IKEA fleece throws suitable for bedding?

[GuineaGin]

Hello! We just got two lovely piggies, at the moment we're using wood shavings and hay for their bedding and it's unbelievably messy.

Would those cheap IKEA throws/blankets be suitable for bedding? We've had some for a while, and they certainly have been washed a lot. They're a bit bobbly (is that a valid description?), would that mean everything would stick? I want our piggies to be comfortable and not surrounded by dust - though the advice from the recommended pet shop (not THAT one) was that wood chips were good.

Have a good day and thank you!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Ahhh they are gorgeous Princess

You need to start a thread about Rolo, Fudge and Toffee so we can keep track of them.

"New Piggies Join the Super Furry Animals" (I really cannot gel with "Small Pets" )


They'll take a while to explore , every tiny noise will have them hurtling back to safety.
When we get newbie pigs they hide but we know by Food Disappperaing/ Droppings Arriving that they explore. Now they stand judgily in the middle of their floorspace complaining "What time d'you call THIS ? "

[RattieOfCatan]

Oh they are so bloody cute! One day when I have a house and a garden I am totally going for some gps alongside my ratties!

[PrincessPotsie]

Thanks for the welcome and here are some photos of Rolo, Fudge and Toffee with the DC. We all love them and it's funny to see how they each have different personalities.

I have probably been being a bit PFGP but I've been going out through the evening in the dark to see if they've sneaked out of their bed area of the hutch. I was worrying a bit as they haven't eaten or drank anything all day but I've noticed a few nibbled pellets by the bowl and a couple of nibbled lettuce leaves and bits of parsnip and radish.

Do your GP come out into the other areas of their hutch now they're used to you? I can't wait till we see ours pottering around a bit.

[GuineaGin]

Welcome, little new piggies!

[RattieOfCatan]

When they're settled in you'll need to take photos as proof ;)

[PrincessPotsie]

2 managed to escape inside which took a while to catch! They're all in their new swanky hitch after I'd had a cuddle with them all. The DC are going to be so excited!

[PrincessPotsie]

Just got home with them and can't believe how tiny and cute they are! V excited!

[IWasGintyMarlowe]

i love to watch my piggies eat. they have their cage in the living room and when i have my meals on the table by their cage they eat too. it is so cute to watch

[IWasGintyMarlowe]

i use fleece throws for my piggies from a fabric shop in my town. they are lightweight, wick urine well and are easy to put in washing machine. i do have to shake them to get the hay out though!

[GuineaGin]

When they eat spinach they're just about the cutest little piggies in the world

[GuineaGin]

I swear they have grown chubbier in the five days we've had them! Possibly because they're eating constantly - or because they're getting a little more relaxed and curl in a sweet ball rather than nervously stretching...

[PrincessPotsie]

Ha! Much like the DCs then!

[EastMidsGPs]

Trust me they'll be at the delights you've bought them ..
shakes head at the discarded boredom stopping maze and ignored snuggle pads (with a choice of two covers)

But they'll be over the moon at the paper bags and cardboard boxes their gifts come in

[PrincessPotsie]

Wonder if it's like having a new baby...you've got all the stuff, sorted their room etc but you can never truly be ready?! I had a cockatiel, hamster and dog when I was little but have never had guinea pigs.

[PrincessPotsie]

I'm picking up our three baby guinea pigs tomorrow and I'm getting quite excited! It's DD1's bday on Sunday and she's wanted one for ages but in the end we've decided to get one for each DC.

[EastMidsGPs]

If you are near a Poundland ..boxes of Rosewood Hay Cookies are cheaper there than P&H and other large stores. Their parsley bells are cheaper too

[GuineaGin]

Thanks for the tip RattieOfCatan!

I have laid fleece on the cage and also made them a hayrack out of an old shirt. They are now both hiding inside it! Have checked that they can both get out safely and yes they can. It's nice that they have found a cosy spot, but it means they're constantly hiding, which probably doesn't help with getting used to us! Have ordered a metal manger, does that make me a meanie?

[RattieOfCatan]

I use the ikea fleece for my rats, but the cheaper one! They used to do a white one with grey squiggles for £1.50, now they do this one instead:
www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/textiles-rugs/blankets-throws/vitmossa-throw-grey-art-90304889/
for £1.75. I stock up every time we go and use it as bedding, to cover the sofa, to make hammocks, etc. It's great! We use it until it's all destroyed, then throw it in with them until it needs binning Though I preferred the white one looks wise :(

[GuineaGin]

Wow, thanks for all the tips 70isaLimitNotaTarget and MsMermaid.

And of course thank you for your comments on my our babies! :)

[MsMermaid]

And we bung our fleece straight into the washing machine. We are lucky in that we have 2 washing machines (an old one plumbed into the old coal shed, as well as the new one in the kitchen), so the old washing machine is just for our spoiled pigs.

[MsMermaid]

I use fleece for my piggies. We have incontinence pads as a bottom layer as they are really absorbent, then a fleece on top (ours are from asda or B&Ms). We have extra small fleece in the hay corner with puppy pads underneath because the piggies pee and poo in the hay most often. I just pick up the extra fleece to clean the hay/poo out daily and shake it into the compost bin.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

If you wash fleeces, beat most of the hair off (Lakeland Limited do a Buddy Brush which is rubber) and put the fleeces in an old pillowcase, tie with string or a hairbobble.
That keeps it all in the pillowcase not your filter.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Gorgeous piggies and lovely colours. One of our boars was jet black (except three white hairs and a fatty eye ) when he yawned, his teeth were pure white, quite a stunning animal.

'wicking' is just where the pee goes through and the top stays dry, (like a nappy I suppose) so you need the absorbant layer underneath.
Towels are soft but absorb (I give mine any really scabby towels before I throw them out)

I've tried Megasorb (ok but I wouldn't keep buying)
I use Ecobale equine bedding in summer (tiny squares of cardboard)

In the winter indoor night cage, I like the rodent safe cat litter from The Range. No smell to it, it holds its shape well and makes a nice springey bed but piggies pee'n'pooh where they walk so I put a top layer of newspaper and a square of fleece that can get thrown out.
Indoors they have Hay Cookies or those cubes of hay, less messy, They have hay in the Pighouse to be messy with

[GuineaGin]

Mmmm...we've only had the little ones for two days and we're already sick of the shavings. I'll try fleece and hope my washing machine survives...

Thank you for your help again 70isaLimitNotaTarget :)

[GuineaGin]

And here's the wood shavings, are these ones bad for them?