Smelly cage

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Bubblylisa

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi I have just started using fleece bedding with towel and news paper but... The cage smells. The fleece has only been in for 1 day. The Guinea pigs wee is white and showing on the fleece as a stain after soaking through to the other layers. Am I doing something wrong? They did smell when I was using recycled paper bedding but I presumed it was the bedding. Many thanks to anyone who can help xx
Ps the cage is inside
 
Hi there,
Sorry your post got overlooked.
I tried fleece and I didn't get on with it, because of the daily cage clean and smell. I know that washing the fleece several times over helps with the wicking i.e. soak away of the pee. It's lovely for the piggies, but honestly it doesn't work for me, so I opted for a hemp bedding and put soft cozied beds inside instead.

Yes some wee will show up white, it's the calcium coming through their diet.
 
Thank you, I haven't heard of hemp bedding, I will have a look for that. I love the look of the fleece and it's easier for the daily spot clean but not sure about the smell :vom: x
 
... or a combination? I use fleece as my cage liners - and I have loads of cardboard boxes filled with hemp bedding ( and hay ) Darling - cardboard box.webpdotted around .
 
Veggies Galore said:
They still go everywhere - but, all their hay is in the boxes and they tend to wee and poo where they eat - so, the majority is in the boxes .
Click to expand...
Where do you put their fresh food, is it in the boxes? At the mo I scatter it around on top of the fleece, I'm wondering if that's why they wee and poo in the middle area of their cage. Thank you x
 
I use cage liners and my piggies like to pee and poop in the corners of there cages so I put small handfuls of hay in each corner and some in the bedroom and take that out every day usually wash cage liners every 2-3 days. I find it doesn't smell as bad with the hay in there corners :)
 
I switch between paper bedding and fleece I usually will put newspaper then absorbent shavings/paper bedding where she goe to the bathroom then puppy pads then a mat or if I'm doing paper bedding I will do puppy pads then newspaper then paper bedding and just put more in the corner where she does most of her business :D
 
I use fleece liners but I also use fleece pee pads.
I have two cages for Finn and Lara. I change fleece pee pads every 2-3 days, and when I change fleece pee pads frequently, I don't really smell anything. I also pick up their poop 3 times a day.

I wash the two cages every 6 days with soap and water. I use vinegar to wipe down their cages. After washing the fleece liners and pee pads with soap and water, I always use vinegar to soak them. I use vinegar frequently to kill the bacteria so I don't end up with sick piggies.
I put puppy pee pads on the very bottom of the cages, and fleece liners go on top of them. Then, I put fleece pee pads on top of the fleece liners.

Both my piggies' cages are centrally located in the house and I really don't smell anything.
 
I've been having the same problem with the smell.... A little while ago I switched to fleece, but it smelled terrible after even just a couple days, so I went back to the norm. But, my problem is that even the normal bedding I use smells too!😬 Please Help!
 
maybe you need to clean out the cage more frequently,or change to a more absorbent bedding.ive 11 cages to clean,i find it depends on how many piggies in the cage,age of piggies,there toilet habits,all effect the frequency of cleaning.i clean the cage either every 7 days,or more if it looks particully dirty or starts smell.fleece is not for everyone,it is a high maintance bedding.i hope you find a bedding that suits you and your piggies soon.
 
I find fleece is best, have you washed & tumbled dry, loads of times till they wick, after each cycle gently run water, through it once the water soaks through, you've won. I put a mattress protector under the fleece, The top of it MUST be 100 percent cotton or they won't work. Puppy training pads are good. I found I was, changing towels daily so I stopped using them. Don't tumble dry the mattress protector or it will shrink
 
We love Vetfleece and their Inconti-pet washable absorbant puppy mats underneath. Stays dry and smell free for 3 or 4 days even with 5 piggies on it. Then we have Kaytee Clean and Cosy recycled paper in the kitchen area. The Inconti-pet mats are the same size as the Vetfleece which is conveniently exactly the right size for a 3x2 C&C grid bedroom area!
 
have you used puppy pads under the areas where they like especially like to wee ? that might help xx
 
Take away the newspaper, if a fabric or material cannot dry it will remain wet and smell very badly. Newspaper covered in layers of wet towels will smell.
 
Seven7 said:
I use fleece liners but I also use fleece pee pads.
I have two cages for Finn and Lara. I change fleece pee pads every 2-3 days, and when I change fleece pee pads frequently, I don't really smell anything. I also pick up their poop 3 times a day.

I wash the two cages every 6 days with soap and water. I use vinegar to wipe down their cages. After washing the fleece liners and pee pads with soap and water, I always use vinegar to soak them. I use vinegar frequently to kill the bacteria so I don't end up with sick piggies.
I put puppy pee pads on the very bottom of the cages, and fleece liners go on top of them. Then, I put fleece pee pads on top of the fleece liners.

Both my piggies' cages are centrally located in the house and I really don't smell anything.
Click to expand...

Sorry to jump on a post but I was wondering what kind of vinegar you use?
 
Thebroughfamily said:
Sorry to jump on a post but I was wondering what kind of vinegar you use?
Click to expand...
No problem.
I buy large white vinegar from Costco, 5 liter or 1.35 gallon bottles, the same one I use in cooking. I dilute vinegar with water 50%-50% and soak to kill bacteria in all of my pets' fleece beddings, pee pads, cages, their toys, their food dishes, and etc.

I buy at least 2 of these big bottles when I visit Costco so I always have enough for cooking and for caring for my pets. I also use this diluted vinegar to clean my wood floor. I feel this is cheaper than ending up with sick pets or an ill person.
 
I have fleece cage liners with extra mini liners under their beds and plastic underbed storage boxes and grow bag trays with hemparade bedding from zooplus where I feed their hay, grass and veg.

I clean out the fleece area every day, shake out the poos and brush the fleece and replace it if its damp. The trays are done every other day. I have a c and c table top cage about 11 x 2 or by 3 in places for 6 guinea pigs.

Jingle with one of the hay trays

25aktoj.jpg


Jingle under one of the beds

30csvab.jpg


Cherry b and Rosie with the hay rack in the growbag hay tray

15yxab6.jpg
 
I use liners and then large litter trays with shavings and huge piles of hay.
 
l use gravel trays about14"x10" l place puppy pads in the base then add 4-5 hands full of broken up coir with a hand full of hay chaff over the top. the tray's are place in corner's and under ramp's. this works well with my herds, don'nt smell and lasts for days. still get some poo' and wees round the floor but not a lot.
 
eileen said:
maybe you need to clean out the cage more frequently,or change to a more absorbent bedding.ive 11 cages to clean,i find it depends on how many piggies in the cage,age of piggies,there toilet habits,all effect the frequency of cleaning.i clean the cage either every 7 days,or more if it looks particully dirty or starts smell.fleece is not for everyone,it is a high maintance bedding.i hope you find a bedding that suits you and your piggies soon.
Click to expand...


I will try this! Thank you so much for the advice!
 
I switched to fleece from vetbed a while ago, but have just gone back to vetbed as I found the fleece did smell, and always felt damp, even after wicking.. I purchased the vetbed on ebay, and got a lovely light green colour!
Their 'garden' area (run attached to cage) is still fleece, but with several vetbed pads dotted around..!
 
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