Is changing to vet bedding a good idea?

[Emsyems]

Hi all,

I've been online for what seems like days now, hunting through loads of posts about vet beds and whether it would be a good option as bedding for my pigs.

I'm now only using sawdust, but we don't live near a supermarket and have to walk to Pets at Home to get a taxi back home with a huge bag of sawdust for the pigs!

Last year I tried using fleece as I'd seen a lot of positive comments about how good it is! But I just found it to be a pain...the hay would cause problems in the washing machine, the pigs preferred ripping it up and chewing on it rather than sleeping on it. I tried velcro to keep them from ripping it up but didn't seem to work and the fleece would only stay dry for a day or two!

So I've been looking into using vet bed as it's obviously thicker and from what I've heard, many people don't mind seem to have to wash it as often as fleece. I've found quite a few on ebay and have been told to buy the ones with the green lining on the bottom. I've also heard that the wire dog brushes are handy at brushing the hay out of the bedding which would be fine, plus I don't mind getting the vac out to get rid of the poos every day!

Any suggestions?

 

[Sodapops]

Are your piggies indoor or outdoor?

Mine have always lived indoor and ive been using fleece for about 10months now. When i had my first two pigs mine lived in a hutch in our dining room and i used to tuck the fleece under the 2 layers of towels i had underneath the fleece material - i never had a problem with them burrowing or ripping it up..

When i switched to indoor shop bought cages i used to trap the fleece in between the cage part and base. Take a look at the cage gallery to get a better idea of exactly what i mean:

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53211

Since switching to three 5ft x 3ft cages i now use washable bed pads underneath my fleece - i used to 'wrap' the bed pads in fleece and then hold it together with small bulldog clips. However, i've since sewn my bed pads to the fleece material and it takes me about 10-20mins to do a full clean out of all 3 cages.

When you bought your fleece did you wash it several times using just normal washing power/liquid? When you first buy fleece in order to make it effective in wicking away the urine you need to get rid of the waxy protective layer first - washing it 3-4 times can help with this. Also you should never use fabric conditioner or washing powders/liquids containing it as it can put the protective layer back on to the fleece material.

I spot clean mine every day (cleaning up poops and hay) using a small cylinder hoover. I fully change the fleece every 3-4 days and i don't find that mine is ever wet or ever smells (even when i was using towels it was never wet to touch and certainly never smelt) - in fact my two girls could go 6-7 days before they need changing.

In terms of hay in the washing machine - my piggies have their food in a separate area of the cage (they have a small second level that all their food and hay is kept in) - i use a cat litter tray underneath their hay rack filled with wood shavings - this catches most of the falling hay. I also brush off most of the hat/hair before putting in to my washing machine - maybe putting the soiled fleece inside an old duvet or zipped/buttoned cushion cover would help?

Ive personally never tried vet bed - but i've heard great things about it, one of the negatives i did hear (which i see was one of your concerns with fleece) was that hay is very difficult to remove due to the deep pile of the material.

I'm sure those that have had more experience will give you a better insight - but in terms of fleece - my experience is listed above - and i wouldn't swap it for the world

 

[chrissy88]

Hi. I use fleece and vet bed. Iv had no problems with the vet bed it is quite easy to clean just give it a quick shake to dislog any hidden poops or just give it a Hoover. My hay is in a cheap cat litter. Tray so most it stays in there but the hay is pretty easy to clean up if it does go on it. I put newspaper under it. Hope that helps

 

[Emsyems]

Thanks guys...

Because I had some fleece from the last time I used it I thought I'd give it a go before I bought some vet bedding and so far so good! I tucked the fleece under the towels but my pigs just love to dig it up! So I'll sort something out for that and hopefully it'll sort itself out! x