Monday, May 24, 2010

What are the Pro's and Con's of Fleece Bedding?

I'm adopting a guinea pig this weekend and I'm setting up a cage. I was thinking about getting a fleece bedding, since my friend who owns three of her own pigs suggested it. She puts shredded paper on top of the fleece and throws it out and washes the fleece when she puts out her pig for floortime. Is this a good idea, or should I try CareFresh? Any suggestions?
Answers:
I use fleece bedding in my c%26c cage and love it. There is no odor either. As long as you put something underneath the fleece to soak up the pee, like old towels, puppy pads, newspaper or a combination works best. That way the stuff underneath soaks up the moisture and your piggers stay dry. Then all you have to do is sweep up the poo's and any spilled hay. Use a dark colored cloth so the poo blends in better and wash it once or twice a week depending on how dirty it gets. I find it is much cleaner and better looking and I know my piggies love it. Carefresh also is good for them, but I find it makes the cage look too messy. The cons of it are that if you dont get it held down right your piggers could end up burrowing down under it.
Carefresh can cause respiratory problems due to the fact that it is dusty. It does not affect all guinea pigs though.
What fleece does is wicks the urine to the bottom of the cage which is why you need something to soak the urine up. Towels, matress pads and puppy pads are all good choices. Basically you put one of the above under the fleece and it soaks up the urine which is wicked through the fleece. Fleece is great because it does not smell, the bad thing is that the poops are visible.
Alternatively you can use aspen or kiln dried pine. Avoid cedar and normal pine at all times.
I use CareFresh for my gerbils because one of them developed an allergy to the aspen shavings. Of course guinea pigs aren't gerbils, but if you're looking for something hypoallergenic then I'd suggest CareFresh.
As for the fleece bedding, I've never heard of that, but if it is something similar to cotton, then don't use it. The claws of your guinea pigs can get stuck in that and cause injury.
And avoid cedar and pine shavings at all times. These can cause serious respiratory problems.

1 comment:

  1. also, avoid kaytees lavender scented bedding.as SELMA (above) mentioned how cedar and pine shavings can cause respiratory problems so can kaytees product...along with many other health issuse.

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