floor covering

[2littlepigs]

Hi
I'm not sure if this is the right place but would very much appreciate advice.
Currently the floor of our cages is covered in sawdust (piggies are about 12 weeks now)
I have been browsing here for a while and it seems that this is not best for them

What would you all reccommend to put on the floor of the cage and what in the bedding area.

Sorry if this has been done to death but have just come back from hols and want to sort out now asap.

Thank you in advance
Nikki and piggies x5

 

[piggyfan]

I used to use shavings but I found them so messy and they made my piggies sneeze too. Now I put down towels with two layers of fleece. This is nice and cosy for piggies and easy to clean. Every three days I just stick them in the washing machine.

 

[TwoPiggies]

I would reccommend using fleece. The way I do it is to have a layer of news paper, layer of old towels and then the fleece on top. This means if they pee the towels absorb it but the fleece stays dry. I clean up poops from fleece about twice a day.

I then have a hay tray for my piggies which is actually a plastic dog basket lined with news paper, v small amount of sawdust, shredded paper and then lots of hay! They tend to pee in this most as they spend a lot of time in it munching their hay

I top up their hay 2/3 times a day to make sure they have fresh hay and it is cleaned out every 3 days.

Depending on the size of your cage will depend what you could use. My piggies are free range so don't have a cage. You could always get a couple of small trays to use for hay.

I hope this helps

 

[2littlepigs]

I seemed to think fleece would be the most popular idea.
Would you say it needs to be on towels or just on thick newspaper. would it be the same for their bedding area as well.
currently their hay is in a hayrack kind of thing attacthed to the cage.?/

 

[piggyfan]

I use towels as I feel they are more absorbent. I cover the whole place with them as they go everywhere. If the hay is in a hay rack it will not make any difference.

 

[christine]

I have recently started using shredded cardboard and it is very good,soft ,clean warm and dust free. Lightweight and rots down well when finished with. The piggies love it,they can nibble a little if they wish and push it around and forage in it . I am very impressed.Of course it is eco friendly too!
There are quite a few suppliers,just type in "shredded cardboard animal bedding "and take your pick. I use Shredmaster Ltd. but I buy in bulk, other firms supply and deliver in small and large quantities,

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Fleece or vetbed are good - I use the latter now. Available in lovely colours but more of a pain to wash due to the thickness. I have to do four washes at each clean out as I can only get two pieces in at one time and have 12 piggies but they're worth it |)

 

[Guinea pig slave]

I have recently started using shredded cardboard and it is very good,soft ,clean warm and dust free. Lightweight and rots down well when finished with. The piggies love it,they can nibble a little if they wish and push it around and forage in it . I am very impressed.Of course it is eco friendly too!
There are quite a few suppliers,just type in "shredded cardboard animal bedding "and take your pick. I use Shredmaster Ltd. but I buy in bulk, other firms supply and deliver in small and large quantities,

Ooh, I like the look of that. Wow, huge quantities though and would have to keep that in storage which the rest of the surplus piggy items :x Do they not do a smaller bag ?

 

[chilwell]

Sorry to thread hijack, I am currently using fleece on top of newspaper, does fleece on top of towels smell less? I change the paper and fleece everyday or it stinks the place out...