Fleece? Vetbed? Woodchips?

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Beans&Toast

Beans&Toast

Adult Guinea Pig
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Okay so I see a lot of people saying they use fleece in their piggy cage, or vetbed.. and I have a few questions about both..

Firstly, what is vetbed? I've only ever seen pictures and it just looks like a fleecy material but I see people raving about how good it is.

Secondly, I use woodchips with my pigs and they've never had any health concerns with it, but I would like to use fleece/vetbed as 1. I imagine my pigs would like it better, and 2. It would be much cheaper in the long run than buying sawdust.

My only worry is how to keep it clean...

Currently, I clean my pigs c and c cage out about 3 times a day because they poo ALL THE TIME and there's always loads of it :p but how would that work with fleece or vetbed? Wouldn't it get mucky and soggy?

Sorry for the long message... :p
 
I have a piece of vet bed that covers about half of the cage, it wicks away moisture so it won't be soggy on the top which is good. My piggies like it, but they also like fleece too. Both fleece and vet bed will need some kind of absorbing layer underneath it (for the wee!) I use towels currently but other people use puppy pads, I'm looking into using mattress toppers/protectors too.

I personally think I might get some more vet bed, even in little squares for sleeping on maybe, it's very comfy. Sawdust is what we used for the piggies I had when I was a kid, I wouldn't use it again. Fleece seems easier to use, but I'm going to try and make an actual fleece cage liner.

I have 2 hay trays under their hay racks (with newspaper on the bottom, and then a bunch of hay) which about 80% of the time they pee and poo in, which makes the rest of the cage cleaner. I poo pick the whole cage at least once a day, more if they decide they don't want to do it in the hay trays that day lol. Then with the hay trays you can empty and clean them as and when needed, keeps the mess pretty confined to a few areas and makes it a lot easier.

Pretty low maintenance considering they're pooping machines :) Hope this helps!
 
Thank you! How often should you wash the fleece/vetbed? And doesn't it end up smelling? I currently have no smell coming from their cage as I change any wet sawdust throughout the day, I'm just worried about the smell with fleece..

However I would much prefer this as it would be better for the piggies. Where's best to get it from? And does it come in sizes big enough for a 5x2 c and c cage?
 
vetbed is just like a thick fleece material that wicks moisture away from the surface to an absorbent layer underneath. you remove poops as you would with any bedding, it will only get mucky if you leave it too long between changes, but that's the same as every other bedding i think with messy piggies! :))

do you mean sawdust or woodshavings? because sawdust is known to be really bad for their health. opinion is divided with woodshavings aswell. i wouldn't use them personally but have heard some people really recommend the snowflake plain woodshavings brand.

you could get some smaller pieces of vetbed to try first to see how you get on with it and put it over the bedding you use now. ebay sell it. :)
 
biscandmatt said:
vetbed is just like a thick fleece material that wicks moisture away from the surface to an absorbent layer underneath. you remove poops as you would with any bedding, it will only get mucky if you leave it too long between changes, but that's the same as every other bedding i think with messy piggies! :))

do you mean sawdust or woodshavings? because sawdust is known to be really bad for their health. opinion is divided with woodshavings aswell. i wouldn't use them personally but have heard some people really recommend the snowflake plain woodshavings brand.

you could get some smaller pieces of vetbed to try first to see how you get on with it and put it over the bedding you use now. ebay sell it. :)
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Yeah I woodshavings is what I use, I'm just used to calling it sawdust :p I've never had any health issues with my pigs regarding the woodshavings but I would prefer the fleece.

I'm just worried about if my pigs don't take to it as they're used to woodshavings :/

Last question... what thickness should you get? I looked on ebay and see it comes in different thickness.. x
 
I have fleece and litter trays containing aubiouse and hay.Poops get brushed up once a day and litter trays changed every other day.Hope this helps.Would love vetbed but don't have the money
 
Beans&Toast said:
Yeah I woodshavings is what I use, I'm just used to calling it sawdust :p I've never had any health issues with my pigs regarding the woodshavings but I would prefer the fleece.

I'm just worried about if my pigs don't take to it as they're used to woodshavings :/

Last question... what thickness should you get? I looked on ebay and see it comes in different thickness.. x
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ah ok :))

to be honest i've never noticed the thickness and it coming in different ones :mal:

if you get some smallish pieces and they sleep on them then you'd know they approve and could then order more? i just remembered that the hayexperts sell some smaller pieces aswell Vetbed | Bedding & Litter | The Hay Experts

what about fleece liners and pads etc, have you thought about trying those instead? they're not as thick and fluffy as vetbed but essentially work in the same way :)
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'm going to try a sample piece first to see what it's like and if they like it.. It not ill try fleece with towels underneath. It'll be cheaper and better for the piggies healthXD
 
Alex2016 said:
I'll add my vote for vetbed it's very good, once it's washed it drys very fast
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Do you have two then? So one in use while the other one is being washed?
I've ordered sample sizes just to test if the pigs like it, but I use fleece in their loft part of the cage and they don't seem to mind it so I think we'll be fine :)
 
I have a roll of vetoed it was defective so I brought it cheap got it all over the hose for my animals lol , I prefer it to fleece as it dose not hold the uri like fleece and the feces are easier to remove !
 
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