i know you've all heard this before!

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kelly-m-e

kelly-m-e

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I was in asda today and seen some pretty pink/blue baby fleeces for £1 and thought of you guys straight away!

This made me start to think.... should I swap to fleeces?

I know everybodys heard this before but I'm really stuck and can't decide what to do. At the moment I use sawdust, on top of newspaper with with hay in their bed. Like the old fashioned way. I never heard of keeping them on fleeces until I joined this forum and it seems like a really good idea! It looks so comfortable!

Sooo do you guys prefer the fleece? My boyfriend isn't to sure but I think I like the idea! I have a 5ft and a 4ft cage, would they be suitable? Any pros and cons or tips would be greatly appriciated!

Ps already looked through the sticky and still can't decide!
 
Are your piggies indoors? Mine are and I had them on sawdust for about 3 weeks then switched. It's so easy to clean the cage out with fleece (I put towels underneath) but be warned! It is a lot of washing!

If you do switch, make sure you brush down the fleece to get as much hay etc off as poss. I've not had a problem as yet but I have read that some people have damaged their washing machines :{
 
I love fleece x)
I brush mine off before it goes in the washing machine but I also put it in a washbag to stop the filter getting clogged. You can use an old duvet/pillow case xx
 
They are outdoors, but in a heated shed... so its not as if they are in the garden. There are 6 of us in the house anyway so I'm used to the washing :o)

I just didn't know much about using fleece and just wanted to see what people prefered
 
Fleece.
I won't use anything but fleece now and my piggies are a lot happier and more comfy on it but like other's have said you have to make sure you brush everything off befor washing it.
xx
 
I much prefer it. It doesn't smell or anything, obviously the longer you leave it, the more it smells. It can be a bit unsightly with all the poops as they show up a lot more than in sawdust, but you can just sweep these up more regularly than you wash.

I found with sawdust and paper that it was just a big old mushy mess of wee when I cleaned them out.

If you do decide to change over, I suggest that you get a few sets so that you can clean and replace and wash at the same time.

For a big cage like yours you could either have a few blankets down or get a bigger one. Dunelm do 200x140cm pet blankets for £4.99 which is approx 6.5ft by 4.5ft (I think!) so should cover your whole floor space in one go.
 
i love fleece i have 11 of mine on it,unfortunantly the remaining two boys burrow way to much so they are on hay just make sure you have a layer of newspaper and towels under the fleece for better absorbancy.
Sawdust can cause respiratory issues with guinea pigs and is not recommended so i think fleece would be much better x
 
I'm a recent fleece convert and I don't think I'd switch back, even though I was quite sceptical about it beforehand.

My pigs are in my living room and from a purely practical point of view I love that fact that they can run around without kicking a huge wave of loose bedding out of the cage. They also seem very comfortable with it thankfully don't show any signs of wanting to burrow underneath.

They do have a large litter tray with hay in it at one end of the cage under the hay rack that also holds their veggie bowls. This catches some of the mess and reduces the amount of debris on the fleece itself.
 
i took my boys out of there outside hutch and have them indoors now, and swapped to towels. i brought two huge ones for five pound each from primark, and they are lovely colours. though it never looks clean longer than five minutes with the poop everywhere, but it is easy to manage. so i will have them in in the winter and put them back outside with sawdust in the spring. but if you piggies are in a heated shed, then i wouldnt bother in my opinion, sawdust is a lot easier and lasts longer. i wash everyday for the guinea pigs, but its up to you at the end of the day. you could always try it for a week and see how you get on, its just personal preference.gemx
 
p.s my one guinea pig keeps sprawling out on it like a dog, its so wierd, he looks just like my dog! he must prefer the comfort of it, cuz i never saw him do that on his sawdust!gemx
 
i have fleece i use a layer of newspapers then towels then puppy pads then fleece.i like the fact they have a nice soft floor for their little piggies but i do find fleece a bit of a pain.my boys are very messy and get hay everywhere and i find it impossible to get off the fleece!i shake and brush before washing and do the same afterwards but theres still hay stuck to it :((
 
I have switched to fleece with cheap towels (from Ikea for less than £1 each) and newspaper underneath. I also use toilet corners from p@h, for which I still use sawdust with a layer of hay on top (I have a piggy with cystitis trouble -> very smelly urine). I change about every 2-3 days, as my five are in the living room.

If you buy good quality fleece (which is not cheap) the hay will stick a lot less and can be shaklen out before washing. On the other hand, it a lot less messy to clean out and you don't up with loads of sawdust!
 
Thanks everyone, I think I'll try it out in one of their cages for a week and see if I prefer it to saw dust. I find that sawdust only last 2/3 days before its all wet and soggy anyway, so maybe fleece will help a little bit!

Hopefully my piggies will love the comfort and I'll get to see them all relaxed on it (I never see them lying down on the sawdust/hay)

So as of tomorrow moring one of them will be on puppy pads/towel/fleece and I'll let you all know what I think
 
i have to be honest i tried fleece but my piggies didn't like it, i think they must be the only ones! I put fleece go their living rooms and hay in the bedroom but they stayed in their bedroom unless they were eating. And i tried various things under but the wee mostly stayed on top, it just didn't work out for me. But i do think i may be the only one. . .
 
fleece is also easier on your wheelie bin load - sawdust takes up so much room!
 
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