fleece liners

[potter_piggies]

Hi all! Ive been thinking about swapping to Fleece liner in the bottom of my enclosures. What are you experiences? Do'd and Dont's? Can I make them myself, there very expensive to buy and I don't mind a sewing challenge! thanks all. x

 

[Siikibam]

There’s a thread on bedding but can’t hunt for it right now. You need something absorbent under the fleece and need to make sure the fleece wicks - liquid is absorbed away from the surface.

 

[Piggies&buns]

This is the guide siikibam is referring to
A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding

 

[Autonerd]

We just sort-of switched to fleece -- U-Haul moving blankets cut to the size of the cage. We put hay on top (a little orchard grass for starters, and the piggies do the rest with the timothy we feed them). It's great. Makes cleaning a LOT easier -- fold in the corners, roll it up, then shake into a bag or trash bin. A few poop pellets spilled out and I vacuumed them up. Washing was a challenge, though -- I washed the first one in the apartment washing machine and it made a pretty big mess. (Oops.) Next time I'll hand wash in the sink and make sure I have a strainer over the drain.

 

[LollyJJ]

Another tip , buy a laundry bag- they are cheap off eBay- keeps the hay inside rather than clogging up your machine and then you can empty it out of the bag Depending on the size you're covering have separate smaller fleeces rather than one big piece in case it's a struggle to fit in the machine and potentially wreck it too.

 

[swaller]

Agree with LollyJJ - the horse washing bag is a must - and add a good glug of white vinegar to the wash and plain rinse the washing machine often to keep it fresh. Made a bunch of my own using incontinence liners from amazon and polar/anti-pil fleece topper. For each 2x3 cost for materials was less than EUR 12.

 

[Tigermoth]

consider the style. I had fitted pads that my pair chose to live underneath. So now I have separate parts. I used a mattress topper as my base (has to be cotton though) with a large piece of fleece that I pin round the top of the cage. They still try and get underneath but it’s less of a battle.

We Are Being Outwitted By A Pair Of Pigs...

 

[Nooberdog]

I have been making my own fleece liners for a few years now and I definitely recommend them! I really enjoy picking cute patterns and it really livens up the cage. When you have fleece liners it’s important to have something absorbable underneath for the urine. It can be puppy pads, towels... what I use personally are Uhaul furniture pads. Anti-pill fleece is typically the best type of fleece to use for liners as they wick easily and aren’t big and fluffy like other kinds of fleece.

 

[GuineaPigGrandma]

These are probably stupid questions - so. I’ve read and read and watched videos but I Can’t quite work it out


I’ve set up the 4x2 cage for the future guineas. I’ve bought the fleece cage liner, I’ve got some hides coming from Etsy. On a lot of videos I’ve seen extra fleeces used on top. These look like normal fleeces not the waterproof ones?
do I need these? Or am I better off with multiple smaller waterproof ones? If so how many would you recommend.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Some people use pee pads in high traffic areas on top of the fleece liner. This is because it’s easier to change out a few pee pads in those high traffic areas every few days than changing the whole liner if most of it is actually still clean. You don’t have to use pee pads though.

You don’t have to use proper liners though - I use puppy pads and then put a normal fleece blanket on top (I don’t use fleece year round so I find it easier this way). It works the same way.

 

[Tigermoth]

These are probably stupid questions - so. I’ve read and read and watched videos but I Can’t quite work it out


I’ve set up the 4x2 cage for the future guineas. I’ve bought the fleece cage liner, I’ve got some hides coming from Etsy. On a lot of videos I’ve seen extra fleeces used on top. These look like normal fleeces not the waterproof ones?
do I need these? Or am I better off with multiple smaller waterproof ones? If so how many would you recommend.

Thank you in advance.

Fleece isnt waterproof. The way it works is that it’s structure allows moisture to be sucked through to an absorbent under layer (a process called wicking). Residual moisture on the surface quickly evaporates leaving the fleece dry and the absorbent layer dries more slowly.
Additional fleece piddle pads are useful in high traffic areas but would need to be fleece with absorbency beneath and the you change these out more frequently to keep down odour.

Personally I don’t use these, as soon as I identify an area as high traffic and put something there it instantly becomes the worst place to be and renders it pointless

 

[GuineaPigGrandma]

Thank you so much. That’s great and makes sense, so the plain fleece would only work as a sort of poo strainer whilst the waterproof pee pads although more expensive would do a better job of actually keeping the cage liner fresher for longer ... if they choose to use them!

I was thinking of getting puppy pads to go under the liner just for extra protection.

am I right in starting off with about 4 pee pads?

thank you and sorry for the silly questions!

 

[4boipigs]

I really love fleece. I fully switched about a month ago and no longer use paper bedding. I would advise to definitely make smaller pieces like pee and bottle pads to put in high traffic areas like beds and under leaky bottles. It will help the fleece last a little longer between cleaning. Fleece is cleaner in general and fun because of the print choices. You do have to be willing to do laundry and be aware of the weight of wet fleece in a washer.

I do use disposable potty pads under my fleece but you need to be careful because some pigs will pull up the fleece to chew the pads. Otherwise, I find washable/reusable pee pads under the bedding to help.

I prefer to buy fleece other people have made- it is expensive to start but much better than buying disposable bedding.