Not sure on which bedding to use?

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Cute_Guineapigs

Cute_Guineapigs

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Hi

I've had my 2 boar piggies for 4 months now and I'm not sure on which bedding suits them better. They started off on vetbed which they liked however it was a pain to wash and dry and got dirty quickly, which I think was due to me not using towels underneath. They are now on a layer of megazorb with thick hay on top. They love digging in the hay and sleeping in it, however it's difficult to spot clean so I replace it all twice weekly. This is expensive and also, because they wee and sleep in it, they smell a lot too.

What bedding should I use? Should I use vetbed with towels underneath? Should I use fleece? Should I use half vetbed and half hay and litter? I don't want to take away their digging and sleeping opportunities with the hay but I want to see if there's a better bedding for them.
 
I use vetbed with towels and have a pile of hay for them to eat and play in.
 
Hi there,

I've always kept mine on newspaper and hay, but recently upgraded to a c and c cage. They now have a large litter tray lined with newspaper and full of hay to dig in and eat, and the rest of the cage is vetbed or fleece, with newspaper underneath. The loft has a large peat and grass tray, which they love to nibble and then roll around in. This set up is much easier to clean and the smell is better, in my opinion. Plus the pigs have plenty of variety!

Hope that helps,
Rigby
 
My two have newspaper throughout and then fitch and hay in the bedroom and under logs because that is where they pee and poo the most making it easier to clean out. They have towel and fleece in all the other areas.
 
My 2 have fleece on top of puppy pads throughout their c and c. They also have cat litter trays lined with newspaper, a few shavings and a mountain of hay to forage in. They have fleece liners inside their igloos which I change more frequently than the rest of the fleece cage liners which last About 5 days before being washed in an old duvet cover.
 
Personally I have tried and tested most types of bedding, vet bed annoyed me as hay would weave into it, fleece is good but can get smelly quickly and requires a full clean out every 2-3 days which can be time consuming when you have 6 pigs like me! I'd say megazorb is my winner and they only get a full clean once a week. in the interim I just pick out the wet patches (wee areas) and replace that small amount halfway through the week. That makes it easier and cheaper to clean. The only annoying thing about using the megazorb or shavings is the amount of waste. I have to go to the tip every cleanout day as there is not enough room in my wheely bin!
 
I used to use wood-shavings but they were expensive and messy, although they were soft and absorbent. I now just use hay that is tasty for them as well as good bedding. I guess as long as the bedding is soft, that's good because the last thing you want is your piggie(s) to get bumble-foot.
 
I've tried pretty much everything out there aswell. I think everyone has their own preference. Some people love megazorb, but I thought it was smelly. Anything like megazorb or shavings is lots of work to clean out- especially with a big cage, and fleece us harder to maintain as you have to hover/ poo pick. I've just made a thread about foam bedding which I love, but again, doesn't work for everyone. As no two piggies are the same. I'd just experiment with some different stuff.
 
I have newspaper, puppy pads towel then fleece on the base of their c&c and Back-2-Nature paper pellets in their litter trays. Hay is in a rack and scattered around as they wish :P
 
I have never even considered using fleece or any kind of material for their bedding. I use "Chipsi" and you can buy scented ones that seem to help deoderise the smell. And it hasn't got any hazardous chemicals in it or dust that comes off it like other wood shavings. I put that through their cage plus use thick hay for their actual bed. And every few days I just empty the entire cage and replace it with all new hay/chipsi and in the meantime I check and top it up if I need to. Hay is the easiest thing I find especially when you have 5 guinea pigs and 4 bunnies :D
 
Isn't it strange the more opinions you read the more you want to change your bedding! I was happy with megazorb. I am currently using fleece in one cage due to an operation guinea and then megazorb in others but as people say it is very dusty. I have just moved my tribe to another room and the wall where they have been needed hovering and I'm gonna have to paint it too as it has been scratched by the bars on the cages! I must say it's been 5-6 years they've been there and although I did pull out cages to hoover floor behind them I never noticed the wall was full of dust until now!

I was thinking about cardboard bedding but I am unable to find any locally on internet. I have made a list of names addresses and phone numbers for horse supplies in my area and tomorrow (or today that should be now lol) I will be on the phone all morning lol! No doubt once I get it home I'll hate it so better get something else too to try just incase lol!
 
Wow! The chipsi I use for my piggies, I ve never ever noticed dust ever. I haven't heard of megazorb before. This is the link to Chipsi http://www.jrs.de/wEnglisch/anwend/tierhygiene/produkt_chipsi.shtml

I am pretty sure they must sell it worldwide because I buy it and it is imported. There are cheaper options for bedding but I find this works the best I can find at the moment. Initially I tried wood chips from another brand and it was shocking the dust that came off it! In colder months I always use hay though.

I tried soft bedding once and all they did was rip it apart :p
 
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