URI and fleece

[Teema]

Hi everyone!
Just looking for anyone else’s experience regarding using fleece bedding and URIs. Last summer we switched from wood shavings to using fleece from the Kavee Cage website, it was gorgeous and really good quality fleece we were so pleased with it. Unfortunately we felt it was really difficult to keep up with the cleaning of it, our washing machine just isn’t big enough and the hair was a nightmare and to be totally honest, we don’t think our two pigs, Thomas and Penny, were big fans.
Shortly after this Thomas developed a URI and unfortunately had to be put to sleep despite our best efforts.
This year, we still have Penny and two new rescue pigs since November, Pipsqueak and Picnic, all going great. We decided to try the fleece again given Penny’s age we just felt it would be comfier for her (she’s almost seven!) and, again, it just didn’t work. She now has developed a URI. We have been to the vet and thankfully have caught it really early and I think she is going to be okay (on Baytril and eyedrops).
Anyone else have this problem? Is it just coincidence?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone!
Just looking for anyone else’s experience regarding using fleece bedding and URIs. Last summer we switched from wood shavings to using fleece from the Kavee Cage website, it was gorgeous and really good quality fleece we were so pleased with it. Unfortunately we felt it was really difficult to keep up with the cleaning of it, our washing machine just isn’t big enough and the hair was a nightmare and to be totally honest, we don’t think our two pigs, Thomas and Penny, were big fans.
Shortly after this Thomas developed a URI and unfortunately had to be put to sleep despite our best efforts.
This year, we still have Penny and two new rescue pigs since November, Pipsqueak and Picnic, all going great. We decided to try the fleece again given Penny’s age we just felt it would be comfier for her (she’s almost seven!) and, again, it just didn’t work. She now has developed a URI. We have been to the vet and thankfully have caught it really early and I think she is going to be okay (on Baytril and eyedrops).
Anyone else have this problem? Is it just coincidence?

Hi

I m very sorry for your loss and your problems.

We have never seen a direct connection between fleece and URI since the transmission vector for respiratory illnesses is airborne through close contact. The bacteria simply don't survive for more than a matter or hours and not even days outside the body as they need the warm, moist environment of a respiratory system.
URI is commonly passed around between highly stressed youngsters with a not yet fully developed immune system in close confines in a pets shop/commercial supply breeder situation or in a neglect or backyard breeder situation where stress and a weak immune system combine again once the bug is carried into the population.

It is however much more likely that Penny is the carrier of a small reservoir of respiratory bacteria she acquired from Thomas which her immune system has been able to keep under control until now. Unfortunately, it looks like her immune system is weakening in old age so those suppressed opportunistic bugs have a chance to come up. It can also occasionally happen with a mange mites reservoir, for instance - the latter happened to one of my very frail 8 year olds with devastating speed.

I hope that this makes more sense to you?

With old piggies you can sadly never choose what is giving way first - an organ or the immune system. With a little luck you can get healthy piggies to live a full life span in good care but when and in which form old age is getting the better of them is out of your control.
Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection | The Guinea Pig Forum

 

[Teema]

Hi Wiebke,
Thankyou so much for your great reply.
We were devastated when Thomas went, it was so sudden, can’t believe how fast he declined even although we got him straight to the vet, and he was such a healthy boy and only 3 or 4 years old.
Thanks for explaining that, I was really worried it was something we had caused by changing bedding (especially as the vet asked us if we had recently changed bedding but she never actually clarified that it would cause the URI, I think she was referring more to change of hay etc, which we haven’t, always use HayBox Club).
Penny is fighting fit today, I am honestly shocked by her resillience in her old age, we have woke up this morning to give her her Baytril and eyedrops and she is looking so much better, her eyes are much clearer and nose isn’t crusty today, eating and drinking normally too, truley thought we may have to say goodbye this week. But no, she is as greedy and cheeky as ever!

Must just be coincidence regarding the fleece then, was worried it was maybe because the fleece absorbs the urine or any bacteria differently from the wood shavings they are used to and they were breathing it in. I read on VetLexicon about the ammonia in their urine could cause it and was quite worried the fleece had made this worse? Just hope my other two girls don’t catch anything. Makes sense that she may have been carrying it all this time since Thomas and as she has been getting older (and perhaps the changes given we have two new younger piggies in with her now, although they are all happy together).
Thanks again as always x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Wiebke,
Thankyou so much for your great reply.
We were devastated when Thomas went, it was so sudden, can’t believe how fast he declined even although we got him straight to the vet, and he was such a healthy boy and only 3 or 4 years old.
Thanks for explaining that, I was really worried it was something we had caused by changing bedding (especially as the vet asked us if we had recently changed bedding but she never actually clarified that it would cause the URI, I think she was referring more to change of hay etc, which we haven’t, always use HayBox Club).
Penny is fighting fit today, I am honestly shocked by her resillience in her old age, we have woke up this morning to give her her Baytril and eyedrops and she is looking so much better, her eyes are much clearer and nose isn’t crusty today, eating and drinking normally too, truley thought we may have to say goodbye this week. But no, she is as greedy and cheeky as ever!

Must just be coincidence regarding the fleece then, was worried it was maybe because the fleece absorbs the urine or any bacteria differently from the wood shavings they are used to and they were breathing it in. I read on VetLexicon about the ammonia in their urine could cause it and was quite worried the fleece had made this worse? Just hope my other two girls don’t catch anything. Makes sense that she may have been carrying it all this time since Thomas and as she has been getting older (and perhaps the changes given we have two new younger piggies in with her now, although they are all happy together).
Thanks again as always x

No; the change in bedding and/or hay would refer to the introduction of new dust, pollen and other potential irritants which could have caused reaction. Real allergies are actually very rare in guinea pigs but sensitivities are not.
Irritants to Avoid Around Guinea Pigs | The Guinea Pig Forum

As long as you wash your fleece regularly and occasionally at a higher temperature, it is not a problem. There is unfortunately no perfect bedding; they all have their advantages and their disadvantages. Fleece is actually pretty good at wicking away the urine and locking it in the underlayer. There are no more urine particles on the surface than build up on other bedding although they will build up if you don't change your fleece and cosies regularly.

 

[Teema]

Thanks again Wiebke! This was one of the reasons we were struggling with fleece, our fleece from Kavee was enormous and our washing machine is tiny! So we were dragging everything out twice a week to the laundrettes, it’s a shame cause it really is lovely fleece, maybe one day when we have better facilities to keep up with all the laundry! Much easier with the wood shavings, scoop every other night then a full clean once a week. I found with fleece some parts were feeling really damp while others stayed dry? Their cosies like their cuddle cups, fleece forests, pee pads etc all go in the machine twice a week with just plain white vinegar, occasionally we use a Smol non-bio pod but have never found this to be irritable for the girls.
Thanks again so much. Penny is definitely on the mend and enjoying digging around in her wood shavings and hiding in her fleece forest.

 

[fluffysal]

For possible future reference, a majority of us tend to use several small fleeces instead of a cage sized one. For myself it's definitely due to the issues involved in washing bigger ones as my boys have a palace with penthouse.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks again Wiebke! This was one of the reasons we were struggling with fleece, our fleece from Kavee was enormous and our washing machine is tiny! So we were dragging everything out twice a week to the laundrettes, it’s a shame cause it really is lovely fleece, maybe one day when we have better facilities to keep up with all the laundry! Much easier with the wood shavings, scoop every other night then a full clean once a week. I found with fleece some parts were feeling really damp while others stayed dry? Their cosies like their cuddle cups, fleece forests, pee pads etc all go in the machine twice a week with just plain white vinegar, occasionally we use a Smol non-bio pod but have never found this to be irritable for the girls.
Thanks again so much. Penny is definitely on the mend and enjoying digging around in her wood shavings and hiding in her fleece forest.

I use smaller fleece bed spreads and bath mats - much easier to wash, clean and dry. Fleeceis very water absorbent; if you put too much into a load, then it won't clean properly.

You can also replace a very soiled mat in a toiletting corner or sleeping area with an ill piggy denning inside without having to clean the whole cage.