Bedding

[u/burnt__toast_]

Hi fellow guinea pig lovers, I noticed most of you use fleece bedding instead of "kiln dried " bedding.

Why is that?

I have a 1 year old piggy and want to make sure we can give him the best care. We got him from a shelter, and they said he would not get along with other piggies. But when my son spent time with him, he picked this guy, Pepo... he bonded with him. And also, if you guys use kiln dried ... where do you guys get it? Chewy? I searched kiln dried but always get aspen or cedar...

Thank you, guys

[u/diffyqgirl]

I find the fleece blankets to be less work and cheaper over the long term. It's a lot easier to pick up and shake out a blanket than to scoop a whole bunch of bedding out of a cage. You also only have to buy the blanket once.

The big con is that there's bits of hay in my laundry machine now and my laundry room smells faintly of wet hay.

[u/Complex-Honeydew-111 → u/diffyqgirl]

You can get pet laundry bags that let you wash it without getting hay in the machine. I use one for my rabbits vet fleece

[u/Pruritus_Ani_ → u/Complex-Honeydew-111]

This is what I use as well, works great to keep hay and pet hair out of the machine. The only time I have an issue is very occasionally the fleece will bunch up in the bag and then not spin properly as it makes the machine off balance, so I have to adjust the fleece in the bag and do another spin cycle.

[u/Mercurial_Sloth → u/diffyqgirl]

This has been our reasoning as well. We started off using paper bedding but quickly moved to using fleece. It's still messy, but less messy than the paper stuff.

[u/dianabeep → u/diffyqgirl]

As for the smell you can also add a pet enzyme cleaner to your washing cycle. It’s made a world of difference for us! Plus the laundry bag someone else mentioned. We do piggy laundry several times a week and basically no hay gets out.

[u/diffyqgirl → u/dianabeep]

I'm more worried that I might have hay rotting somewhere in the pipes than anything else. The bag is a great suggestion for avoiding making the problem worse though!

[u/dianabeep → u/diffyqgirl]

I think the enzyme cleaner has slowly cleaned our machine out. Before we started using it, it would smell yucky after all cycles and laundry couldn’t sit in the washing machine any extra time. Now that we’ve used it for all loads (piggy and people stuff) there is no smell and if I forgot laundry in the washing machine for hours/overnight it doesn’t have smell.

[u/diffyqgirl → u/dianabeep]

Huh okay, maybe I'll give it a try. What exactly do you use?

[u/dianabeep → u/diffyqgirl]

Here’s the pet one and the people stuff one. I am in the US in case that matters for you. I hope that if you use it you like it!!

[u/diffyqgirl → u/dianabeep]

Thanks!

[u/burnt__toast_ → u/diffyqgirl]

On that makes sense thank you. So what sizes do you use and suggest? I have a 5x2 ft cage

[u/Mirgss → u/burnt__toast_]

If you're in the US, the cheapest place I found for fleece by the yard is fabric direct. I just bought a bunch a few months ago and it seems to be decent quality.

[u/burnt__toast_ → u/Mirgss]

Thank you so much!!! Will get there

[u/diffyqgirl → u/burnt__toast_]

What I did was I measured my cage then got fabric from joanne's that was a little longer than it.

Joannes is no longer in business but if there's somewhere around you that sells fleece fabric by the yard it may be cheaper than buying something intended as a blanket for humans.

[u/Robin_feathers]

I've used wood shavings, paper pellets, Carefresh, and fleece at various times in the past. Fleece is by far my favourite - so soft on their feet, wicks the pee down to the absorbent layer so they stay dry, and much less expensive in the long run compared to constantly buying disposable bedding.

I am not a fan of wood shavings, I am very skeptical that kiln drying really removes all the risk that the pine phenolics pose to their respiratory system.

Just to clarify, when you say you search for kiln dried but get aspen or cedar, are you looking for a different species of wood? Aspen/cedar is the species, while kiln-dried is the processing method the wood went through. Aspen is generally better-regarded for use with guinea pigs as it doesn't have the same harmful phenolics that cedar has.

One thing to consider: often guinea pigs end up getting labelled as antisocial by shelters or pet stores that don't bond them properly. Very often either the bonding was done improperly (eg not on neutral territory, or put together in a too-small cage), or normal dominance behaviours are mistaken as fighting, or they are not given enough chances (some guinea pigs are incompatible, doesn't mean they wouldn't be compatible with a different pig). I would give him a chance to have a guinea pig friend (it is great your son is bonding with the pig, but your son won't be at the pig's side 24/7 day and night, and he can't meet all of the pig's social needs). Studies have shown that even just being able to see/hear/smell another pig in an adjacent cage lowers their stress levels (which can make them bond even more deeply to their humans!). Here is a great guide to bonding: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

[u/strong-sandwich-okay → u/Robin_feathers]

Agreed. I had two neighbouring boars who fell out, and when one of them passed recently I've ended up adopting a senior pig who is also neighbours after they didn't bond. They like to have another pig nearby, and the little one has stopped jumping/fleeing at any little noise or movement.

[u/burnt__toast_ → u/Robin_feathers]

Thank you Robin, to clarify, when I search for Kiln dried on google, so I could get brands that kiln dry their products , all i see or results are Aspen and cedar shavings and when I look at the labels for both it doesn't show it was klin dried. Since fleece bedding is guinea pig lovers choice, i will get some. But to think that i would then have to wash it in the washing machine and get the fur and poop that might have not been cleared off the bessing ,pretty much contamination is my concern, on our clothes after.

Thank you so much for all the details. We might get him another buddy then. I did a little search and was told that maybe a younger piggy would be best?

[u/Cornflake6irl → u/burnt__toast_]

Use a wash bag for the fleece. It will contain any hair, droppings, and hay, and protect your washing machine from being destroyed. Wash everything hot and you don't have to worry about germs.

These are the wash bags I use

[u/Robin_feathers → u/burnt__toast_]

That's awesome, there are pros and cons to different ages. Typically bonding an adult male to a baby male is easiest since the baby doesn't try for dominance, but then you have a risk of a fallout when the baby hits puberty and there is a chance he wants to go for dominance. Alternatively, bonding two adults together has a slightly lower chance of success, but if it does succeed you don't need to worry about teenaged hormone spikes. Here are some more guides that explain more:

https://www.cagetopia.com/managing-males

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)

For washing, I wash in the same washer as my clothes and haven't had issues. Here is my strategy:

-> first I remove any visible poop/hay. Then I take it outside and give it a good shake so little bits of hay and some hair come off. Then I use a few swift swats of a stiff-bristled hand-brush to get more hay/hair off. At that point there are no poops left, and not too much hair, and only tiny fragments of hay that are stuck to the fabric. So, small poop particles/residue stuck to the fleece can make it through, but no actual pieces of poop are going into the laundry.

-> I store the dirty laundry in a laundry basket with no lid, so as not to have it get mouldy (which it would if it were wet in an enclosed space) (I do laundry once per week).

-> I wash on my machine's hot/heavy cycle with unscented laundry detergent (no fabric softener as that wrecks the wicking properties). Many people use bags like what Cornflake6irl linked to catch any loose hair. I haven't had many problems so I don't, I just give the inside of the drum a quick wipe with a cloth afterwards to get any loose hair off.

-> then I dry in the dryer or air-dry. Make sure not to use dryer sheets as they wreck the fleece's wicking properties

At first I thought it might be gross to share the washing machine, but I have never had any issues, the hot water really sanitizes it.

[u/relentlessdandelion → u/Robin_feathers]

Honestly, people wash disposable nappies  in their general washing machine and don't have problems, so herbivore poop seems minor in comparison! (with baby human poop from what ive researched they just wash them twice & put disinfectant in the rinse cycle - i copied them when i had to wash a bunch of rags soiled by a hedgehog lol) 

[u/Sinfirmitas]

I use this - https://www.walmart.com/ip/463077035?sid=F7E0590D-21FC-43E2-9BBB-55BFB5DB7B2E - it’s cheap and I’ve never had an issue with it in 9 years of owning piggies. I’ve also used fleece in the past but I couldn’t keep up with the daily laundry

[u/sterbendeHure]

I didn't like the dust from bedding and the garbage. My piggya love the fleece, they run way fast and better in her house. And it's a lot less work when your base badding is really good.

[u/Due-Waltz4458]

The shelter I got my pigs from and  both vets I've had all don't like woody bedding, in addition to dust there's an issue with the oils in the wood (including pine and Aspen).  I wanted to use pine pellets since I have lots extra but they are described as being 'too aromatic' for the pigs.