Preparing for pigs: base just bath mats?

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briggsy

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Hi, new soon to be guinea pig owner here. I’m going to be getting 2 pigs later this month and am just finishing setting up their enclosure, but was wondering if my enclosure would be good enough?

Currently my indoor enclosure (8x2) has a base made up of just bath mats, some noodle and some plain soft (Not the kid with thread hoops, as I understand that can catch their nails). They are all rubber backed and overlap slightly so no liquid should leak through to the carpet underneath. I did it this way mainly because a friend i have who also has pigs does it that way, and says its because it makes spot cleaning easier since they just have to pick up a dirty mat and give it a shake over a bin or outside to discard any poop or old hay, and since if any mats get broken or old you only need to replace one and not a whole set. It seems to work fine for them, but when doing my own research online and seeing other pig owners on sites like tiktok i rarely if ever see anyone else with just bath mats.

Is there any downside to just having bath mats? As i said it works fine for my friend, but i want to aim for good rather than just fine, and am worried the reason i don't see anyone else doing it is because theres a reason I’m not seeing. Any advice appreciated, thank you!🙏
 
briggsy said:
Hi, new soon to be guinea pig owner here. I’m going to be getting 2 pigs later this month and am just finishing setting up their enclosure, but was wondering if my enclosure would be good enough?

Currently my indoor enclosure (8x2) has a base made up of just bath mats, some noodle and some plain soft (Not the kid with thread hoops, as I understand that can catch their nails). They are all rubber backed and overlap slightly so no liquid should leak through to the carpet underneath. I did it this way mainly because a friend i have who also has pigs does it that way, and says its because it makes spot cleaning easier since they just have to pick up a dirty mat and give it a shake over a bin or outside to discard any poop or old hay, and since if any mats get broken or old you only need to replace one and not a whole set. It seems to work fine for them, but when doing my own research online and seeing other pig owners on sites like tiktok i rarely if ever see anyone else with just bath mats.

Is there any downside to just having bath mats? As i said it works fine for my friend, but i want to aim for good rather than just fine, and am worried the reason i don't see anyone else doing it is because theres a reason I’m not seeing. Any advice appreciated, thank you!🙏
Click to expand...

You will need firstly a waterproof base, topped by an absorbent sub-layer but just bath mats do work even though there are more gaps and upturned corners where messes can get to the underlayer.

I've done both fleece and bath mats and a mix of them (with bath mats for the sleeping areas). Fleece blankets make for less machine loads (especially when you have a larger number of piggies) but mats are easier to replace in case of soiling a partial area and they are more absorbent, which becomes more of an issue with larger groups of piggies hanging out in certain parts of the cage more.

This guide applies for both mats and fleeces
Swissgreys

Thread 'A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding'

1 What is a fleece cage liner?
- What is a fleece liner and how does work?
- What is the absorbent layer?
- Does a fleece liner need a waterproof layer?
2 Getting started with fleece
- How many liners will I need?
- Buying ready-made liners
- Sewing your own liners
- Creating a simple test liner or temporary set up
3 Fleece washing tips
- General washing...
  • Like
 
You will need a waterproof layer on top of your carpet most of us use Corex/Pollyflutted Plastic, but you can use tarpaulin, heavy duty plastic sheet or a shower curtain (as long as it's a waterproof one and not just shower proof, I made that mistake!). The rubber back on the noodle mats won't be water proof enough. It's better not to buy rubber backed as the backing doesn't last long with the frequent washing, if you already have them they are okay but will need replacing sooner. I use a mixture of home made fleece liners and noodle mats. If I was starting out now I would probably just use the mats as hay and hair comes off them easier ready for washing.
 
I have washable fleece cage liners underneath my bath mats. I use the ones without the rubber backing. The mats get changed every two days on average while the cage liners last at least a week. The hay comes off of the bath mats easier than the fleece and they can be tumble dried in winter. My boys also find them very comfortable.
 
Wicks sell their own make of correx, slightly thinner at 2mm. It comes in very large sheets (easy to take home in car as they roll it up for you) and is black but does save your carpet especially if you fold it around the edges to make a box base. I set this up in no time after my boar had an operation so he didn’t have to jump out of his plaza cageimage.webp
 
Bill & Ted said:
Wicks sell their own make of correx, slightly thinner at 2mm. It comes in very large sheets (easy to take home in car as they roll it up for you) and is black but does save your carpet especially if you fold it around the edges to make a box base. I set this up in no time after my boar had an operation so he didn’t have to jump out of his plaza cageView attachment 265874
Click to expand...
That’s good to know about Wicks setting a thinner correx that can be rolled for transporting
 
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