Guinea pig cage bedding?

[Squiz]

We got 2 guinea pigs a couple of months ago and they are in a cage indoors. I had been putting down woodshavings then some hay, but have read loads of stuff that says woodshavings aren't good for piggies. Today I've cleaned them out and put down newspaper just in whole sheets and some hay on the top and a bit of Carefresh (?) in the corners where they wee. Is this better for them? They ran around looking like "where the f$@k are the woodshavings?

What do others put in their indoor cage?

[jade80]

It's outdoors not indoors but the cage I use has newspaper on the base and loads of hay. Used to use shredded paper but I was worried that they were eating it and it wouldn't be good for them!

[Meglet]

Mine has newspapers with a mixture of hay and straw. She's indoors as she's an old girl now.

[KellyBronze]

just came on here to wave at Meglet. Nice to see you around. T'is me,foxy, and I wish I had pigs.

[PortlyBlackSantaUpAChimney]

Wooden cat litter pellets as the base layer work well. Good at soaking up wee and stopping odours. I've used it for rabbits, GPs and rats in the past.

I usually put a bit of straw and hay on top for GPs.

[Goingspare]

I use a horse bedding called Megazorb between the newspaper and hay. You have to buy a big bag and it's more expensive than shavings, but I suspect cheaper than Carefresh.

It's very absorbent and wicks the wee down into the newspaper, away from the pigs.

[Meglet]

and a 'squeak' from the piggy

[mogwhistle]

Why are wood shavings bad for piggies? I would have thought newspaper would be worse with it containing ink/chemicals?

[Littlepumpkinpie]

I use Megazorb on top of newspaper then a ton of hay covering the whole Hutch. Mine live inside a heated shed too. free from the cold and damp.

[ChippingIn]

Wood shaving - splinters
Shredded paper - paper cuts & gets soggy in no time.

We used newspaper sheets on the bottom with hay - lots & lots of hay :)

I seem to recall that straw isn't good for them - but I can't remember why.

We also used fleeces/towels for a while and the lack of mess was LOVELY - unfortunately the laundering of the blankets/towels was a nightmare. We did try to toilet train them but didn't succeed.

I miss having little gps :(

[mogwhistle]

Straw can injure their eyes (pointy bits)
The shavings I use are very soft - no splinters and why would places like Pets at Home sell it if it was dangerous to Piggies?

[miku]

i use wood shavings-have healthy pigs!!
straw is supposed to have little mites on them.........

[Avantia]

I use wood shaving too - only brought from pet stores - piggies are fine ( 1.5yrs old) Paper first then plenty of wood shavings then hay .

[SquigglePigs]

Ours are happy with their wood shavings on the floor then lots of hay (not straw!), you just shouldn't use strong scented shavings. The problem with newspaper is they'll eat anything and the ink can be poisonous.

[occasionalposter]

We use Megazorb on top of a layer of newspaper for ours, with lots of hay for them to eat and snuggle in. Megazorb is a horse bedding product - I think it night be made from paper. I get it from the local equine supplier in a big sack which lasts for a good while.
Ours live outside in the summer and inside in the winter. The megazorb does seem to prevent any 'aroma' from permeating the house!

[maize]

Ours live on fleeces/towels

[ragged]

Ah, that's good to read about wood shavings. It's what we used years ago and our GPs were always fine, with it. But they had the run of the whole garden so they weren't stuck on just shavings all day, iyswim.

Megazorb is same price or even cheaper than shavings around here, though.