Fleece Is A Disaster!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jeniva

Jeniva

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 3, 2013
Messages
226
Reaction score
79
Points
265
Location
Hertfordshire, UK
Since getting a large c and c cage I've had enough of the amount of wood shavings used. So I'm trying fleece.
Unfortunately it's one disgusting smelly mess after just one day. My Guinea pigs bed area has been changed 4 times now as it gets completely sodden and smeared all in wet wee poo. He won't go in the litter tray, he seems scared of it - so I don't think he's even eaten hay! He's gotten his pellet food crumbs every where.
It's a total mess! How on earth do people keep them clean!?
 
It sounds like something isn't quite right with your set up as it really shouldn't be that messy so quickly.

So firstly has the top fleece layer been washed several times with a small amount of detergent and no fabric conditioner?
When you pour a small amount of water onto it does the water soak in straight away, or does it 'sit' on top of the fleece.
If the water doesn't soak in immediately then the fleece is not wicking properly and needs to be washed again.

What are you using underneath the fleece as an absorbent layer?
Or it is a ready made liner with an absorbent core?

We use fleece, and I have a pile of small fleece pads that I made myself (fleece top and bottom layer with a piece of toweling in the middle). I place theses in all the main traffic areas - underneath the pellet bowls, inside the hideys, and in all of the 'pee corners'.
I remove and wash the used pads once a day, and change the main fleece liner every 4 - 5 days, although technically this could probably go a day or two longer.
Washing the small pads is quick and easy and it makes cleaning the cage a very fast job.

To cut down on washing I use a mix of soft beds (which do need frequent washing) and plastic beds which can be wiped out and have the liner replaced fairly easily.

I hope this helps a bit.
 
I also wanted to add a photo to try and show what I mean.
For example if you look at the small fleece pad under their pellet bowls you can see it is pretty messy (this is from overnight).
But it isn't wet, so I just pick it up and brush it off and the replace it.
All of the houses have small pads in them, and there is one in front of the hay tray.
Wet ones get replaced and the others just get brushed off and put back.
I made most of the pads myself and they are either from old bits of fleece i already had in my stash, off cuts from the fabric store, or cheap fleece blankets.
The seams are sometimes less than straight, but the guinea pigs don't seem to mind!
IMG_4179.webp
 
I agree with @Swissgreys and the suggestions she has given should help solve the problem.

I don't use any towelling layer. I use fleece direct on top of bed mats (like pampers/huggies) for toddlers' beds
the pee goes direct through the fleece and is absorbed into the mat below.

You say your cage is large - but how large? A large cage definitely helps spread the pee about and cut smells. Hopefully it's at least 5'X2' for a pair of pigs.

if you look at the mat under you fleece after a day, you'll see the heaviest areas for pee. You can then maybe put something there like an additional puppy pad under, a litter tray or a cozy of some sort.

I tried towels under my fleece at the start but i found they held in pee and were very smelly. Downstairs in my cage i don't even have correx. I literally have fleece direct on top of a pampers bed mat. It starts to have a noticeable smell after 5-6 days.
 
I have fleece with towels underneath then extra towel and fleece each end.The each end fleeces get changed every day usually.If he won't use a litter tray that is a problem..Majority of wees go in my litter trays.The new two tend to pea out of the litter tray but usually where the extra fleece is.You could maybe use a correx box at one end that slides in and out with aubiouse or similar in.He might take to that better than small trays
 
I do like the look of an open cage. Mine has to have a lid as we have a cat and a dog. My cage is 5x 2 with a 3X2 hayloft. I've always had megazorb in the hayloft but it's messy and gets trampled through the house as clings to the pigs and spills out of the cage.

Then early this year i tried fleece in the hayloft and it worked a treat.

I thought that'll be lots neater and cut down on the expense of megazorb.

But i don't think stan piddled anything like the quantity of mike! He is unbelievable and with us going on hol soon, I've put megazorb back on the top level to try and absorb a lot of his piddle!


IVe also just got a non tip bowl from snoozies cozies. What's been an eye opener for me is that it hardly holds any food yet the instructions say it holds sufficient for 2 pigs for a whole day!

This explains why benson is so massive.
 
Does your litter tray have a cover? Mine never used it until I put a cardboard roof over it. I found they like to hide when toileting. I line it with newspaper, then a layer of recycled paper pellet bedding, then hay on top. The smell of fresh hay always lures them in!
 
LilyandGeorge said:
Does your litter tray have a cover? Mine never used it until I put a cardboard roof over it. I found they like to hide when toileting. I line it with newspaper, then a layer of recycled paper pellet bedding, then hay on top. The smell of fresh hay always lures them in!
Click to expand...

Ooh thanks for the idea @LilyandGeorge. I'll try this!
 
You could consider making the bottom of your Piggie Cage a hay den, Just use an off cut of correx and some cable ties, cut a hole in the correx and use a wooden stick tunnel to slot partially through the hole you've cut, this will ensure all sharp edges are protected. You could then place a puppy pad under the tunnel (on top of the fleece) at the entrance to protect your fleece as my piggies like to pee here also. Ive done this and now my boys tiddle and off load in here about 80% of the time. Cleaning is a breeze as I just line the bottom of the hay den with about 8 layers of news paper and change daily, giving it a good disinfecting with each clean on each day, since doing this the rest of the Piggie cage needs little cleaning and the hay is separated from the fleeces so it doesn't get caught in them. Most of all the boys love playing in the hay :D
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for the suggestions. It's my first time using fleece with a piggie. My old hedgehog was a lot better with her litter tray!
I use puppy pads under the fleece.
Han has an issue with his poo that they're always soft and not proper poo shape. Meaning they smear around.
First day he used his litter tray. I cleaned it with the piggie safe spray and wiped it down etc, after that he just kept sniffing it from afar. So was doing everything in his bed! Due to his soft poos, mixed then with him laying on it plus weeing there - utter disgusting mess.
I've now removed his bed and put his Hut over the tray of hay so he will have to go in there if he wants to hide, and so far it is working.
I've added extra stuff under his food and water now.
My cage is a c and c and it's two by 4 grids...with an upstairs that he doesn't use at all.
Currently he's on his own but due for neutering Fri and then hopefully getting him a lady friend.
 
@Laura mason thanks so much.
Sadly I don't think I can help you much with the owl fleece, because it was the end of the roll on my local fabric store. They may get more but are based in Switzerland, so depending on where you live it might be a bit of a trek!
I had only planned to get a small amount, but it was so cheap I ended up buying the rest of the roll (just over 3m).
 
Swissgreys said:
@Laura mason thanks so much.
Sadly I don't think I can help you much with the owl fleece, because it was the end of the roll on my local fabric store. They may get more but are based in Switzerland, so depending on where you live it might be a bit of a trek!
I had only planned to get a small amount, but it was so cheap I ended up buying the rest of the roll (just over 3m).
Click to expand...
Ah....I'm in the uk! Lol. I find we don't seem to have much choice here with fleece :( love all the prints they have in America!
 
The American prints are amazing - I occasionally look at them online but the shipping is insane.
In Switzerland it is usually much harder to find cute or bright prints, because they just aren't popular here - hence the reason I got the owl fleece so cheaply I guess!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top