Sunday, January 8, 2012

Fleece Bedding For Guinea Pigs

There was a big change that happened to the cage today. We got beautiful new fleece carpet installed! The humans decided that they've had it with traditional litter like Carefresh cage bedding. We love Carefresh, but apparently Carefresh is pretty expensive. We love our new fleece bedding just as much.
It's like carpeting for our cage!
Here are our thoughts on the difference between lining a guinea pig cage with Carefresh bedding vs. fleece bedding.

Carefresh pros:
  • Safe
  • Easy to find in most pet stores

Carefresh Cons: 
  • Expensive. Even when buying in bulk, it can cost $15 for a two week supply
  • Messy, the litter can easily get outside of the cage 
  • Somewhat difficult to clean
  • Not as good as fleece for the environment
Now for our review of fleece bedding for guinea pig cages. This is the first time we've had anything other than litter lining out cage. 

Fleece Pros:
  • Inexpensive. A double thick sheet was only $17 and it's reusable.
  • Better for the environment since it can be reused.
  • Also safe, no dust, and soft.
  • Doesn't fall outside of the cage like litter- makes the cage look neater.
  • Soft and fuzzy to nap in.
Fleece Cons:
  • Humans have to vacuum daily with a dust buster to control waste.
  • Has to be washed in a washing machine weekly- or more often depending on the size of your cage and number of pigs.
  • Fabric can pill.
  • Initially it isn't as absorbent as Carefresh, but after several washes it will be.
  • You have to also put down a towel or two under the fleece to absorb moisture.

6 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for putting the pros and cons. I have been considering getting flece. I will be getting guine pigs in the second week of July(because of parents)Thanks again :)

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  2. Can have some bedspread for home also as a person need them in the night. ha ha

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  3. LF and G now have fleece on the main side of their cage. They seem to like it.

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  4. Thank you! I'm thinking about trying fleece for my guinea pigs because woodchips and carefresh are expensive and hard to clean! This has helped a lot

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  5. We use fleece, but our Vet recently told us that we should reconsider because of the Ammonia smell. We change the top fleece almost every night, and change the towels we have underneath 2 times a week. For the fleece it is best to change the top once a day. If the fleece is wet, it puts the piggies at risk for Bumblefoot. One of our pigs has had respiratory issues, so we are going to try a bedding with a layer of fleece on the bottom.

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