wood shavings or fleece indoor cage ?

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kellyx said:
hi
could you tell me what you would recommend wood shavings or fleece with towels under for indoor cage ?
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not sawdust the dust can bring on respitory problems andd doesnt help there tootsies! I personally use vet bed
 
I would recommend fleece, as shavings can cause respiratory problems. I use fleece and hay and it is easy to keep clean :)
 
Laura Piggiepigpigs from Nottingham did a seven-day trial using both fleece and shavings. Well worth a watch.

First video: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXdouj93WNk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXdouj93WNk[/ame]
 
I use neither, however, if you are going to use shavings, please try and find a supplier of hardwood shavings as softwood ones are known to cause respiratory problems. I use vetbed with newspaper underneath in most of my cages, but I have 2 that were donated with bowed floors which I use finacard or hardwood shavings if I'm short on finacard in.
 
I used to use fleece for my 4 girls but found it hard to keep clean of hay bits etc and it was too much upkeep in the winter. I was constantly washing and brushing fleeces! I now use a layer of Auboise and hay on top of newspaper - a hemp bedding and am very pleased with it.
 
It depends on your free time and how much your guinea pigs leave droppings. If you won't have much time for washing fleeces over and over, then use wood shavings. Also, if your guinea pigs leave droppings like crazy, then use wood shavings. Hope I helped! :(|)
 
catslovelycats said:
I used to use fleece for my 4 girls but found it hard to keep clean of hay bits etc and it was too much upkeep in the winter. I was constantly washing and brushing fleeces! I now use a layer of Auboise and hay on top of newspaper - a hemp bedding and am very pleased with it.
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I use auboise really pleased with it, have enough washing to do with the kids etc, really like the idea of vetbed though, just not sure it would work for me.:)
 
Looks as if we are having the same question :) I am still on bedding until I feel my little guy is using his litter box more then just wherever he feels is a good place and he's doing great! So I have decided to start him on fleece by the end of the week. I will have to let you know how this goes, which I'm hoping it does good since bedding is quite expensive to buy all the time and fairly messy when Sweets gets in his run around mode. I also don't like the bedding because it sticks to him and then when ever I get him out it ends up stuck all over me so I would give the fleece a try.
 
well.. I'm thinking of fleece but heres a lift i made :)


[*]
fleece

[*]pros
-cleaner
-cheaper
-better for feet
-less breathing pros
can i mention much cheaper agian?

cons
-needs to be changed offten
-pigs can eat it and like to rolleyes
-can be pricie to wash/keep depending were you live
[/*]​
[/*][*]shavings[/*]
pros
-* can clean it less
-easy to clean
-if you have a young child doing care and they froget to clean the cage it wont be a big differnce over a day or to
-stays dryer

cons
-respitory issues can be cause
-many types csan be toxic
- if shavings are tosmall or to larg it can hurt the pig
-gets expencive!
- get smellie in summer!
- attracts bugs​


thats that my thoughts though... i always used shavings and never had issues.. for example my last pig lived to the ripe age of 10! but I'm greatly​
considering switching when i build my new cage
 
I'm a very big fan of Fleeces and Towels for Cavies. My pigs are much happier and popcorns more on Fleeces as opposed to beddings etc.
 
I love vet bed and so do my girls..they stay dry and keeps down nasty pongs for around a week.
 
Vet bed is tempting me? is it more absorbant than fleece?
 
i put the fleece bedding in yesterday she loves it shes constantly popping everywhere :)
i put some shavings and hay in her bedpart and hay in the hay rack and this morning it was everywhere lol i cleaned it all up and its all around again so i think I'm going to seperate the bed part from the playing area but so glad i changed it she seems so happy so it dont matter how messy she makes it aslong as shes happy
 
I use pine shavings. She loves the feel of them and instead of the fluffy stuff that made her mat horribly, I find that I had her choose what she wanted for bedding (sounds corny I know) She actually chose the wood shavings over any other bedding (I am guessing it was because of the smell of it.... I really don't know)
 
I'm on shavings but that's only because my girls are all outdoor pigs in hutches, so it's a lot easier for me to use shavings. Plus my mum's allergic to them, so cleaning fleece in our washer is a no-no, I'd have to hand wash/take it to a laundrette to clean it all.

That said, when I'm in a position to move out in a couple of years time I'll be looking for somewhere where I can have space for my pigs inside and I'd consider fleece and towel or vetbed. :)
 
luluhound said:
Vet bed is tempting me? is it more absorbant than fleece?
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the idea with fleece is the wee goes through it and is absorbed by the towels or paper underneath while staying dry(er) on top. I think the same is with vet bed but its fibers are thicker and keeps the feet away more than fleece - I think :red
 
For someone who really wants to use fleece but has to use bedding, try folding up a fleece and make it into the size of a cozy so your guinea pig can sleep on it and have a soft, fluffy bed! zzz+fleece bed=:(|)!
 
I really don't know what to do about bedding! We have only had our 2 guinea pigs for a week, and I have already changed their fleece 3 times. I didn't realise it would get so covered in hay! I'm worried about the washing machine getting clogged up and hair/ hay getting on our clothes. The pigs do seem to love it though. I have a bag of woodshavings, but I'm very reluctant to try it if it could be bad for their health :( .

It's very confusing that everyone seems to have such different experiences of different types of bedding! :{

Can you just use newspaper and hay?
 
violet said:
I really don't know what to do about bedding! We have only had our 2 guinea pigs for a week, and I have already changed their fleece 3 times. I didn't realise it would get so covered in hay! I'm worried about the washing machine getting clogged up and hair/ hay getting on our clothes. The pigs do seem to love it though. I have a bag of woodshavings, but I'm very reluctant to try it if it could be bad for their health :( .

It's very confusing that everyone seems to have such different experiences of different types of bedding! :{

Can you just use newspaper and hay?
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Yes, you can just use newspaper and hay. It will need changing every 2-3 days though and possibly more in the summer.
I have my cage in 2 sections now. Fleece on one side which I change every 3 days with a litter tray with aubiose/ hay, and a section with just newspaper and hay. I thought the second section would get smelly more quickly but has been ok. I add fresh hay every night and change the whole thing every 3 days. I will probably do it more often when it warms up.
I wash my fleece in an old duvet cover ever since it cost £55 for my machine to be fixed rolleyes. My machine apparently doesn't have a 'consumer accessible filter' which makes it a pain if it gets clogged up. If your machine has a filter than you can clean yourself, then it's much easier.
 
Ooh, good tip about the duvet cover, flips! Will definitely try that.

We have this cage http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FERPLAST-RABBIT-120-X-LARGE-GREY-INDOOR-CAGE-GUINEA-PIG-/300502760318

I've covered the whole bottom of the cage in newspaper, then in fleece, then I've put another layer of newspaper in their little house area on the left, and then hay in there too. They have hay in their rack too.

They poo everywhere, but they definitely have their favourite corners, so I'm going to get a litter tray (maybe 2). I need a ramp too, as they can't get up to the top of their house (we don't keep the food up there!). Maybe when we sort the ramp I'll move their hay rack up there and that might contain the hay too.

i suppose it's just trial and error til we find what suits us best!
 
Hey I just realized that the fleece bed is a bad idea as they might pull it around and mess it up. Sorry about that guys! But if it worked for any of you congrats! Maybe you can use fleece for half the cage and bedding for the other but they might mess it up.
 
Hachi475 said:
Hey I just realized that the fleece bed is a bad idea as they might pull it around and mess it up. Sorry about that guys! But if it worked for any of you congrats! Maybe you can use fleece for half the cage and bedding for the other but they might mess it up.
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mine messes hers up but she loves it so i dont mind it doesnt take that long to give it a tidy up a few times a day :D
 
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