So... what IS the best bedding material?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Donna3939

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
203
Reaction score
1
Points
205
Location
Tyne and Wear, UK
I've read so many differing opinions about bedding and I'm now totally confused! mallethead

I'm making a C&C cage and would like something soft for the piggies feet but what do I use? Vetbed? Inco pads? Fleece? Hay?

Obviously Vetbed has a greater cost outlay at the beginning but will (hopefully) last for years whereas hay is cheaper but I imagine you would use a LOT of it? therefore increasing long-term cost - do piggies eat hay which they have done their business on?

I know you must have answered these questions a gazillion times but I don't know if theres a comparison thread between all alternatives? If there is could someone point me in the right direction to save you having to answer again!

Thanks,

Donna.x
 
hi,
the thing i've found with bedding is that everyone has their own preference. there is pros and cons with every bedding so you just have to find one where the pros outweigh the cons for you (and for someone else they might find something else is better). i say if you're thinking about vetbed start with some cheap as fleece and see how you find it as the concept is basically the same. Then consider getting vetbed afterwards. as you probably know you want to stay away from pine woodshavings unless they are kiln-dried and defintely stay away from cedar! but aspen wood shavings are fine and usually cheaper than many of the other beddings you may end up choosing though the cost is on-going unlike with fleece or vetbed. there is also a lot of constant care for fleece and vetbed like cleaning away the little poops and washing the fleece and towels. so you have to be willing to do that as well.

hay is good, though it's not absorbant. i just use hay but the trick is to have a good layer of newspaper underneath it so then when it's cleaning time you just roll up the newspaper and all the bedding and toss it in the bin or compost! which is much easier than scooping out all the bedding. and I'm pretty sure they dont eat the hay they've done their business on! i would say have newspaper under any bedding that you would normally scoop.

i reccomend that no matter what bedding choice you choose you have at least a hay loft or something of the sort. because my piggies LOVE burrying in all the hay and making tunnels and nests etc. i would hate for them not to have that.

oh and then there's megazorb which is highly popular. though i havent tried it, it is meant to be really cheap and works well. so if there is a supplier near you then go for it.
and carefresh. some people say it smells funny but a lot of people say it has great odour control and absorbancy. the only thing is that it is quite dusty. but it is soft on their feet and the piggies seem to love it. it comes in original and ultra (which is white and supposedly less dusty but may show up stains and urine more) and also colours which are perfectly safe. but again these varations are a little more costly than the original which is already quite expensive!

did i give you a rough idea on the different beddings? remeber you should choose for your convenience and the piggies. but as long as it's not pine (unless kiln-dried) or cedar the others should be fine for them. just keep in mind the budget too.
 
:)>>> Gilbert, you naughty boy!

Mine lie in the hay, poop and pee generously over it but don't eat it once soiled, they'll have the fresh stuff ONLY!

I use fleece. I have used hay on newspaper, woodchips and hay on newspaper, vetbed on newspaper, fleece on newspaper and now fleece on newspaper and shredded paper. I liked vetbed, it was thick and stopped my OH's allergies but was very bulky to wash and a nightmare to get hay off. Fleece is better on both accounts: a quick sweep and the hay goes quickly and I can also fit 4 or 5 litters in one wash as opposed to 2 max with vetbed. It's quite thin though, so we put shredded paper between layers of newspaper for bounce.
 
I have tried most beddings, started with shavings (as didn't know any better), then moved on to vet bed, then fleece, then megazorb, the back to fleece with towels under, then on to megazorb again.

The problems I found were:

vet bed : you can never ever seem to get all the poo's food, hay out of the long pile and I hating having to mucky up my hoover and washing machine will all the bits, it did however last 4-5 days before it needed changing completly and was much easier to sweep than fleece when spot cleaning

Fleece, tried with puppy pads underneath, and towels but found it smelt on the 3rd day so needed changing everyother day :( also hard to sweep for spot cleans as kept rolling up etc...

Megazorb - what can i say other than I love it, main drawback is that it does get in the food dishes a bit but as they are cleaned daily anyway not a real problem. It does get on the carpet a bit but is easy to hoover it up. It lasts a whole week before getting smelly as long as you scoop out any soiled hay daily (soiled hay really smells in a short space of time)
 
I have tried most beddings, started with shavings (as didn't know any better), then moved on to vet bed, then fleece, then megazorb, the back to fleece with towels under, then on to megazorb again.

The problems I found were:

vet bed : you can never ever seem to get all the poo's food, hay out of the long pile and I hating having to mucky up my hoover and washing machine will all the bits, it did however last 4-5 days before it needed changing completly and was much easier to sweep than fleece when spot cleaning

Fleece, tried with puppy pads underneath, and towels but found it smelt on the 3rd day so needed changing everyother day :( also hard to sweep for spot cleans as kept rolling up etc...

Megazorb - what can i say other than I love it, main drawback is that it does get in the food dishes a bit but as they are cleaned daily anyway not a real problem. It does get on the carpet a bit but is easy to hoover it up. It lasts a whole week before getting smelly as long as you scoop out any soiled hay daily (soiled hay really smells in a short space of time)
 
Hello Donna :)p

I noticed from your other thread that you have bought 4 boxes of cubes, so size could be the deciding factor what works best for you too.

I think you might have to experiment like I did.
Every one will have their own opitions, and it depends on factors like how big your cage will be, use of washing machine, washing line, and personnel preferences.

When I first got my Piggies they were in a 150 indoor cage and I used Carefresh. But I found it was quite expensive, dusty, and time consuming to keep going buying bags of it. I'm a bit of a cleaning freak and was forever changing it.
A month later I made my first C&C, I started to use fleece with towels underneath as the soak away.
Now I dont really mind washing it as I do a least a load of their bedding everyday, as long as I can get it dry either on the washing line or radiators.
My C&C is quite big now as I've changed it a few times in the past year. And I have got a system going as I know where my Pigs toilet the most.
So in highly poo/pee areas I use fleece puppy pads (a lady makes them on ebay), its like an inco pad come fleece all sewn together in one. Then in my less toileting areas I use old towels underneath and fleece on top.
As pointed out before, what ever you decide try and give them an hay loft too or some decent sized plasic storage boxes filled with hay (I have 2 hay areas as I have 2 boars and they like their own space) then they can have a dive in and have a good forage around. These would need to be changed every day but the beauti about plastic boxes is that you can lift them out give them a bit of a wash before filling back up with fresh hay. They will poo, pee and eat in the hay and it will start to smell, so a daily change of hay is necessary.
Keep us updated on what you have decided on and photo please. xoxo
 
...another quick question if you don't mind?!? How exactly would I clean the correx properly? I'm planning on having a fully enclosed multi-level C&C set up. Would the best thing to do be that I have the full front hinged and kept closed with bulldog clips or something to the same effect so that I can lower the side, pull the correx out remove all bedding then give it a good spray and clean with disinfectant?

x
 
Donna3939 said:
...another quick question if you don't mind?!? How exactly would I clean the correx properly? I'm planning on having a fully enclosed multi-level C&C set up. Would the best thing to do be that I have the full front hinged and kept closed with bulldog clips or something to the same effect so that I can lower the side, pull the correx out remove all bedding then give it a good spray and clean with disinfectant?

x
Click to expand...

I just wipe my correx with a bit of kitchen tissue maybe a little bit of diluted white vinagar or a squirt of disinfectant spray especially made for small animals.
But to be honest mind doesnt get dirty as the fleece i use gets tucked up and over the edges of the correx.

Forgot to say that in the housing section there are reviews on the different types of bedding, it's right at the top before the threads.:)p
 
Seeing as your local if you want to pop round sometime to see how we have our cage set up then your more then welcome to, might give you a better idea of what would work for you? we use a combination of vet bed and pet blankets. The blankets are much cheaper but have to be washed every other day, the vet bed can be washed every 4 - 7 days as the blankets go on top of it so it doesn't really get dirty, but we still sweep out any poop once or twice a day as well. Obviously it would depend on how many pigs you have as to how often you clean them out so until you get them it would be hard to tell. Vet bed is a bit of a pain to wash and I've lost count of the amount of times the washing machine has got blocked because of hay and hair! Also drying it can be a bit of a nightmare for us because we haven't got a tumble dryer and obviously we haven't had the weather lately to dry it on the line.

But even though it is a bit more work then say shavings we bought our vet bed almost 3 years ago and it's still fine. So whilst the initial cost is higher, if you work out how much you would spend on shavings it actually works out cheaper
 
I use fleece and put newspapers underneath. I find this works fine for me as I have plastic litter trays which I line with newspaper and stuff with hay. My piggies do about half of their total wees in them and the rest around places in the cage. I clean the cage about twice a week or sometimes every five days but change the hay trays daily/every other day.
 
I always give my Aspen shavings as beddings to my tomsa(pig) as it is safe to use, non-toxic and non-allergenic. It has better absorbing capabilities and odor control properties.
 
TOWELS for the win!

When i first bought my piggies i used hay and newspaper, after a couple of weeks... uh oh one of the piggies started to get a real bad foot problem on the side of her foot, we figured it was the hay it just wasnt soft or cusioning for her.
then i tried towels and newspaper.. 2 layers of newspaper under 2 layers of towel! great! it really helped my piggys foot and it was so much better for them and i give them a hay corner where they can burrow in it and munch on it. :) :) :)
 
Anyone know if it would be okay to have torn-up cardboard with shredded newspaper on top? In the sleeping area they would have hay, but it's pretty cheap to rip up some cardboard and put some newspaper through the shredder to make some bedding :))
 
I use Aubiose with a thick layer of newspaper underneath. I do a full clean out twice a week, and it only takes about 10 minutes.

I have used vetbed for my rats in the past, and wouldn't again - it's really not good for your washing machine! I would think it's even worse when you have hay caught in it aswell!
 
Can I just ask, when people say bedding, do they mean the part the pigs sleep in or the lining for the whole cage?
At the moment I have shavings and hay for the boys to sleep in.
And for the mommy and babies I've been using carefresh and a pile of new facecloths for them to sleep in.
The carefresh is so expensive though! I don't know how anyone affords to use it!
 
the whole of my hutches are lined with newspaper and on top of that I line the whole of the hutches with vetbeds. Its so much cheaper in the long run.

I put additional things in like fleeces that i have chopped up from old jumpers or ones i have bought from charity shops.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top