Bedding
As far as bedding is concerned there are many options. The golden rule here is No Sawdust. No Shavings.
Why?
Sawdust- sawdust is much too dusty to even consider as a bedding and will make pigs kept on it poorly. This seems to be very much a concenus view... though things get a little more shady when we get onto shavings.
Shavings are a widely used bedding. Old out of date books and Pet shops eager to make a sale tell you they are fine. And when discussing the issue of their suitability many people tell me this: "I have always used shavings. I have never had any problems. Why should I change?" Perhaps you share their view? Please take a few moments to read through the arguments against shavings and alernative bedding options so you can make an informed choice as to what is best for your piggys.
Why change? |
The CCT (Cambridge Cavy Trust) advise that Wood Shavings are not a suitable bedding for piggys as they can cause Breathing, Skin and potential Eye Problems. In other words by bedding your piggys down on shavings you are risking their health. Infact shavings can kill... it can lead to fatl conditions such as respitory disease (one of the breathing problems) and fungal skin conditions can also claim the life of your piggy if they become systemic (affect the internal organs)... and shavings help contribute to this as they absorb excess moisture. Taking it away from the piggys skin. Here is a Quote from Peter Gurneys Collins Pet Guide to support the no shavings view: Mr Gurney says |
Shavings On the Web:
Here are some other sources of good information on bedding on the web
http://www.gorgeousguineas.co.uk/toptips.html
Testimonials:
A lady posted on a forum I am part of (very bravely) when I asked for peoples views on shavings that she had lost pigs to sudden death (unexplained) and now believes it was respitory desease due to bedding them on shavings. 2 rescue friends of mine and an skin expert also pointed out that all the skin problem pigs they see are kept on wood shavings Fungal skin can kill if it affects the internal organs (becomes systemic). Not something anyone should tempt. So I don't keep my piggys on shavings. Instead I use megazob if I can get it (from horse supply store) or Russel Rabbit bedding (from Wilkinsons) or alternitevely hay and paper. Good luck!
Ok so you are thinking their may be a problem with shavings... but what are the alternatives? Shavings are readily available and cheap but are not good for youe piggys health as we have seen... so lets look at the other options. Here is our top 5!!!
Vet Bed This is a vetinary product which is a furry fabric, thatl draws urine away from the surface & away from the pigs to the news paper underneath. People are now using this either to line their whole cage instead of megazorb, medibed, straw etc or to line the sleeping/hiding area/houses and not just when their animals are ill. |
Above: Basil & Mutley enjoy the vet bed in the sleeping/hiding area of their cage. |
Benefits: draws urine away from piggys to paper beneath. Machine washable. Hygemnic. Reduces cage cleaning to shaking off poo & hay & popping in washer! Simple! Cheap (once you have invested in it you just reuse it). Comes in Multi colours and prints not just white. With white its easy to spot illness (colour of water etc). You can purchase this cheaply and easily on ebay. Just search for vet bed. Even if you can't have it in your whole cage you can have it in the bed/hidey hole area |
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Draw backs: Labour intensive- requires laudry! May have to clean your washer out afterwards to remove lint & hay particles. exensive to buy to start with |
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This is a horse bedding made of paper pulp & is becoming increasingly popular as a guinea pig bedding. Available in
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Benefits: Dust free, most absorbant thing around, cheap (around £5 a huge sack), Environmental freiendly, easily compostable and you can use the bag it comes in to do this. It is dried at temperatures of up to 500°C which removes the moisture from the wood pulp and kills off moulds, spores and bacteria... so it very hygenic. |
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Draw backs: may be hard to get hold of in some places (ring round local equine suppliers from the phonebook or visit the megazorb website) |
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Hay and Paper: Many people bed their pigs on hay & line the cage with a think layer of newspaper. piggys need hay every day to eat so every one with pigs has hay! Piggys get very excited in a cage of nice hay.
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| Benefits: Cheap, (around £5 a bale) available by the bale and the piggys LOVE IT! They love to play and to nussel in it and eat it. It is also great for their teeth and digestion in unlimited supply! | |
| Draw backs: There is a worry about pigs eating soiled hay, as of course hay is essential for eating too. Here we like to keep hay off the floor of the boars quarters with the use of a hay rack. Storage of a bale- though smaller bags are available. Remember all piggys that are not BEDDED on hay still need an unlimited supply of hay to eat. No hay = No piggys | |
Chopped soft straw Medi bed (dingle) or Russel rabbit are brand names. Bith are chopped soft straw. Medi bed is a treated straw used for horses. Russell rabbit bedding is a similar prodyct but not treated |
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| Benefits: Lovely & warm & readily available (sold at Wilkinson stores in the Uk etc). Guinea pigs like it as its more natural. Medi Bed is very cheap and goes a long way. Russel Rabit is reasonably cheap if you have a small number of pigs and vacuum packed for convienient storage. | |
| Draw backs: Not as absorbant as other types of bedding. Russel Rabbit is more expensive than other types of bedding if you have a large number of pigs. Medibed is not readily available (ring round equine suppliers in the yellow pages or visit the medibed website) | |
Cage Cleaning
You should spot clean your piggy's cage every day. removing all uneaten or soiled hay, uneaten food (fresh), poo & wet bedding regardless of what you bed them down on. You should give your cage a complete clean out about twice a week, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on a number of factors: number of pigs in cage (1 or 2), size of cage (less space = more dirty), time of year (in hotter weather cages need cleaning more frequently).
To do this is simple. All you have to do is line your cage with newspaper before putting down your cage bedding. Then when it comes to a cleanouts- roll up the newspaper with the dirty bedding inside & throw away. Use a dustpan & brush to get up any left over bits & wipe the cage down with Dettol (or wash it out if its made of wood). Dry thoroughly. Then lay a fresh lining of newspaper & bedding! Simple.
Using disinfectant such as dettol is the only way to ensure your cage is thoroughly clean & protect your pigs by reducing the risk from fungal spores, which other cleaners do not get rid of. Trigene animal hygiene disinfectant cleanser is also very effective at killing viral, fungal and bacterial nasties and has a much more plesant smell. It has been specially formualeted for use with animals too, unlike Dettol. You can usually buy it on Ebay. Do not be tempted by regular animal disinfectants from the pet shop they do not have the same cleaning power and vinegar is great for cleaning but not a replacement for a disinfectant.
