Cavy bedding....what is best

Question

I've been using CareFresh bedding for my cavies, but I find that it's expensive, terribly messy, and not at all easy to maintain. They've also taken to kicking it out of the cage during play. I've heard that fleece or towels over a layer of newspaper is actually easier and more comfortable for them, provided the towels are changed every few days. I was thinking of trying it, but I'm not sure.

What kind of bedding do you use, and what have your experiences been using fleece or towels?

Answer 1

I would say try shredded ar pelleted aspen, you could use the towels but if you do you should litter pan train her, and it will be a good bit of work cleaning etc

Answer 2

I've used many different beddings in the past - but I use fleece with my current piggies, and I can't imagine going back to normal bedding!

Loose beddings - the problem with these is that the safe ones (carefresh and aspen) do tend to be more expensive.

The cheap ones - i.e. pine and cedar - contain high levels of phenols which cause respiratory and liver dissease.

With all loose bedding materials you are likely to end up with it all over the floor round the cage.

Fleece only works if you actually do it properly - otherwise it gets gross very quickly!

The idea is as follows:

Polyester fleece - being plastic based - does not absorb moisture. Instead it wicks moisture (it acts kinda like a sieve).

The top layer (that the cavys walk on) should be fleece.

Underneath the fleece you need a layer of something very absorbant, to soak up the pee. Towels are pretty good, although many people find mattress pads even better.

Any pee is wicked away through the fleece to be absorbed by the bottom layer, locking in any smells and keeping the surface dry so the pigs are not sitting in pee!

I used to use a layer of newspaper no the bottom, then three towels, then one layer of fleece on top. This was okay...

I now use one thick mattress pad with one layer of fleece. This is much quicker to set up when you clean out.

Newspaper alone under fleece is not good because it is not absorbant enough - as soon as the bottom layer is saturated the pigs will end up sitting in a wet patch!

It is also important that the top layer is fleece and that it wicks properly.

To prepare fleece before you start using it, you should put it through the wash a few times to break down any waterproofing it may have on it. Never use any type of fabric softener or conditioner with fleece, as this adds a waterproof barrier.

Once you lay the absorbant layer and the fleece in the cage you will probably need to secure it in place. You can either get fleece a bit longer than you cage, and use binder clips to attach it to the sides. Or you can weight down the edges with bricks. (I use both because I have a powerful hoover!)

Fleece may be considered high maintenance....

Because it forms a solid sufrace, the poops just sit on the top. These need to be vaccuumed or swept up at least once a day (depending on cage size and number of pigs), otherwise the pigs will be constantly walking in them. But this only takes a few minutes.

Cleaning out is generally much quicker with fleece. I have previously used shavings, and a full weekly clean out took me over an hour.

Now, using fleece it only takes about 15 minutes. You just remove any last poops, and throw all teh fabric in the wash (no softener!).

It is more expensive to buy what you need initially - you want at least two sets to make cleaning easier. But once you have it there are NO ongoing bedding costs as you just wash and re-use it!

I love fleece - and my pigs seem to agree. I definiately think it is more comfortable for them, it saves me time and money, and I don't get c**p all over the floor.

For more info check out: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedd...

The fleece project is really helpful - it explains everything!

You can purchase fleece from various stores as fleece blankets, or off the roll from a fabric store. Towells and mattress pads from anywhere that sells home stuff. You won't find the stuff in pet stores as it is not a widely recognised type of bedding yet.

Answer 3

For guinea pigs,my friend uses doggy training towels on the first layer,and on top she uses shredded newspaper.

Answer 4

Old clothing is actually the best I find. But avoid towels because their feet can get caught in the loops. Use smooth material only, such as fleece (very absorbant). Change them every 2-4 days, unless your piggy uses a litter box. My rats use litter boxes, and I only have to change the bedding weekly.

Now there is only onle thing that drives me crazy with the rats, don't know if piggies will do the same, but they sometimes "rearrange" the fleece, and tunnel under it, messing up the top of the cage in the process. To avoid this, just have heavy items standing in the corners so it isn't easy for them to redecorate.

You can also try a number of other beddings like recycled paper pellets (Yesterday's News) or aspen shavings. Maybe something a bit heavier than Carefresh wouldn't get tossed around as much.

Avoid pine and cedar, they are toxic.

Edit: Yup, any fabric stores will sell large amounts of fabric for little. Any other department type stores will have them as well, but probably in blanket form.

lol, Courtney, It's only one of them really, my most timid boy. He is overly paranoid and goes to the extremes to "fortify" :P

Answer 5

My sister has them little critters and from what I can recall she uses that fake grass.  Well that is what I am recalling anyway, I don't know if she uses anything else underneath.  When it becomes a decent time of morning :) I will ring her and ask and I will come back and edit.

Answer 6

I use fleece bedding for my rats, and I love it. On cleaning day you just shake the fleece out into a trash bag and toss it into the wash. The pans usually just need a wipe down, because unlike regular bedding, p**p usually doesn't fall through and get stuck to them. I have a rat in quarantine right now and he uses carefresh, and it's such a pain. Plus, with the fleece you only have to buy two or three and then you're set.

Eraser does have a point about the tunneling! My baby boys do that constantly. I hold it down with a ton of binder clips and it usually keeps them at bay, as long as they have something else to play with. With guinea pigs, though, I doubt you'll have a problem with that.

Try the fleece. It's extremely convenient.

Answer 7

aspen

Answer 8

a cavie is almost the same as a guinea pig so if there are any bedding's at your local pet store look but don't get pine get hard woods because of the oils, best of luck

Answer 9

We use Yesterday's News, which is recycled paper that's been pressed into pellets. It does an excellent job of absorbing everything and keeping smells to a minimum. It's cheap because you can buy it in bulk and one bag, for our guinea pig, will do for 3 or 4 cage cleanings.

Answer 10

Hi Rachel,

My personal favorite for bedding is Aspen. You can get huge bags of it for cheap and it's piggy safe.