Guinea pig bedding replacement?

BconTfuZozo556

BconTfuZozo556

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Does anybody have any replacements for guinea pig bedding? I have seen people use washable blankets for their guinea pigs but I would need a way to remove all the poop and dirt from the blanket before washing to ensure it doesn't clog our machine. I have two guinea pigs and a decently large cage which I have been wanting to enlarge but I do need a suitable way to keep the cage clean and not have to use bedding. The bedding has become expensive, and I would like to find a replacement. The bedding gets very odorous and dirty, needing to be changed regularly. Does anybody have a less maintenance way of keeping their guinea pig enclosure clean?
 
It depends on your perspective on what bedding will work best for you - different people have different ideas on what is less maintenance!
You can use fleece bedding or the disposable you are currently using.

With fleece bedding It requires an absorbent layer underneath (ie puppy pads which can either be disposable or washable) and then fleece laid on top of it.
Fleece bedding can need to be changed anywhere between every 3-7 days (it depends on many factors as to how often they need to be changed)
People often put smaller fleece pads or bath mats on top of high traffic areas to try extend the use of the main fleece.
The smaller fleece pads can need to be removed and washed every day in some cases but it nay only need to be every second or third day (again, depending on many factors).

You will need to shake and sweep hay and poops off the fleece before putting in your machine.
You can buy large pet laundry bags which you can put the fleece into before going in your machine. They help keep any stray poops and hay inside the bag during washing so they don’t clog your machine

A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding
 
Ok, Thank you so much, I will try doing some research and see if I can find some fleece bedding that will work well for my cage, I will try it out and hopefully this will also help reduce the smell.
 
BconTfuZozo556 said:
Ok, Thank you so much, I will try doing some research and see if I can find some fleece bedding that will work well for my cage, I will try it out and hopefully this will also help reduce the smell.
Click to expand...

Only if you don’t change it too much. As you have male piggies, if you fully change all the bedding in one go you can actually cause them to smell even more.
Removing all bedding and therefore all scent from the cage will cause them to need to scent mark more which will mean they smell more.
You should only ever clean half the cage in one go with boars no matter what type of bedding you use
 
I use fleece bedding with my piggies and washable pee pads underneath. It works well for me. I clean them out at least once a week. I have sows though. You can do a complete change with boars as long as you rub the dirty fleece on the clean fleece to make sure it smells right. I did this when I had boars and it did lessen the smell. It depends on your boars though. You may find that you need to clean half the hutch as @Piggies&buns has already said.
 
I just bought the fleece bedding and I already have some pee pads that I will use under the bedding, thank you so much for the advice!
 
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