How to Use Fleece Bedding in a Guinea Pig Cage
Guinea pigs, scientifically known as Cavia porcellus, are thought to have been domesticated over 7,000 years ago, according to Animal Diversity Web. The wild ancestors to these now common pets came from various parts of South America. As domesticated pets, today’s guinea pig has adjusted to living with people and needs a more controlled temperature range, preferably kept between 65 and 75 degree F. Providing fleece bedding can help keep your guineas pigs warm during colder nights.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Use pine shavings, aspen shavings or wood pellets as substrate in the bottom of the cage. This will absorb the urine from your guinea pigs -- something fleece does not do well.
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Place small pieces of fleece in one corner of the cage. The fleece sizes should be slightly larger than the full body length and width of your guinea pig. Since guinea pigs vary in size, the size of fleece you need will also vary.
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3
Check the bedding daily for rips and loose threads. Remove any bedding that has tears so that your guinea pig does not get tangled and injured by the bedding.
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4
Remove old food, shavings and droppings from the bedding daily.
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Wash the bedding weekly with regular cage cleanings. You can hand wash the fleece with warm water and dish soap. Rinse the fleece thoroughly so no soap residue is left on the bedding as this may irritate your cavy’s skin.
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Tips & Warnings
Use a broom, hand vac or a regular vacuum cleaner at least twice a day to spot clean and remove droppings and hay.
It's best to have at least two complete sets of bedding, so that one can be in the cage while the other is going through the wash.
Do not use fabric softener or dryer sheets when washing fleece. They act as barriers and will actually cause the fleece to repel moisture instead of allowing it to wick through.
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References
- Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
Comments
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This is a great idea- kind of like cloth diapers for the cavy's cage! One thing I'll add after cloth diapering 2 babies is to add 1 cup baking soda in the hot wash water, & 1/2 cup white vinegar to the *rinse cyle* to neutralize the ph.
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Thank you for this information. Did not know to add towels underneath. Also to wash with white venegar too and no fabric softener. Now my piggies will be happy and me too since I won't be buying bedding all of the time. Thanks again!
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karkee07
Dec 22, 2008
Carefresh works great, but is to messy and expensive, petsmart wants 25+ for the bigger bag!! Will the fleace help with oder control once attahed to puppy pads? I will not do this until I get an answerm but will arm and hamer pet oder spray be safe as long as the piggy is out and I wait until it drys to put back in?? -
karkee07
Dec 22, 2008
Sooooo making a few of these....I just got my piggy and she kicks out the carefresh all over and when my kitten plays with the cage he drags out the bedding so I have a huge mess. Don't worry they two seem to like each other as long as they are between bars, lol.
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tigerstripes
Jun 16, 2008
Thanks for your help. I am also going to get some fleece. I do not like that carefresh stuff - very messy.
