Lining guinea pig cage

[CheeseEqualsHappiness]

Hi all! I have 2 indoor pigs and am experimenting with what to use in the bottom of their cage.

I have been advised against wood shavings due to dust and respiratory problems being common. At the moment I have newspaper and hay which I am cleaning out daily.

Can I use cat litter to help absorb some of their gallons of wee they deposit daily?

Thanks piggie experts!

Mine are indoors and they are on a fleece blanket, I have a few blankers and change them every day and wash them at 90 in the washing machine.

Ooh that's a good idea. Is the hay easy to get off?

Or maybe the hay hammock manger should make a reappearance

Hammock manger!? Meant manger, no idea how hammock got in there!

We line with newspaper and use wood shavings quite generously and hay for the sleeping bit.
As it's not too cold they are still going out on the grass for a bit when it's not too wet x

I am constantly experimenting with my pigs bedding (and I still haven't found the Holy Grail otherwise I'd be selling it myself)

Cat Litter can be sharp and dusty but if you look at some of the wooden or paper based ones, they are sometimes labelled as Small Animal Suitable.
I buy one that is compressed wood, if it gets wet it crumbles into a substance like All Bran. I do need to scoop out the manky bits.
When my ladies were in quarentine in their cage I put a layer in with newspaper on top (otherwise I got pooh mixed with the litter) but they can have the litter as their base layer it's quite nice for them to make a little hollow in,

I've tried fleece but mine don't like it on the floor, they'll sit on a folded fleece but much prefer hay. And of course, they get hay on the fleece, which you need to prise off before you wash it.

TBH I'm not sure how effective the litter is at reducing smells (I always find their hay smells more than they do)

Our pigs were in at night for Guy Fawkes , I made a nice run with some grid panels. They stayed in their hay boxes but manages to get their pooh into the most inaccessible places. I'm going to set the cage up for night-time with litter,newspaper,hay. A box to hide in. A fleece over the top to give them security.
Then (in theory ) when they go out to their Pighouse, I will roll up the dirty paper/hay, scoop out the grubby litter and reline.

Thanks! Good to know everyone does it differently, I was thinking I was missing something really obvious.

I will try the paper based with newspaper on top, and get some boxes for them to explore.

I experimented with lots of cage linings. Wood shavings, hay, fleece blankets, old towels, newspapers and the shockingly expensive small animal bedding from the pet shop. The best thing is megazorb. It's horse bedding and so it comes in giant sacks. It's very similar to the small animal bedding but much cheaper. It's very absorbent and I found it really helped with reducing the smell.
I first saw it recommended by someone on here.

A friend of mine makes cage liners for guinea pigs to fit the run... here

Have just ordered some mega zorb to give it a go. Ta for the tip.

I use fleece with hay all over in one third of the cage.
I sweep poo out every day and remove the manky hay, with a total cage change about twice/week.

I do have to take the fleece outside and brush them off which is a pain, but hey ho.

I cannot imagine having hay in my whole run (C+C 2x6) as my whole house would end up covered in hay, I think…

Pacific now that I have the boar + 2 sows I don't need to pander to the weirdy ways of co-habiting boars ie wanting each other for company but refusing to share the same airspace.

The lovely C&C type run DH built them ( 14" panels) was a 42" x 28" main part with a 28"x28" attatched bit for hay.
Little buggers sat inside the washing basket that had been cut down to make a hay cage.

So they will lump it just have to cope in their 4'x2' cage. I know it's not really big enough for 3 adults, but it's just for sleeping in.
And if I have to fill it with hay and put it on a tarpaulin with dire threats about their tardiness and messiness, well so be it.

Boars and sows are meant to snuggle up aren't they

I just do the newspaper and hay thing. Newspaper all over the floor of the cage and then hay in their igloos which they then use to carpet the floor. I've tried a few things but always go back to newspaper as it's so easy to roll it up and throw it away. I change it almost daily depending on how much time they've spent in the cage. I do have a supply of free papers from friends and family.

I've just set up their indoor run in the heated conservatory so they can play out during the winter. That is lined with old towels and they get hay inside paper bags or boxes.

I use the rubber mitt I bought for washing the dog to get the hay off the blankets, most of it comes off before it goes in the machine.

[http://www.medicanimal.com/Cats/Daily-Care/Grooming/Brushes-and-Combs/Mikki-Rubber-Glove-for-Short-Medium-Coats/p/I0013460?googleshopping&CAWELAID=720013290000043304&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=720013290000086273&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKEAiA7ZajBRCpur2xi47n1zkSJADqV2WlqjYJDjYCFUHpvjUxs6rREMYspUtkK0sDDFfVTlIG0RoC1rzw_wcB this kinda thing]]

Where did you get the megazorb from?