How Much Bedding?

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I wouldn't be able to use vetbed or fleece but with other beddings, how much roughly does it take in a 120cm cage? I am trying to work out expenses a bit but i have no idea how much you would need. Also i know they eat as much as they want but roughly how much hay do you get through?

I'm still deciding about getting guinea pigs because also i keep reading reading conflicting answers on how much noise they make at night which makes a big difference for my house.

Thanks for answering all my questions
 
bedding really depends on your preference of how deep you want the bedding. when i had mine on wood chips ide say about half inch to inch deep..
I have them on fleece now to save on cost as with 8 pigs and 2 rabbits i was getting through a lot of it, but also one of piggies reacted to wood chips so fleece is best all round.
as for hay, i have 1 hay rack per pair and it gets filled twice a day, i buy big bags from local garden centre and 1 to 2 lasts me a week. depends on piggies and rabbits as some days they more then others.

as for noise even though mine are out in garden i never hear them at night, but as soon s it starts getting light i hear them wheeking for their food, but again every pig is different and you never know if you get a vocal one or not, mine personally are all very vocal and always wheek and squeak
 
:D Hello and :wel: to the forum! I can't advise on bedding as my pigs are all on fleece. As for noise, I have eight girls and generally speaking, they are all quiet after lights out!
 
It depends on how many pigs you have (I am assuming two?) and also whether these are hairless of furry. The hairy ones (skinny-pigs) tend to eat, drink, wee and poo more to keep their temperatures up.
I have two large hay trays in my set-ups, and together they would make 100 - 120cms of I were to place that amount of bedding into a cage. I use Fitch paper based bedding at £22 per 20kg from Amazon, and I'd say I use one of those bags per month, roughly.
 
Further to my last reply, I spot-clean the Fitch each day, taking out the wet, scooping the poopy bits and replacing, and the entire lot (both trays) gets completely emptied and cleaned twice per week.
Using a hay rack will probably save you on hay, and most commercial cages come with racks. The advantage of these are 1) the hay is not piddled on, 2) you end up using less, 3) it keeps the hay out of the way so that you can fit an enrichment item in the cage.
However - piggies also enjoy having a large pile to rummage through, tunnel under, lie on and of course eat. A big pile of hay is, to my mind, an enrichment item. You end up using more this way, but he piggies do love it, and I've never found piddle to be a problem as I replenish the hay daily.
At the end of the day it's a case of deciding what is best for your set-up and your pigs.

Noise: There's plenty of people on here who have their cages in their bedrooms. I'm not one of them. For the times I've slept on the settee (when one of us is ill I tend to sleep down stairs to give hubby a better night's sleep) I've found the general hustle and bustle keeps me awake. I'm a light sleeper though. If you want to sleep near your pigs I suggest replacing the water bottles with water bowls at night, and putting the bottles back when you wake up as part of your morning routine.

Some of them are loud squeakers, but they generally do this near and at veggie time, some cannot seem to walk without chuntering happily away to themselves, it's like their vocal cords are directly attached to their legs. Others are near-silent. You may find a quiet one turns into a vocal one as he/she gains confidence, or you may not. If your pair are have the sort of relationship that involves lot's of showing off and displaying at each other you may find them making noise with that too. They do sleep at night, but they also wake several times and have flurries of activity, so it really depends on whether you can get used to that and sleep through it or not. As I say, some of us have and do :)
 
I sleep right next to my pigs, after I turn the lights off they seem to just go to their beds. I've never heard a peep from them. They only start being musical when they hear me up and about and they want their breakfast.

I have been known to sleep through a fire alarm though :/
 
I'm now getting doors so they would be a couple of rooms away with a couple of doors in between. I really don't know if i could afford them which is a shame because i have really fallen in love with them the more i read (though i haven't been able to properly meet any yet). My chihuahua only costs me under £20 a month and it seems 2 gps would cost about three times that, maybe more because of the bedding, but i'm still researching.

I really appreciate the help on this forum for everyone!
 
When i only had the three piggies cost more than my two dogs to feed.The hay, cup of veg each per day and substrate in litter trays plus washing costs for fleece worked out pretty dear.They arent cheap to keep properly.
 
My two girls in a 120cm cage go through 1 large sack of Devon Meadow Hay £3.50 from Garden centre about every 3 weeks, plus about 1 same sized bag of shavings every 3 weeks £2.50 from same place. They are only 16 weeks old tho so I'm expecting this to increase!I line cage with double layer newspaper then about 1 inch deep shavings on top. I totally clean them out twice a week though so depends how often you do it for the sawdust. Many friends just have them on newspaper and thin layer of hay, plus hay to eat in a rack/tray. They are pretty quiet at night unless I disturb them then they squeak a bit thinking I may be about to feed them parsley, but soon go back to sleep! They pretty much go to bed when the lights are out. I feed mine good quality pellets but only half a cup a day so they don't work out too much, less than cat food for sure. The veggies cost a bit if you want to keep it varied and interesting but much cheaper if you get to know your local greengrocer who will often save cauliflower leaves, carrot tops etc for you and let you buy one or two veg rather than a whole bag/bunch. I would say they are costing me about £5 a week for both of them, tops.
 
Lossy said:
I sleep right next to my pigs, after I turn the lights off they seem to just go to their beds. I've never heard a peep from them. They only start being musical when they hear me up and about and they want their breakfast.

I have been known to sleep through a fire alarm though :/
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