked best for me.
In the hutch outside, a layer of newspaper covered with a layer of eco pet bed http://www.ecopet.co.uk/ which are cardboard squares. I tried all sorts of bedding outside and I found this to be the best bedding by far, its very absorbant, dust free and fairly cheap. I got a huge bale from my local horse feed shop for £6 and I could just clean the hutch out and put everything into my garden waste bin. Then they had a huge amount of hay on top of this in their bedding area.
Inside they have a C&C cage with a fleece liner which is a waterproof matress protector sewn to fleece and its fantastic.
I tried fleece outside and just didn't get on with it as I couldn't secure it with anything and it ended up in a bunch in the corner.
Its a matter of personal preference so you need to try a few things and see what works best for you
Claire
I have kept my guinea pigs outside and inside - here's what worked best for me.
In the hutch outside, a layer of newspaper covered with a layer of eco pet bed http://www.ecopet.co.uk/ which are cardboard squares. I tried all sorts of bedding outside and I found this to be the best bedding by far, its very absorbant, dust free and fairly cheap. I got a huge bale from my local horse feed shop for £6 and I could just clean the hutch out and put everything into my garden waste bin. Then they had a huge amount of hay on top of this in their bedding area.
Inside they have a C&C cage with a fleece liner which is a waterproof matress protector sewn to fleece and its fantastic.
I tried fleece outside and just didn't get on with it as I couldn't secure it with anything and it ended up in a bunch in the corner.
Its a matter of personal preference so you need to try a few things and see what works best for you
Claire
claire8234
Teenage Guinea Pig
Sorry forgot to add that you may want to try using a hay rack in your hutch. They need a constant supply of hay to eat so by keeping it in a rack it stops it getting trodden on an peed on. Hay in other areas is fine for bedding as it provides warmth and somewhere for them to hide in #, just make sure you replace it when it gets wet.
yes you use an awful lot of hay but if they are outside they need it for warmth as well as for food. If you don't use hay for bedding they will alternative bedding - I have used these and they are brilliant
http://www.cosycavies.co.uk/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=94_60 My boys just love these and they have the addedd bonus of being able to add a heat pad underneath them for extra warmth.
As for dens mine have large cardboard tubes which then get recycled once they get a bity manky (Wilkinsons sell them for a couple of pounds). An upturned cardboard box with a hole cut out makes a great hiding place (especially stuffed with hay and veggies). or plastic pigloos are great as they can be disinfected. Guinea pigs love to hide so tubes and boxes are a great way to provide hidey holes.
HTH
yes you use an awful lot of hay but if they are outside they need it for warmth as well as for food. If you don't use hay for bedding they will alternative bedding - I have used these and they are brilliant
http://www.cosycavies.co.uk/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=94_60 My boys just love these and they have the addedd bonus of being able to add a heat pad underneath them for extra warmth.
As for dens mine have large cardboard tubes which then get recycled once they get a bity manky (Wilkinsons sell them for a couple of pounds). An upturned cardboard box with a hole cut out makes a great hiding place (especially stuffed with hay and veggies). or plastic pigloos are great as they can be disinfected. Guinea pigs love to hide so tubes and boxes are a great way to provide hidey holes.
HTH
My boys live inside on megazorb and hay. I'm not fond of fleece I use it to line their indoor run but I wouldn't have them live on it permanently. If/when they go in their hutch for the summer i'll be using megazorb outside as well.
I wouldn't worry about them getting cold if they have squashed the hay down and you're not in etc. Because they'll dig at the hay and cover it over themselves again they won't sit there cursing you. As others have said deffo invest in a hay rack so they have access to munching hay as well as bedding.
I wouldn't worry about them getting cold if they have squashed the hay down and you're not in etc. Because they'll dig at the hay and cover it over themselves again they won't sit there cursing you. As others have said deffo invest in a hay rack so they have access to munching hay as well as bedding.
Piggie Life
Teenage Guinea Pig
I keep my Guinea Pigs outdoors as well. I don't use fleece (I use Megazorb) but I can see your reasons for using it.
First of all they need hay for eating and hay for bedding so the two need to be separate. I use a hay rack for their eating hay as it keeps the hay clean and off the ground, if you don't want to get a hay rack then fill an old toilet roll tube with hay but make sure they always have access to hay as it should be 70% of their diet. As for bedding yes the hay does get squished down which can be annoying but just keep fluffing it up throughout the day and change it when it gets wet. Generally I find if you give them a large amount of hay for bedding they won't squish it all down and they enjoy burrowing into it. The hay will keep them warm but maybe think about buying they something to keep them warm, I bought a Heatpad which is petsafe and you heat it up in the microwave and place in their bedding section and keeps them warm throughout the night which is great!
First of all they need hay for eating and hay for bedding so the two need to be separate. I use a hay rack for their eating hay as it keeps the hay clean and off the ground, if you don't want to get a hay rack then fill an old toilet roll tube with hay but make sure they always have access to hay as it should be 70% of their diet. As for bedding yes the hay does get squished down which can be annoying but just keep fluffing it up throughout the day and change it when it gets wet. Generally I find if you give them a large amount of hay for bedding they won't squish it all down and they enjoy burrowing into it. The hay will keep them warm but maybe think about buying they something to keep them warm, I bought a Heatpad which is petsafe and you heat it up in the microwave and place in their bedding section and keeps them warm throughout the night which is great!
Piggie Life
Teenage Guinea Pig
Off topic but how long does your Megazorb last, I bought some today and found I had to use a lot to cover the floor of my hutch, I bought the 85 ltr bag.
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