Wood shavings or Sawdust?

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Chief Guinea Pig

Chief Guinea Pig

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My friend who has kept her beloved piggies for 4 years now uses sawdust, currently I've been using fleece since I've had my new pigs, but I am not getting along with it. I spot check each evening (not enough time in the morning sadly) each day, but there's constantly poop on the fleece, and hay get's stuck to it. There is no smell (since saturday so far), but there is so much stuff stuck to the fleece, I don't dare put it in the washing machine, the pigs also like to much the fleece a little too. I have the anti-pill fleece from Primark.

And I bought my pigs from Pets at Home and they knew a lot about the pigs (until she said that you need to ''Add water drops'', (but the pigs were kept in a nice condition). I was in a huff when the women said that. And, she said you NEED to clean the hutch EACH day! I don't have the time to do that! I was thinking more like; Spot clean at least once a day and one entire hutch clean once a week, she didn't approve of my fleece bedding either. And the shop kept the pigs in Wood shavings, she didn't approve of sawdust because ''It uses up quickly, and you don't need to use as much wood shavings'', or something like that.

So, for my lifestyle, I think I've made a mistake about this fleece, so what in your personal experience do you think is better Wood shavings or Sawdust?
 
I wouldn't use sawdust because they will breathe it in and it could lead to URI's. Mixed school of thought on woodshavings. I know that some rescues will not rehome to folk who plan to use woodshavings.

I use fleece and find that although the hay does get on it if I put rubber gloves on and pull my fingers across the surface you can gather it up quite easily. If you take it outside and give it a shake when it is ready for a wash then majority of the rest of the hay comes off. I still use newspaper, fitch and hay in the areas they pee the most so I can just chuck it out.

I poo-pick once a day, change the bedroom areas every 2-3 days and change the fleece with alternate bedroom changes (i.e every 4-6 days)
 
When you say sawdust do you mean the really fine dust? I would never use it for guinea pigs or other small animals as it is breathed in and can cause respiratory problems. Woodshavings that have not been treated with anything are ok.

I use back 2 nature litter under vet bed as one of my boys is mildly allergic to hay/shavings etc so we need to keep dust to a minimum for him. It's amazingly absorbant and eliminates odours so I only do a full clean once a week with a bit of poo picking in between.

Your bedding choice will depend on budget, cage size (how much you need to use) and availability. I buy online to get cheaper prices and get it delivered. Try looking at some of the bedding reviews in this Forum section.
 
MerryPip said:
When you say sawdust do you mean the really fine dust? I would never use it for guinea pigs or other small animals as it is breathed in and can cause respiratory problems. Woodshavings that have not been treated with anything are ok.

I use back 2 nature litter under vet bed as one of my boys is mildly allergic to hay/shavings etc so we need to keep dust to a minimum for him. It's amazingly absorbant and eliminates odours so I only do a full clean once a week with a bit of poo picking in between.

Your bedding choice will depend on budget, cage size (how much you need to use) and availability. I buy online to get cheaper prices and get it delivered. Try looking at some of the bedding reviews in this Forum section.
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It's not the very powdery (virtually dust) sawdust, It looks a bit like wood shavings really.
 
Chief Guinea Pig said:
It's not the very powdery (virtually dust) sawdust, It looks a bit like wood shavings really.
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I tried fleece but the same as you got fed up of hay sticking to it. I use a sprinkling of dust extracted shavings over paper and back 2 nature in the four corners and hay on the shavings.

The vacuum pack at pets at home I get two cage cleans out of, but I do clean every two days as they seem to pee a lot, I find shavings easier for me than fleece.

If yours pee a lot in the corners you could change those areas every day and areas of pee and leave the rest topping up with hay if that were easier. I wouldn't be able to leave mine a week though it would be humming in the bedroom :lol!:
 
Thanks, I think if I buy the wood shavings from pets at home, I will probably do the same as you, but no hay on the top!
 
Are your guinea pigs indoors or outdoors? My piggies live in a shed so I use layers of newspaper followed by dust free wood shavings and mountains of hay on top for them to snuggle in. They rarely come in to contact with the shavings. They also have fleecy beds and fleeces dotted around.

When the piggies come indoors in really cold weather, I use fleece as I find shavings too messy indoors.

I wouldn't use fleece only in an outdoor hutch. Plenty of hay is needed to keep them warm.

I would never use sawdust.
 
Claire W said:
Are your guinea pigs indoors or outdoors? My piggies live in a shed so I use layers of newspaper followed by dust free wood shavings and mountains of hay on top for them to snuggle in. They rarely come in to contact with the shavings. They also have fleecy beds and fleeces dotted around.

When the piggies come indoors in really cold weather, I use fleece as I find shavings too messy indoors.

I wouldn't use fleece only in an outdoor hutch. Plenty of hay is needed to keep them warm.

I would never use sawdust.
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Yes, the pigs are in a un-used garage.
 
I would never recommend wood shavings or sawdust as both can lead to allergies, respiratory infections and fungal skin conditions. If you are not happy with fleece switch to vet bed with newspaper underneath and then have another area in the cage for hay (it is vital that you give them lots of hay daily as it is the most important part of their diet). You can put the hay straight onto newspaper, into a litter tray or on top of a litter (like Merrypip said).
 
I USE DUST EXTRACTED WOOD SHAVINGS AND HAVEN'T HAD A SINGLE PROBLEM WITH IT. I COULD NEVER USE FLEECE AS IT'S TO TIME CONSUMING TO WASH ETC.
I'VE USED WOOD SHAVINGS FOR 3 YEARS AND MY PIGGIES ARE FINE ON IT. IF YOU USE A GOOD QUALITY ONE THEN I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM , IF IT WAS BAD FOR THEM SHOPS WOULDN'T SELL IT
 
If you're wanting to use woodshavings I'd recommend going to an equestrian supplies place if you have one local to you and find a shaving that's dust extracted and kiln dried. If you have room to store it you can buy bedding in approx 20kg bales working out much cheaper than what you can get from P@H. There are loads of other options to shavings and fleece, shredded card and paper being some of the most popular. Fitch produces a paper based bedding but I think they're only doing phone orders currently due to high demand. For card beddings there's finacard, ecobed, bedxcel, premier bed, green mile and reptizorb to name a few. Other options are hemp bedding such as aubiose, newspaper cat litter pellets (papelit, breeder celect) or wood pulp such as megazorb (though I believe that's dusty) and there's more besides that. If you do have an equestrian place nearby it's worth having a look around.
 
Hi there
Although some people may be fine with sawdust, I honestly would not use it for piggies - too easy to get in the eyes, cause a scratch in the eye or lead to respiratory conditions as they age.

I have used to shavings in the past with success (a thick layer of newspaper, then generrous 3 layer of shavings then a big pile of hay. I stopped using shavings because my Texel got them all caught up in her fur! If you are housing them in a garage I would go for an absorbant bedding with a lot of hay to snuggle in. I know its cold in my garage as I go in there to get the food/bedding etc out!

I use fleece in one side of my set-up with puppy pads underneath and I just give it a good shake in the garden and peg it on the line - by the time I get it in the next day the hay has blown off and then I stick it in the washing machine. In the other part of the cage I use wood pellets topped with a lot of hay (the pellets themselves are not very comfy for guinea pig feet)

I would recommend Snowflake Shavings, a 20KG bag from an equestrian supplies place should be less than £8.50. I use those for my horse who has (amongst other things!) a cough in winter so needs dust extracted bedding.

GingerSusie - if only it were true - lots of things that are bad for pets are sold in pet shops. This is true of all pets. Rabbit muesli is still sold in the majority of places even though its been proven to be bad for pets. High sugar high mollassed "stable licks" are sold for horses and they do them no good at all :( And pet shops sell totally unsuitable and too small cages in every shop I have ever been in.
 
I used fleece/vet bed but got fed up with my washing machine being gammy (despite using an actual wash bag) and the electricity cost + fabric detergent means its no cheaper than shavings for finacard/fitch really and it takes more time to keep clean, and generally looks a mess about an hour after its changed. I use newspaper, with bedding on top with hay on top of that now and it works for me :-) I wouldnt ever use sawdust that is known to be bad, but dust extracted kiln dried high quality shavings are ok with me and I have used them :-)
 
I use Auboise or Hemcore. These are both similar in texture to wood shavings but are taken from the inside of the hemp plant so don't have the bad content of wood shavings. I add a thin layer of hay on top of these & this all gets changed every Sunday. The Auboise/Hemcore that hasn't been wee'd or poo'd on gets composted & about 25% gets re-used. I usually put the re-used stuff in an area that I know will get wee'd on so that none is still being used after 2 weeks. I bought a bag 6 weeks ago & have still got at least 2 or 3 weeks worth left. It costs between £11 & £14 a 20Kg bail so is quite cost effective. My run is about 24 square feet.

I've tried just about everything & wish I'd heard of this earlier as for me & my piggies it's the best thing I've used.
 
With your hemcore supplier Stewy make sure you get the one without citronella, that is bad for piggies and they sometimes sell them interchageably :-)
 
AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S UP TO YOU WHAT YOU USE, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT , I'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH WOOD SHAVINGS SO THAT'S WHAT I USE, I USE THE EQUESTRIAN TYPE WHICH IS NICE AND SOFT AND NOT DUSTY AT ALL, USE WHATEVER YOU CAN AFFORD AS THESE FANCY BEDDINGS COST LOADS COMPARED TO SHAVINGS AND AT THE END OF THE DAY IT GETS THROWN OUT. I'M STICKING TO SHAVINGS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WORKS FOR ME
 
Goth Mummy said:
Hi there
Although some people may be fine with sawdust, I honestly would not use it for piggies - too easy to get in the eyes, cause a scratch in the eye or lead to respiratory conditions as they age.

I have used to shavings in the past with success (a thick layer of newspaper, then generrous 3 layer of shavings then a big pile of hay. I stopped using shavings because my Texel got them all caught up in her fur! If you are housing them in a garage I would go for an absorbant bedding with a lot of hay to snuggle in. I know its cold in my garage as I go in there to get the food/bedding etc out!

I use fleece in one side of my set-up with puppy pads underneath and I just give it a good shake in the garden and peg it on the line - by the time I get it in the next day the hay has blown off and then I stick it in the washing machine. In the other part of the cage I use wood pellets topped with a lot of hay (the pellets themselves are not very comfy for guinea pig feet)

I would recommend Snowflake Shavings, a 20KG bag from an equestrian supplies place should be less than £8.50. I use those for my horse who has (amongst other things!) a cough in winter so needs dust extracted bedding.

GingerSusie - if only it were true - lots of things that are bad for pets are sold in pet shops. This is true of all pets. Rabbit muesli is still sold in the majority of places even though its been proven to be bad for pets. High sugar high mollassed "stable licks" are sold for horses and they do them no good at all :( And pet shops sell totally unsuitable and too small cages in every shop I have ever been in.
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:lol!:
 
Goth Mummy said:
Hi there
Although some people may be fine with sawdust, I honestly would not use it for piggies - too easy to get in the eyes, cause a scratch in the eye or lead to respiratory conditions as they age.

I have used to shavings in the past with success (a thick layer of newspaper, then generrous 3 layer of shavings then a big pile of hay. I stopped using shavings because my Texel got them all caught up in her fur! If you are housing them in a garage I would go for an absorbant bedding with a lot of hay to snuggle in. I know its cold in my garage as I go in there to get the food/bedding etc out!

I use fleece in one side of my set-up with puppy pads underneath and I just give it a good shake in the garden and peg it on the line - by the time I get it in the next day the hay has blown off and then I stick it in the washing machine. In the other part of the cage I use wood pellets topped with a lot of hay (the pellets themselves are not very comfy for guinea pig feet)

I would recommend Snowflake Shavings, a 20KG bag from an equestrian supplies place should be less than £8.50. I use those for my horse who has (amongst other things!) a cough in winter so needs dust extracted bedding.

GingerSusie - if only it were true - lots of things that are bad for pets are sold in pet shops. This is true of all pets. Rabbit muesli is still sold in the majority of places even though its been proven to be bad for pets. High sugar high mollassed "stable licks" are sold for horses and they do them no good at all :( And pet shops sell totally unsuitable and too small cages in every shop I have ever been in.
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piggyfan said:
Unfortunately shops do sell things that are bad for guinea pigs such as yoghurt drops.
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I WAS TALKING ABOUT WOOD SHAVINGS AND NOT OTHER PRODUCTS! I BET THE MAJORITY OF THE FORUM USERS USE WOOD SHAVINGS :roll:
 
To be honest, I would not use either. My guinea pigs got quite ill and were often sneezing when I used shavings. I would never go back to it. Sawdust is even worse.

I use shredded paper and the boys seem to love it. Even if they end up nibbling some of it it does nothing to them as its just paper. I used to buy a pack of paper from asda for £1.50 and then shred it, now I get it from an office in a huge bag.

I would reccomend this if you do not want to do fleece. :) I also never got on with fleece and instead just give them fleece cosies to enjoy if they want to rest in them.
 
gingersusie said:
AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S UP TO YOU WHAT YOU USE, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT , I'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH WOOD SHAVINGS SO THAT'S WHAT I USE, I USE THE EQUESTRIAN TYPE WHICH IS NICE AND SOFT AND NOT DUSTY AT ALL, USE WHATEVER YOU CAN AFFORD AS THESE FANCY BEDDINGS COST LOADS COMPARED TO SHAVINGS AND AT THE END OF THE DAY IT GETS THROWN OUT. I'M STICKING TO SHAVINGS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WORKS FOR ME
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Not always, I know the bales seem dear (around double shavings) but you can use less and sometimes for longer so they can work out just the same cost usually :-) i know you're happy but I thought id clear that one up. I do use shavings for mine because I have nowhere to store a 20kg bale and the small packs are 50p at a shop across the road so that works for me currently too so I'm not anti shavings as such. Fleece can work out dearer than beddings too lol x
 
When i first got my piggies i used to use wood shavings but the only reason i switched to Fitch was because mine are housed indoors and they make sooooo much mess with shavings which then gets transferred all around the house and then the other people in my household get cross and i ended hovering ever 2-3 days. Fitch may be more expensive but it's much tidier for me and just doesn't smell.

I think as long as the shavings aren't really really dusty then it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

As long as the piggies are happy and healthy!
 
gingersusie said:
AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S UP TO YOU WHAT YOU USE, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT , I'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH WOOD SHAVINGS SO THAT'S WHAT I USE, I USE THE EQUESTRIAN TYPE WHICH IS NICE AND SOFT AND NOT DUSTY AT ALL, USE WHATEVER YOU CAN AFFORD AS THESE FANCY BEDDINGS COST LOADS COMPARED TO SHAVINGS AND AT THE END OF THE DAY IT GETS THROWN OUT. I'M STICKING TO SHAVINGS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WORKS FOR ME
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It is just opinions being expressed on here as the original poster wanted to know what other people used. Many people and rescue use wood shavings, many also use fleece, Fitch, Auboise, Carefresh, Back 2 nature, puppy pads, hay and paper and many more.

The choice has to be based on your own home set up, budget, ease of cleaning, piggies etc. No-one is suggesting that there is only one right answer so pease don't feel that anyone is telling you otherwise.

There is however good evidence that some shavings and definitely sawdust can contribute to respiratory infections and allergies in small animals and also that people using fleece or vet bed that do not wash it at high enough temperature to get rid of germs can also have infection problems. These are documented problems and so should be taken seriously but they are also just another thing to think about in the decision making process.

I used shavings in the past with no problems what so ever and so have many others but I had to change as I have a piggy who has allergy issues and as such get ill if I keep him on shavings, hay or anything much other than fleece or vet bed so that's what I use. I also found fleece/vet bed easier with long haired pigs as it doesn't get trapped in their fur so much. In the future I may use something else. Whatever suits :)
 
At the end of the day there are pros and cons for every bedding used and there will always be a debate on 'what is best ' just as there is for food and the indoor / outdoor debate.

So long as the guinea pigs are happy and healthy, it really doesn't matter as it is the owners preference.

I have never had an issue with the newspaper, shavings and hay method but if any of my guinea pigs did, I would certainly look in to other bedding options :)
 
Yes there are many different methods and as long as the piggies are happy, clean and healthy and it works for the owner as well then its all fine! :) For example I know I could never cope with a complete fleece and towels set up as I cant keep up with the family washing!

there is actually a local rescue that refuses to rehome to people who dont uses shavings! They are very against fleece and quite vocal about it on their website. So they would not let me have any of their piggies if I asked!
 
Thats intriguing I can see why they would be anti fleece, if you're not poop scooping like 4x daily and full cleaning twice a week its minging and if not washed properly it stinks and harbours germs I guess.
 
Yes, fleece is too much work for me to use in all of my set up! My pigs use fleecey areas so I dont mind doing it for part of the set up, the bits were they dont really poo or wee. . There are so many different types of bedding, we are so spoilt/lucky now! When I was a teenager it was shavings and that was that!

I just wish that rescue would have considered other types of bedding such as Aubiose but they have to do what is right for their piggies as they feel is best.
 
The rescue I tried at the time I wanted guineas would only accept shavings, they didn't have any guineas available at the time anyway, but I think whether they are on shavings like mine or fed muesli like mine, so long as they are loved, bothered with and have ailments that are tended to, I think they are to be enjoyed as they are loving lovely little things.
 
Goth Mummy said:
Yes, fleece is too much work for me to use in all of my set up! My pigs use fleecey areas so I dont mind doing it for part of the set up, the bits were they dont really poo or wee. . There are so many different types of bedding, we are so spoilt/lucky now! When I was a teenager it was shavings and that was that!

I just wish that rescue would have considered other types of bedding such as Aubiose but they have to do what is right for their piggies as they feel is best.
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It is a bit odd that only shavings are allowed out of all the beddings though, aubiose, finacard, etc same level of hygiene really I cant grasp that one lol. Agreed they do what they feel best, what rescue is it if you dont mind me asking?
 
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