Fleece Problems

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Bigsize9fot

Bigsize9fot

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Hi

I've only had my guineas 2 weeks. They are housed on newspaper and wood shavings. But I am finding I need to change them every day almost. So I decided to give the fleece a try. Cut up an old fleece blanket that was prepped in the right way (hot washes, no fabric conditioner) and used puppy pads underneath.

I found that the puppy pads were soaked the next day so had to be changed. In addition, the fleece was wet where they had peed. Obviously the pee has soaked through to the pads but its not idea if the fleece is still wet to the touch. So it ended up more hassle than the woodchips :-(

Any ideas what to try next? Vetbed? I don't want to be cleaning them out every day. We've been poo picking twice a day but even that takes some time. I want them to stay dry and happy. They are long haired so the wet is a particular problem.

Thanks :-)
 
I just use puppy pads in the cage and vetbed with puppy pads underneath in the beds.

I change them twice a day and don't think there is any way to change them less frequently tbh,
 
:-( I read some people on here who get about a week from their fleece with change of puppy pads every few days. Time to think again!
 
How big is your cage?
Our girls are in a 2x3 C and C with loft and I change their newspaper/woodshavings twice a week with daily spot cleaning.
We had to temporarily house them in a much smaller pet-shop cage for a week and I found that got dirtier much quicker.

We are extending their cage soon and I am hoping to try fleece as like you have read good things on the forum.

Am sure someone with fleece experience will be along soon and can make some suggestions for you.
 
I use newspaper and wood shavings so I appreciate your problem!

How big is the cage? You may find the bedding less sodden if the pee is distributed over a larger area, if you get what I mean.

I have found my pigs like to toilet mostly in the corners of the cage, so I have put two of the corner shaped plastic litter trays in the cage and filled them with a bit of wood shavings and a load of hay. They quite like to sit in them and munch while toileting so it contains the poop/pee a bit!

I try to spot clean and remove the soiled wood shavings/hay periodically and then do a full bedding change with fresh newspaper once a week.

Its not a perfect solution but I can't be bothered with all the changing/washing that comes with using fleece! My pigs have long hair but they never seem to get too wet so I think it works out ok for me :)
 
I was changing wood shavings every other day, and the same for finacard (which is dust free and cheaper). One of my piggies is slightly long haired and she gets wetter than the others too. I've recently changed to vet fleece, which is very good and wicks well but there is still some dampness at times but not as bad as usual bedding. If I use towels and puppy pads underneath, they need changing daily. I use a washable incontinence pad that takes 3 litres of liquid, and that lasts 2 days. I am finding it more work as I'm brusing the fleece clean each day with a small dustpan and brush but it doesn't take long and easier work than shoveling wood shavings or finacard. It is taking more washing and drying, and the vet fleece fills up the machine...a horse bag is needed too, to protect the machine. I wash the vet fleece once a week.
 
aubiose is a horse bedding which seems to be more absorbent than wood shavings,i use puppypads and then aubiose,have a herd of 5 piggies and only change every seven days,i do use litter trays with megasorb and change those every 3 days.my cage is a 6x2,it is approx £9.50 to £10 a bale,but lasts much longer between clean outs than wood shavings.i use fleece liners on the top stacking 6x2 cage,with cat litter trays and put megasorb and hay in those.it really is trial and error,to see which bedding is best for you and your piggies.good luck.x
 
I use towel then fleece.Litter trays have aubiouse and hay in.I sweep fleece at least twice a day, use extra towel and fleece under litter trays under the cage where they pee most.The smaller towel and fleece gets changed every two days and the main fleece every four days.Litter trays get done every two days.I have a twenty eight square foot run with eleven pigs in.My boys have a liner that gets swept every day and changed every two to three days as they aren't very good at using the litter tray.The boys are in 164X78
 
Their cage is too small at only 100cm (supplied by SSPCA!) so I do need to get them anew one but was delaying this till I settle on a bedding. I think I'll try the auboise and some other stuff called snowflake I think it was. Thanks everyone for your help :-)
 
@BossHogg uses snowflake and swears by it for his rabbits and guinea pigs.I use aubiouse.You could attach a run to the cage and use the cage as a kitchen so it isn't totally wasted.
 
Snowflake is excellent, I use 3 bales a month, granted it's a little more expensive than shavings but you get what you pay for, excellent absorption and locks in the smell. ;)
 
snowflake softchip is approx £6.50 a 20kg bale,it looks and acts like aubiose,seems to as absorbent,but 30% less cost,i think @BossHogg means softchip snowflake and not snowflake shavings,but need confirm with Bosshogg.:)
 
Yep, I use the softchip, I don't use standard shavings anymore. My bales cost me £9.20 each, but my petshop orders them in for me, all I have to do is collect them from the shop. ;)
 
BossHogg said:
Yep, I use the softchip, I don't use standard shavings anymore. My bales cost me £9.20 each, but my petshop orders them in for me, all I have to do is collect them from the shop. ;)
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Great! Thanks. We have an independent pet shop nearby so I will go in and see them. Don't mind paying a bit more. Would love to take up the idea of using our cage as a kitchen but we have limited space. I'll get them the bigger cage and make sure they get into their playpen often.
Who would have thought keeping guineas would be such a steep learning curve? :-)
 
I'll have to check the bag in the morning. ;)
 
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