Fleece And Dirty Feet

[skrinzoid]

I've recently changed to fleece and am trying to keep up with the poos two times a day (I work long hours so three isnt possible). But I have found they are standing in poo and have dirtier feet than when they were in sawdust! I want to keep fleece for the guinea pigs health but if they have dirty feet they cant wander the carpet like normal! What do I do?​

 

[biscandmatt]

can't say i've noticed this problem and mine are on fleece. maybe put a fleece down on the carpet when they are out?

 

[skrinzoid]

I tend to let them run riot in the whole living room. One has had softer poos and is recovering from an upset stomach so maybe thats contributed. I'm just having to contain them at the the moment. Sawdust got everywhere but didnt get into the beige carpet x

 

[madguinealady]

I've never had this problem.The poo on the fleece is usually dry

 

[Briony_S]

It could be a wicking issue. Does the fleece feel damp? It shouldn't but if it does you may need work on its wicking quality by doing a few washes or look into different absorbant layer. If its damp it would make the poos more wet thus creating dirty feet.

 

[Rigby]

I agree, it sounds like the fleece is not absorbing properly. I found that my long-haired pigs had damp hair at the ends when I kept them on fleece so I switched to vetbed. It's more expensive initially but it washes well and dries quickly. It's always dry to touch and the pigs love it.

It's worth trying to wash the fleece several times to see if it improves wicking, do you use newspaper underneath? That might be worth a try too.