What To Use In Hutch?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jaxlow

Jaxlow

New Born Pup
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
14
Reaction score
6
Points
70
Location
Glasgow
Hello,

Ok I am trying to find the best and most cost effective bedding to use in my guineas hutch over the winter. They are in the garage now, with a hutch hugger and some extra lights at night.

Right now I am using newspaper, shavings and hay. I swear the newspaper is soggy the next day after it's put in. So I feel like I am unnecessarily going through a lot of bedding.

I was thinking about using megazorb or even fleece. I am a little clueless and still feeling very new to Guinea pigs, any advice would be great.

Jackie
 
Fleece would be the cheapest. You do have to change it every 2-3 days and it is enviourmentaly friendly as you are not making as much waste. I would really not recommend hay as bedding as it does not absorb the pee and they eat the urinated hay, I find that gross. It is also a bit of a waste. I hope this has helped in some way. I also have a video on housing guinea pigs here -

 
I use megazorb. A two inch later with 5 layers of newspaper underneath. My newspaper is always damp on corners when it comes to cleaning them out but I think it draws the moisture down so the layer of bedding stays dry.
 
How many piggies do you have in the hutch? Just wondering how much peeing they will be doing! Are the water bottles leaking maybe?

If I put down a lay of newspaper as a base and totally cover it with a layer of Snowflake wood shavings (they are really absorbent) and then hay on top I could go for days without needing to change it as it doesn't get wet - I more change the bedding just because I want to give them fresh hay because it doesn't get damp for ages.

I am sure you will get other good bedding recommendations but the newspaper shouldn't be getting that wet unless there is not enough bedding between the paper and the hay - thats something I discovered when I first put just hay and paper in the hutch. Make sure you put extra shavings and hay in the corners to if thats where your piggies pee most (mine do) and that should also help too. :)
 
Have a look at this thread which has lots f helpful pictures and links. It sounds like auboise is a good choice and possibly a little cheaper than Fitch depending on how much you buy.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/winter-bedding.119764/page-2#post-1623458

Fleece is a good choice but not if you are not prepared to sweep up poops twice a day and change the fleece and wash it every 3 days. Auboise, Fitch and wood shavings should all last upto a week.

I use fleece in some cages and Fitch in our hutch. Happy to help out if you have any other questions on those or wood shaving which I used to use. I don't use wood shavings any more because of the dust from it which can irritate piggies lungs and also because it dries their feet out. I've noticed a big improvement in their feet since I stopped using it.
 
I must be doing something wrong. I think it is perhaps their water bottle, as the bedroom area is never as wet.

I have two boars and the boy who generally stays in the living area, seems to make most of the mess.

I quite enjoy spending my mornings sorting out the hutch and tidying it up again at night. But I am spending around £8 a week on shavings and hay.

I saw one set up on you tube, where a girl used fleece, puppy pads and megazorb in a litter tray and wondered for her hutches, who like mine were placed in the garage during colder weather. They have a duvet underneath a hutch hugger during the night.

So if anyone wants to tell me their similar set ups I would be very grateful.
 
I've been using puppy pads and Fitch in out hutch and then loads of hay in the bedroom and the other hidey they have in the main hutch area. I used to find that newspaper got very wet with shavings, the Fitch is much more absorbent and you can see which areas need replacing. I have started covering the whole hutch with puppy pads on top of a few layers of newspaper for a bit of insulation and then I cut extra strips for the areas they wee in the most. The extra strip I just roll up and replace every other day, otherwise I just replace the worst patches every day. The newspaper is never wet now and because they mostly pee in one place which is changed more regularly the rest of the hutch floor Is dry.

The puppy pads cost about £5 for 100 in the cheap shops like pound stretcher and it takes 3 to cover the hutch plus another one for the extra strips, so about 25 weeks worth, about 20p a week! The Fitch is £17.99 for a 20kg bag and I have been using it for 5 weeks now and have another 3, maybe 4 weeks left in the bag, not the cheapest but it's doing a good job for us.
 
How big is the hutch? A smaller space will get saturated with pee much quicker than a larger one. I have a double level 3' hutch in a 6x4' indoor (shed) run with 24/7 access to house 2 boars. I use large flake shavings with hay in the bed and in a hay forage box, they almost exclusively pee in the hutch part which I clean out twice a week (wet patches only, I rarely do a full clean as if I do I end up with dominance scuffles) and I spot clean the run part.

Remember if you go for fleece you will need absorbent layers below and your water/electricity bill will go up from washing
 
They are in a 5ft x 2ft hutch. They get out for a few hours a day, in a playpen that I have set up (or when I should be doing my jobs while my youngest is at nursery lol).

This is a minefield lol
 
oh I also lined the bottom of the hutch with pvc, that lasted 2 days as the wee seeped underneath.
 
The upstairs of my hutch is plastic lined by design, the bottom is stick on vinyl tile to wipe clean and the run has a nailed down tarp under.

May I suggest maybe ditching the newspaper? I find that newsletter just holds onto moisture whereas shavings/bedding dries out better, moisture trends to be drawn through the shavings and just stays in the paper - with a try without
 
afu said:
The upstairs of my hutch is plastic lined by design, the bottom is stick on vinyl tile to wipe clean and the run has a nailed down tarp under.

May I suggest maybe ditching the newspaper? I find that newsletter just holds onto moisture whereas shavings/bedding dries out better, moisture trends to be drawn through the shavings and just stays in the paper - with a try without
Click to expand...
I read in another thread recently about newspaper drawing moisture through. On that thread someone suggested maybe putting a shower curtain underneath instead so that you can still empty the hutch fairly easily when you clean I out.

Ive got a wipe clean coated wood in our hutch but I put down thick cardboard (cut up old boxes things have been delivered to us in), then newspaper, then Fitch.

After a week, the cardboard is damp and floppier in the areas where they wee most but it still holds together fine to clean out. When cleaning yesterday, I noticed we've definitely had a water bottle leaking but the cardboard has only reacted in the same way it does where there is most wee
 
I would ditch the cardboard lining if I were you, it might make cleaning easier but it will hold moisture below the bedding so things won't dry out properly
 
I am also going to try not using the newspaper under it - was fine in the warmer weather, but think because its colder in the hutch at night its not drying as quickly - back to scooping everything up with a dustpan! :lol:
 
I bought a bag of megazorb and half a bale of hay today £11 ( although the hay isn't as soft as I would like). I put newspaper down to see how it goes this week. I have put some nicer meadow hay in a basket in their living area and just filled up their bedroom with hay, haven't seen either of them since. They were out in grass for a while today, sun was quite warm (might be last chance we get) Megazorb throughout.

So I will see of that makes any difference.
 
afu said:
I would ditch the cardboard lining if I were you, it might make cleaning easier but it will hold moisture below the bedding so things won't dry out properly
Click to expand...
Hi can you explain what you mean? I've been quite happy with the cardboard. It stays entirely dry in most places and only gets damp where the bedding itself has already got soaked through - I put Fitch on top of it about 2 inches deep, maybe more, so I mean only in the corners that they prefer to wee in, once the Fitch has soaked up to its max capacity, then does the cardboard get damp.

Are you thinking that, like seems to be the case with auboise, if you put a permeable layer below it that draws the moisture through rather than the bedding absorbing it? If so, I don't have that experience with Fitch.

I just want to understand what you mean because, obviously I don't want to have the piggies sitting on wet bedding if it could somehow be drying out instead but whenever I check the Fitch always does seem dry to the touch.
 
Jaxlow said:
I bought a bag of megazorb and half a bale of hay today £11 ( although the hay isn't as soft as I would like). I put newspaper down to see how it goes this week. I have put some nicer meadow hay in a basket in their living area and just filled up their bedroom with hay, haven't seen either of them since. They were out in grass for a while today, sun was quite warm (might be last chance we get) Megazorb throughout.

So I will see of that makes any difference.
Click to expand...
Sun? It's rained ALL day here!
 
If it's working for you and doesn't seem to get wet then that's great and obviously works for you :) I've found the same thing happens with Fitch as with shavings/aubiose in my hutch even when cleaning twice a week so for me it works better to just bed straight onto wipe clean surface and I don't see that the paper/board adds anything useful
 
afu said:
If it's working for you and doesn't seem to get wet then that's great and obviously works for you :) I've found the same thing happens with Fitch as with shavings/aubiose in my hutch even when cleaning twice a week so for me it works better to just bed straight onto wipe clean surface and I don't see that the paper/board adds anything useful
Click to expand...
It does seem like I'm in a (lucky) minority though!
 
I'm lucky i have horses so i use either verdo horse bedding or shavings :) my guinea pigs also get bales of hay from the farmer although i do buy it in just incase the bale from the farmer is a bit rubbish :) x
 
Porridge said:
I'm lucky i have horses so i use either verdo horse bedding or shavings :) my guinea pigs also get bales of hay from the farmer although i do buy it in just incase the bale from the farmer is a bit rubbish :) x
Click to expand...
I use horse supplies too, much for economical
 
Yes, Tuesday was a lovely day in Glasgow.

I used to have horses during my teens and early twenties. When my first and last pony died I was so heartbroken that it has taken me 12 years to build up towards new pets. I am so content sweeping up hay from the garage floor. Lol
 
I get twenty kilos aubiose from my local pet supply warehouse and ten litres of paper based cat litter.The aubiose is used for my piggy litter trays and I love it.The top stays really dry.Also use it for my rats and hamsters and it keeps the smell down.They only charge a pound delivery.The aubiose costs about a tenner
 
I've been using cardboard, topped by newspaper (and the newsprint supplements that some supermarkets kindly supply). On top of this I use wood shavings, from The Range and I also use their hay as it's quite cheap, in conveniently sized bales and it smells really good! I'm finding that the newspaper gets pretty wet within a day or so and reading all the posts on this topic I'm going to try one or two other options. As for 'fleece': are we talking about the kind of fabric which is used to make human zip up fleece jackets? I've been buying these from charity shops and I also cut up an old fleece dressing gown to make cosies for the piggies but I hadn't though of lining the hutches with it. My piggies do pee quite a lot and someone suggested that I might be giving them too much cucumber, which is diuretic so I've reduced that. Just ordered some stuff from Petzilla - they seem quite cheap !
 
When you are next in the Range look at the fleece throws in the home furnishing department. That's the sort of thing many use. I bought a plain red with slight ribbed design two pack from there which I use.

I don't see why you couldn't use fleece from an old jacket but you may find it easier to get a single piece that covers all the hutch from a throw.

The main things are make sure it's 100% polyester, wash 3 times before use to make it wick properly and never use fabric conditioner when you wash it.
 
I've tried all sorts in the past. Megazorb is good but extremely dusty which I didn't like. Snowflake wood chip and aubiose wins my vote with a large hay rack. I also bought some Lino and cut that to size in the bottom of hutch instead of newspaper. It's so easy to clean as you can pull the whole lot out to clean. Under the Lino is that stuff you use to re line cupboards. Not sure what it's called but it comes on a roll and is sticky
 
  • Like
Reactions: afu
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top