Vacation - bedding with low maintanance..

Sophie76

Sophie76

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi!
We have our two boars in a 160x60 cm cage.
In a month we will go on vacation for almoast a week.
We have a neighbor that will give them food etc and check in on them also.
We have a lot of fleece in the cage so i spot clean very very often. I would like if my neighbor didnt have to do this..
Is there any bedding i could use with minimal spot cleaning needed? Its Only a week so money isnt a problem..
Anyone have any ideas? :-)
BR
 
Have you thought of using a very deep layer of hay about 3 to 4” thick as pees and poos will drop into the bottom? Perhaps then she could just clean them out mid week. No poop picking required! She can just add more hay each day to it to keep it fresh. I use newspaper on the bottom but you could use puppy pads or paper/wood chips bedding underneath.
I use this system all the time it keeps nice and dry and there’s no smell just hay😁
 
Good question. I am already thinking about the same thing for when we go away in August. I like the idea of deep hay and just one clean out for the friends to deal with - although it will be quite a mountain to pull out, better leave the wheelbarrow handy!
 
Kaytee clean and cozy paper bedding is very good, very absorbent and the poops fall through if you have a thick layer- we have this in the corner area of our L-shaped C&C where I cant reach to spot clean easily, 4 layers of newspaper, a thick layer of Kaytee, then lots of hay on top, I top up the hay daily. It still seems quite clean and dry on the top where the piggies walk after 3 or 4 days.
Its expensive but very good for not needing spot cleaning or poop scooping like the fleecy areas need!
 
aubiose is a great bedding lasts a week without any smells ,you can obtain this from local horse feed place,if you look at the aubiose website it supplies all there stockists.fitch is good though pricey.you can get this from !amazon,.puppypads are ok,but i found that they need changing every two days,as it will smell of amonia in no time !
 
Maybe you could use some old towels (obviously washed before you put them in the cage) while you guys are on vacation. Maybe some fleece pads or blankets if you have any. If you dont have fleece or dont wanna use fleece or towels you could buy puppy pads and use that as bedding while you guys are gone. If your pigs chew everything you could cut the plastic blue rim off of the sides and leave the blue on the botton only and leave the white part.
 
eileen said:
aubiose is a great bedding lasts a week without any smells ,you can obtain this from local horse feed place,if you look at the aubiose website it supplies all there stockists.fitch is good though pricey.you can get this from !amazon,.puppypads are ok,but i found that they need changing every two days,as it will smell of amonia in no time !
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I agree, I use aubiose and it does last all week.
 
I also used to use auboise and I would go a week between cleanings if it was deep enough.
I also used hay trays in the obvious pee spots, but these got cleaned out more regularly.
 
I find a layer of hay starts to smell fairly quick but use aubiose myself and I love it. Wees drop to the bottom so the top stays dry. I do a big clean out once a week with it. I do try and spot clean during the week but I'm often shattered, busy or just down right forget
 
I've been looking back through old threads here and reading the aubiose website to find out more about it - fascinating stuff! Does it go red with piggie pees like it does with horses?! I think I'll have to get some and try out the best way to use it before I consider leaving it for my guinea-sitters. I currently use fleece with old washable nappies as the absorbent layer underneath. I find it works well for being generally clean and manageable, but in weather like this week when the heating is no longer on I could do without the extra washing and drying! I wonder whether I could do one end of the hutch aubiose and one end fleece? Trouble is, they are quite fickle about which end gets the most pee and poo! I also like the fact that aubiose is good to compost. Hay and poops have already led me to having to buy a third compost bin and I might need a fourth soon to manage the increased volume. The garden will love it!
 
I used both Oxbow hay and Carefree bedding in the cages before when I went on vacation. My mom was watching my Finn and Lara while I was away. I put thick layers of both beddings in equal amounts in their cages.
When I returned, poo went down and they ate most of Oxbow hay. Mom picked up some visible poops so Finn and Lara did well. Bless them.
 
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