Help me organise how i clean out piggies' cage

[KaliforniaDreamz]

Please would someone help me to arrange the cage so that isn't such a massice PITA to sort out?
My 2 piggies were living upstairs in a free range kind of hutch but we've had to move them to the kitchen (part of the time i pop them in garden) they have a massive 2 tiered hutch.
I currently use sawdust but i have read some threads on here suggesting old blankets/fleece works well for them and can of course be pulled out and washed, thus saving hassle of cleaning up sawdust. I am not very good at organising my life and this has become a real hassle for me and i am hoping to make it easier!
any advice truly welcome - thank you!

Please don't use sawdust as it damages their lungs.

I use washable incontinence pads like these. They come in different sizes. I change them every other day, empty into compost then wash inside a horse bag.

My guineas will be moving into their new shed soon. I'm hoping that Megazorb all over with the pads just where the food and tunnels are will work.

Thank you Time I will look into that.
BTW
the sawdust i get is sepcifically for guinea pigs, why would it be sold by suppliers if dangerous? Blimey...

Which sawdust is that? Sorry, it could be they've done something to it to make it ok for guineas. But in general they're not great see here for further information.

I'm not sure the name i will check when i shed. I'll read up and wean them off it if it's bad! thanks.

Anyone have any fleece ideas? i have some old fleece blankets - do i need to put naything on top?

www.northeastguineapigrescue.co.uk/bedding.html

That gives a bit of blurb re: woodshavings / sawdust

We use fleece but we don't have a hutch, we have an indoor cage like this. www.google.co.uk/search?q=c+and+c+cages&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjh5r6nt-XbAhVkIMAKHeNtDQwQ_AUICygC&biw=1049&bih=713#imgrc=qukHvB_iWdrqbM:

You will need to ensure the fleece is 'wicked' first. You can tell this by placing a small amount of water on the fleece and seeing if it soaks through. If it doesn't soak through you will need to wash it with white vinegar and no detergent / conditioner (sometimes more than once) until it wicks. If it doesn't wick the urine will sit on top and they can get urine burns (also if you don't clean enough)

It will need an absorbent layer underneath (we just use old towels). They will need changed 2/3 times a week depending on the pigs (we have boys, can be stinky). We sweep poops and loose hay morning and evening. The when we do a full clean, shake the hay/hair off the fleece at the bottom of the garden. It's not for everyone I will say but it works well for us. We put the fleece and towels in a horsewear wash bag to stop the loose hair / hay going into the machine.

Some helpful links:
www.guineapigmarket.com/fleece-right-for-me

pethelpful.com/rodents/fleeceforbedding

www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/bedding-for-guinea-pigs-overview.114219/

hope that helps :)

Oh, and a lot of things are marketed as 'guinea pig friendly' and they are awful for guinea pigs (hay racks, hay balls, wheels, balls to run in, that pretty multicoloured muesli etc) pets at home often stock utter shite, google and GP forums can be great for checking up on things.

I use racks for my guineas ReadiGrass (they are for kitchen storage rather than pet and hook over their divide but high enough so they don;t get caught up)

Things like toys, little wooden bridges, those wooden carrot gnaw toys , dried sweetcorn, nut treats, yoghurt drops ......no place in my pigs' house.

I use newspaper on puppy pads (mine don;t chew bedding) topped with hay.
In summer they'll have a base of shredded card to sleep on (absorbant but not as warm as hay) with eating hay on top.

Now , can antone tell me how to stop my guineas running into their hutches while I'm putting the fresh paper down? (They are evicted onto the floor space but of course they run back). They run under the paper then under the hay when I put it in.
They look like Worzell Gummidge and we have to brush the hay off their faces

Oddly enough Raven I find our boars have always been tidier than the sows , we've only had one (GP1) that smelled 'boary' and even that wasn't bad.
GP4/GP5 used to stink when they were going into season, you could tell by their pee then their evil temper (though it lasted only 24-36 hours)

GP6 does neat little pooh nests in his bed, and wgere he sits clucking at the girls.
He;s almost ( almost ) litter trained

I have a question about fleece. I saw one rescue being very anti-fleece and saying it doesn’t allow guinea pigs to exhibit their natural behaviour with burrowing. But presumably that is only if you don’t add some nice piles of hay on top?

If you do newspaper and hay, do you cover all the newspaper with the hay? Newspaper is tempting because we live in London and the Evening Standard deserves to be pooed on. But I have wondered about fleece. I am concerned about wrecking our washer dryer though, if I had a regular washing machine I’d be less concerned,

None of my pigs have favoured fleece tbh, though I have put a layer over some woodpellets (they give a nice comfy base) because I don't want to have to sift their droppings out , lifting the damp waste is easy enough. This is in their winter cages , and they have a box of hay .

Mine like to burrow through the hay and hide , they don't dig and burrow like rabbits do , but they love a hay pile.
Ours have a rabbit hutch and a big plastic trunk with doors cut in their shed. In cold weather they have the whole space filled , at the moment , just one end.
Main downside though is HayPoke , I've just cleaned GP8 eye with salty water but she was outside all day so not idea what did it - maybe long grass?

The Evening Standard and the Metro are good cage liners , I get some Telegraphs from DBro, they are big pages, takes forever to get the staples out , all the folded supplements.
Used to be lots of pics of Boris Johnson to pee on

ziggyspiggies.webs.com/

So easy to use and clean out.

Thanks all.
I think all the washing might b=get on my nerves and i can;t afford to break my washing machine. so will stick with some sort of absorbant layer (the washabale pads look great) and cover with bedding sutff (megazorb?)

And all this fly strike checking what am i checking for??

My boy is in an indoor c&c

He has an xxl puppy pad, fleece, rubber bathmat in 'kitchen' and squares of vetbed under his houses. I pick up poo/ sponge wee off bathmat daily, change it all every 3 days and it doesn't smell. Takes me 10mins to change if I don't dither!

Things you need:

'Horse bag' for washing machine
Puppy pads in bulk that fit your hutch well- I managed to find a size that means it only needs 1.
Fleece cut exactly to size in multiples
2 bath mats
Vet bed squares in multiples

Then it is just like uniform- wash what's not being used.

70 mine stands in a tub while I clean him out!!

@ PeacockPiggie

My two sows get on really well except cage cleaning indoors ( they have a winter C&C , GP6 has the 4'x2' cage)
Should be easy in theory to corall them to one end while I roll up the dirty bedding (and we do the winter cage every night so they should be used to it , yes? ) . No they squabble and chase each other - though its the only excercise they do .
So there's a selection of washing baskets used

Had a huge clean out today. So satisfying!!!