The perfect bedding

[Sherman and Shaggy's Mom]

So I have come to realize that some of the fleece I bought which I thought was a great price is kinda inadequate. They are too thin and get smelly pretty quickly. So I was wondering what do other people use I have seen some bathmats, rugs, and some other types of fleece but I can't seem to pin a good one down. I do have one guinea daddy fleece, the one with the pocket but it only lasts about 3 days before the smell is noticeable so I then change it out to the other fleece for now which I change ever day. I would buy a second guinea daddy but I can't let my family know just yet, they think I'm spending to much on them, I dont think so since I estimated how much in a year and know what I can spend monthly but still. So I was wondering if someone knows about good bedding materials that would be safe and where to get them ( also one of my boys has a sensitive nose so no wood chips for him he doesn't like them) any ideas help thank you in advance!

 

[Piggies&buns]

What absorbent layer do you use under your fleece?

As your piggies are boars, cleaning too much can actually make the smells worse - the more you clean, the more they’ll scent mark.

 

[Sherman and Shaggy's Mom]

What absorbent layer do you use under your fleece?

As your piggies are boars, cleaning too much can actually make the smells worse - the more you clean, the more they’ll scent mark.

It was suggested I use a combination of newspapers and a wee wee pad underneath. Though lately I haven't put the wee wee pads as they figured out how to flip the fleece and I worry about them chewing on the pad. So thats another reason I'm looking for new fleece/rug/bathmate/anything as the under layer is not covered completely anymore, and now mostly newspaper

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s likely part of your problem - newspaper alone isn’t going to be good enough. It won’t dry quickly enough and can allow moisture to seep back into the fleece meaning it stays wet and causes a smell.

Can you clip the fleece to the edge of the cage so they cant get under, position hideys to weigh it down?

 

[Sherman and Shaggy's Mom]

That’s likely part of your problem - newspaper alone isn’t going to be good enough. It won’t dry quickly enough and can allow moisture to seep back into the fleece meaning it stays wet and causes a smell.

Can you clip the fleece to the edge of the cage so they cant get under, position hideys to weigh it down?

Unfortunately I have tried, the hides are just not heavy enough and they find away around the clips, my tiny one actually pulls them off, Its cute but frustrating. At the moment I have a wooden block wrapped in a fleece to keep most of it in place and it seems to work but they always seem to know what to move, since they like peeing directly on the newspaper, so small parts becomes uncovered. If anything else I was planning to get some more blocks to hold other parts but finding them has proven a bit difficult so I was trying to find good fleece or rugs since I have seen some from YouTube videos.

 

[Piggies&buns]

if they know how to get underneath, changing to a different type of fleece isn’t necessary going to help, they’ll still find a way. Bath mats are heavier, but they’d still try it.

Perhaps changing bedding altogether is an option? Paper pellets topped with hay for example? It’s easier to spot clean the wettest areas without changing out the entire cage.
Also ensuring the cage is big enough can help - the less space the less their area to pee in the more it can smell

 

[Sherman and Shaggy's Mom]

if they know how to get underneath, changing to a different type of fleece isn’t necessary going to help, they’ll still find a way. Bath mats are heavier, but they’d still try it.

Perhaps changing bedding altogether is an option? Paper pellets topped with hay for example? It’s easier to spot clean the wettest areas without changing out the entire cage.
Also ensuring the cage is big enough can help - the less space the less their area to pee in the more it can smell

Paper pellets? I have seen those but thought they looked a bit uncomfortable are they hard or does the hay just make it so they don't even realize. Also what is the order is it pellets, fleece, then hay? Sorry if these are dumb questions I have never used Pellets before.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Paper pellets? I have seen those but thought they looked a bit uncomfortable are they hard or does the hay just make it so they don't even realize. Also what is the order is it pellets, fleece, then hay? Sorry if these are dumb questions I have never used Pellets before.

I wouldn’t use fleece at all if you’re going to try pellets. Just pellets then hay on top. The pellets are a bit hard but the hay means they aren’t walking on the pellets, they’re just there for absorption. Being amongst large piles of hay is fun for piggies too!

 

[Sherman and Shaggy's Mom]

I wouldn’t use fleece at all if you’re going to try pellets. Just pellets then hay on top. The pellets are a bit hard for the hay means they aren’t walking on the pellets. Being amongst large piles of hay is fun for piggies too!

Ok, ill give that a try and see how much they like it. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Mine live in a hutch in my shed so are just bedded on my absorbing layer (aubiose in my case), then about a foot thick of hay. They love running through the hay, and they eat so much and show natural foraging behaviours as they spend all their time searching through the hay for the nice bits!
I just spot clean daily, removing wet areas of hay and any of the aubiose which is completely sodden (it’s usually just a couple of places) but I only do a full cage clean once a week.