Blankets for bedding?

[Elitah]

We've only had our guinea pigs for a few weeks and so far, their beding has been newspaper, sawdust on top and hay on that. However, I've heard that sawdust isn't good for them and besides, we have more garbage than we can fit in our bin now so we might have to pay extra just to get rid of that. I was thinking of doing what I've seen in a few photos: blankets and a bit of hay and just a "toilet" in one corner. There are these thin, soft blankets that can be washed. Our problem is that we fear it might get very wet and stink. We change the bedding in the cages every weekend and so the blankets would need to last for about a week. Any tricks, advice? Who uses blankets and what is your experience with them? I would really like to use blankets so we don't risk having their feet damaged, sneezing and infections and it would be nice to have a lot less litter, but we can't wash the blankets every day.

 

[chrissy88]

Have you tried vetbed? it absorbs loads so you dont have to wash it for awhile.
Also you can just give it a quick Hoover to pick up poops you can machine wash it too. hay is abit of pain to get out but i use a cheap cat litter tray to stick the hay in.

 

[ClaireBear]

Id recommend vet bed, you wash it once a week and just change the newspaper underneath every few days which soaks up all the wee, the vet bed stays completely dry on top for the pigs, we use a handheld hoover to clean up poops on a daily basis you can buy it on ebay relitively cheap or most pet shops and it can be cut to size and comes in some great colours and designs x

 

[Elitah]

I'm still not entirely sure what they are, I googled them. Even my bf didn't know. We were thinking of normal blankets, there are those thin, soft ones and then newspaper underneath. But I've just googled vetbeds, might be worth to get them. Can they be washed in the washing machine if necessary?

 

[ClaireBear]

yeah they are a bit stiff to begin with but a quick machine wash softens them up and they clean really well, never use fabric softener though as this stops them from wicking the liquid down to the newspaper. I tumble dry mine aswell which is quick and easy You can also use fleece type blankets with towel and newspaper underneath i personally have never use it but there are loads of threads in the bedding section just search for fleece bedding x

 

[Elitah]

Okay, I've just ordered vetbeds. They do sound good and I didn't have to pay much for them. In the long run, we would probably have paid a lot more just to get rid of all the litter, cages full of sawdust which is quite cheap, but still does cost a lot of money throughout the years. Spending 20 € on vetbeds sounds so much better.