Indoor cage - Flooring Question

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CatherineG78

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Hi All,

My Gp's are currently outside but am going this weekend to buy them an indoor cage. I've seen the one I want in a local pet shop - which is remarkably cheaper than PaH, a 4x2 is £30 which is about the right size for two girls I think. I have a couple of questions though -

- I notice that most people are using fleece as flooring? I was just going to do the same as I do for the outdoor hutch, which is paper underneath, with a layer of hay? Am I better to use fleece?

- I noticed also that people are talking about litter trays - are they easy to train them to use? Mine currently 'go' ALL the time - even if they are scamping round the hallway, there's always SUCH a mess afterwards - usually always confined to one place, but loads of it. I guess if I get them used to a litter tray, then it can come into the hallway and they may still use when they are having exercise time?

Sorry, lots of fairly dim questions here, but I'm new to this and want to get it right!

Thanks
 
Paper and hay is fine indoors. You will need to change it regularly to keep the smell to a minimum.

Very few pigs will use litter trays only. It's more that if you have fleece it's a good idea to provide areas where the guinea pigs can root about in hay as it's more stimulating for them. Because they eat the hay in the litter tray, they will do a larger number of poops as they eat. It would be a good idea to try one for floor time though. Also, if you have any chairs or tables in the hall, then put a towel underneath as my piggies tend to go underneath things to pee when they're out of the cage.

Fleece is mush higher maintenance and doesn't suit everyone. You need to poop scoop at least once a say and change/ wash the fleece and under layers probably a minimum of twice a week.

I have a combination of both because my 6 guinea pigs have a huge indoor set up. The biggest area has washable incontinence pads and fleece, then another big area with newspaper, aubiose and hay (I top up the hay every day) and the same in a smaller hayloft. I couldn't have disposable bedding for the whole cage because of the cost and disposing of the waste. I have tried just newspaper and hay indoors and it smelled too quickly for me but aubiose does the job nicely. In fact , then I've had just one or 2 pigs on it, I have managed to leave the newspaper and aubiose for a full week and just change the hay midweek.

It's all a bit trial and error.
 
Paper and hay is perfectly fine :) Fleece is cheaper (don't have to buy bedding as it is re-usable) and is more for looks. It takes more maintenance though as it gets smelly and dirty quite easily. You will have to change it about every 3 days or so but it is pretty quick and easy to do.

You can, in a way, litter train them. I used a litter tray as a feeding area (helps keep the food away from the fleece) and as guineas like to go to the bathroom while they eat it helped keep the mess down as it was all in one place. Guineas also like to go to the bathroom in dark areas, like in hidey huts and stuff. So although you wont 100% litter train them it will help give you an idea of where they will go
 
Paper and hay is ok, but often isn't very absorbent and hay can get mildewy if you don't change it often enough, which isn't good for the pigs. It'll be fine if you change it often and the humidity is low. To be honest, I'd expect it to smell pretty quickly though. You might not notice that outside but it may be a different story in your house! If you want to give fleece a little try without too much commitment, get some old cotton towels or puppy training pads, line the cage with them, and cover that over with a cheap fleece blanket (Poundland!) you've washed a few times. This is easy to change completely or partially and gives you an idea whether fleece will suit you without committing to expensive, fully-fitted liners or anything. If you don't like it, the fleece blanket always comes in handy for floor time. :D When I tested it I actually found it easier, but I just popped the pigs in their playpen or travel carrier and gave it a vac between changes!

Machu is almost completely litter trained, but I'm using the word 'trained' really loosely... He just kind of trained himself. (This is another factor that makes fleece a good option for us, because it DOESN'T stink quickly thanks to this.) He used to always do his business in one far corner of the cage. I gather this is sort of weird for pigs, as everyone says they'll just go where they eat, or in dark hidey hole spaces like LittleEskimo says. Mine never have. They'd occasionally poo in their bedding area, but rarely wee there. Machu especially just almost always went clear across the cage to this same corner, even though it was as far away as you could possibly get from his food and cave area and was totally exposed.

I put a litter tray in that corner (I just use either wood shavings or that wood pellet cat litter in there) and he continued to use it. Now, when they have floor or playpen time I can take the litter tray out of their cage, put it somewhere in the playpen, and Machu will go there almost without fail.

I think I got lucky there, though, as he was already a pretty fastidious pig. If yours are already inclined to go everywhere, chances are they're going to keep going everywhere.
 
CatherineG78 said:
Hi All,

My Gp's are currently outside but am going this weekend to buy them an indoor cage. I've seen the one I want in a local pet shop - which is remarkably cheaper than PaH, a 4x2 is £30 which is about the right size for two girls I think. I have a couple of questions though -

- I notice that most people are using fleece as flooring? I was just going to do the same as I do for the outdoor hutch, which is paper underneath, with a layer of hay? Am I better to use fleece?

- I noticed also that people are talking about litter trays - are they easy to train them to use? Mine currently 'go' ALL the time - even if they are scamping round the hallway, there's always SUCH a mess afterwards - usually always confined to one place, but loads of it. I guess if I get them used to a litter tray, then it can come into the hallway and they may still use when they are having exercise time?

Sorry, lots of fairly dim questions here, but I'm new to this and want to get it right!

Thanks[/QUOT

For my indoor cagr i use newspaper with a thick layer of sawdust on top and a layer of hay and * *** see the point in litter trays there guineapigs not cats lol
Click to expand...
 
For my indoor cage i use newspapers then vet bed which is not cheap but I have found to be really good. It is much thicker than normal fleece and i found the cheapest place to buy it on ebay certainly NOT pet shops or garden centres as VERY expensive there. I change the newspaper regularly and then change the whole lot about once a week. I have a toilet area but they dont use it very much but I brush the cage out daily. I have found it easier to clean since we just got an outside run which makes it easier and less mess!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anti-Slip...pplies_Dogs&hash=item53ebd34fa0#ht_500wt_1200 this is the one i have but mine was cheaper but is the same design. I have 2 pieces per layer so I can change it easily. I regularly take it to the laundrette in town to wash it as they have a big machine just for pet bedding.
 
I tried fleece but they burrowed under it and it was a pain trying to get the hay off before it went in the washing machine.
I now use newspaper and hay and it's brilliant! It's so easy just rolling it all up and sweeping any stray poops out. The Piggys love to burrow and forage in hay and I don't find it smells either.
 
I have litter trays for mine as I use fleece and it just keeps the cage a bit tidier. They do tend to wee more in the litter trays than on the cage floor, but they will wee wherever there is hay rolleyes. There is no stopping them pooing everywhere though. After all they are little poo machines! :))

I used to use shavings for mine, but they just made too much mess and they aren't all that healthy. Paper and hay is perfectly fine though, however again it may make a bit of a mess, but hay is easier to clean up than shavings! The one problem I find with fleece is it is quite time consuming trying to sweep all the hay off before putting it in the machine but for me it is more practical than anything else.
 
SpinningNickel said:
I put a litter tray in that corner (I just use either wood shavings or that wood pellet cat litter in there) and he continued to use it. Now, when they have floor or playpen time I can take the litter tray out of their cage, put it somewhere in the playpen, and Machu will go there almost without fail.
Click to expand...

So they don't mind walking on the cat litter? I was wondering whether to switch to it myself, mine use their litter trays 80% of the time, and Winston wees twice as much as Lucian! the sawdust in his litter tray can go from new when i go to bed, to having puddles underneath it it's so wet when i get up in the morning! i've given him a bigger tray now, but was wondering whether cat litter would absorb more, or whether it might put him off going in it..?
 
Ailsa92 said:
So they don't mind walking on the cat litter? I was wondering whether to switch to it myself, mine use their litter trays 80% of the time, and Winston wees twice as much as Lucian! the sawdust in his litter tray can go from new when i go to bed, to having puddles underneath it it's so wet when i get up in the morning! i've given him a bigger tray now, but was wondering whether cat litter would absorb more, or whether it might put him off going in it..?
Click to expand...

I heard you have to be careful about some types of cat litter as if they eat it they could get really ill.
 
Yh, I'm just at the start of research, so need all the help I can get! I just read a similar thread where they were talking about different litters.. This forum is SO helpful! Nice to be a part of it! It's a relief to feel like you can have so much help and so many opinions with different aspects of guinea pigs!

By the way Whispa5, your guinea pig in your photo is CO cute!
 
I use litter trays with mine, and really noticed a difference in smell when I changed to a litter they didn't like & wouldn't use. They don't use the trays 100%, but it really does make it more controllable. Avoid the stuff called "critter litter", supposedly designed for small animals. It's really expensive and consists of large pellets that mine wouldn't go near - probably too uncomfortable. I use Biocatolet now, which is also for small animals & paper-based. They like it and it doesn't stick to the fleece like wood shavings does.
 
its all up to personal preference, I use fleece for the boys with litter trays under the hay rack (which catches the bottle drips too), I use fleece for the herd inside and upstairs in their hutch during the summer with litter trays again under the hay rack. For the herd I use shredded paper downstairs on newspaper which is changed every 4 days, the fleece once a week (they eat downstairs, upstairs is kept for sleeping and a bit of eating). The boys are changed every 4 days but the litter trays are changed as and when needed (sometimes every 2 days, sometimes 3 days) and the boys litter trays are filled with aboise, the herds shredded paper again (I have a sensitived skinned piggie). The herds fleece is changed once a week unless its dirty or I can feel the damp towels underneath (which isnt often)

I find the set up works for me, I spot clean once a day, they have soft beds everywhere and by placing the trays where they would spend a lot of their time eating and weeing, it reduced the mess where they would sit and eat (and wee and poo). The girls mostly seek out a litter tray or a certain type of bed to go toilet, but will also go where they are if they cant be bothered to move. The boys go where they please, although they also like sleeping in the litter trays.

None of mine are litter trained, but they do like to keep things tidy for them so I am happy they go with what they like and stick to the trays for most toilets. I have wash bags to put the bedding in to keep my washing machine hair and hay free, but as I wont have hay out of the hay rack (and brush it off before taking out the pens), its not too bad on the fleeces.
 
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