Vet bed for Guinea pig cage?

[baddyface]

Do people use this? We are rattling through the newspaper as our new young boars wee all the time!

Does it take ages to get the hay off to wash it?

Also do I really want the guinea pig wee covered fleece in my washer?!

It just looks so comfy for them to snuggle on too.

Any other ideas?

[baddyface]

Oh and how often will it need washing? I change their newspaper pretty much every day so do I need to do that with vet bed? If so I will need at least two of them and with a cage of around 1m x 2.5m that will be expensive!

[AConvivialHost]

Yes, we used it, with newspaper and then towels underneath. We had 3 sets - one in the cage, one in the wash and one spare, and I used to wash it every third day in one of the washing bags you use for horse rugs etc. It worked well but getting the hay off it was a bit of a nightmare and they do shrunk over time.

I eventually moved to the type of cage liners used by piggiepigpigs - fleece with inner core of waterproof decorators cloth. Not as bulky in the washing machine, cheaper and hay brushes off easier.

[FluffyTowers]

Not used vet bed but when mine were indoors I used fleece pads. Top layer polar fleece, middle layer quilted cotton mattress protector, bottom layer waterproof mattress protector. I made them myself but can be pricey to buy.

They had a 24ftx7ft room and the upkeep became too much. Found hay a nightmare to get off them and had to wash them every 2-3 days or they would stink. And the poo needed swept/hoovered at least once a day.

Now they're outdoors the hutches are lined with disposable puppy pads and hay which is sooo much easier.

For comfort you can still provide fleece beds/pouches 😊

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I've been looking on lots of Rescue Websites - no I'm not looking for more pigs just ideas - one of them uses VetBed for their older /unwell guineas but the pigs have their own washing machine

I use fleece indoors in winter but I buy the really cheap rough Primark ones (usually Christmas ones in early January , my pigs don't mind) or Ikea. Cut into 4-6 pieces.
Layer on top of wood pellets and newspaper+puppy pad then put the hay in.

I change every day but I don't re-use . My washing machine really wouldn't like it and I cannot get the hay off .
You can wash them in a pillowcase tied with string though.

The way I view it, a £1/£2 fleece giving 4-6 beds is cheaper than a repair to the washer.

One winter I gave my boars a fleece on a old sqidgey pillow in an orange box in their sleeping area. And a rubber trug (with a door cut) filled with hay and a cardboard 'lid'
These two little boys who bickered if they were in a too small cage (in their opinion) crammed themselves into the haytrug , ignoring the fleece altogether .

[baddyface]

Lots to google thanks. At the moment mine or in a c and c cage, with newspaper and then sawdust but they are weeing in all the corners so much that I keep running out of newspaper. Also it just doesn't look that comfy for them.

They do have hay but it's green stuff that looks too nice for lining the cage with so they have it in a cardboard tunnel and their igloos but I don't use it anywhere else.

I'm going to look for really cheap fleece I think and just leave the edges of the cage where they tend to wee piled up with sawdust and newspaper.

Don't think my washer will cope though so will have to search for really cheap stuff.

I do have some disposable kids bed liners - could I use those too do you think?

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

With liners and puppy pads you do need to be really careful that your pigs don't chew them. They've got plastic in them that can give them blockages if they eat them.

I used some of the Pampers bedpads - I bought them when I was defrosting the freezer and had some left. They're ££ but a really good size, I put them in their indoor cages as the base layer.

BTW , very very that your pigs pooh in a corner, you could try and litter train them.
I sometimes give mine a Primark paper bag with the handles cut off (if I have enough loo roll shreddings I put them in) and they pee in that. They still pee/pooh all over but they're messy.

We just put them to bed , our boar left a poohnest in the corner of the run on the grass. He was hiding there eyeing up the sows

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

You could try Megazorb (its an Equine bedding, huge bag) I last bought some on Amazon/Ebay delivered to argos for pick up (Delivery is ££ from some sites unless you're buying horse quantities)

When I kept just boars , they were tidier, I could pick out the grubby bits of their bedding . They could make a deep litter bed last a few days with picking and replacing hay.

The sows on the other hand Messy little tykes that pee for Britain.

[baddyface]

Well I say poo/wee in a corner but...
it's just the majority of it is there. They still like to scatter it round for me to keep me on my toes!

It's the wee that makes the mess. Their poos are pretty easy to sweep up. They do HUGE wees though! And they soak through the newspaper straightaway and it smells and breaks up.

I'm off to search for cheap fleece. They love their soft towels that they snuggle in on dds knees so I'm sure they will appreciate the fleece and be very careful not to make a mess on it

[baddyface]

So sows wee more than this?!

I will have a look at megazorb thanks. It sounds like powerful stuff with that name!

[TimeIhadaNameChange]

I use reusable incontinence pads from Amazon. You still have to wash them, (obviously!) but I find hay and hair comes off them far easier than fleece. I just hang them, dirty, on the line for a few hours first. Wash on 90, run some kitchen towel around the inside of the machine, then do a quick 30 wash with soda crystals. A final wipe around and all's clean and dandy.

[baddyface]

Thanks that sounds good to me. I've just spent £25 on a vetbed but can't afford two. So I will look into the pads too thanks.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I used to have a couple of old Hippychicks bedpads (from when my human babies were night training) they're like a double sided felt with a waterproof core.

You might be able to get some 2nd hand on ebay .

If you get fleece, some 'wick' better. I found the plush soft ones kept the pee on the surface (so on my pigs' fur) but the rough ones wick through to whatever you put under them.


And yes, the sows are much messier than the boars (well, my ladies are ) just in case you ever consider females in the future .