Many of us share our homes for our pet friends, best bedding for guinea pigs and bedding for other furry friends. For our guinea pigs come in all different shapes and sizes. They also come with all different sorts of needs for their health. Caring for an animal, including for guinea pig care and for other animal is a very rewarding thing to do.
But it can also be challenging, for it comes to knowing the best way to care for our pigs, including what good quality products and sheets are right for them.
For Guinea pigs are pretty popular amongst households that have pets other than cats and dogs. Typically, there are about 1.5-2 million of these tiny cavies creatures residing in U.S. homes. People enjoy caring for guinea pigs- sometimes not one, but two – because they’re cute, furry, and often for entertainment. You’ll witness lots of funny antics if you sit back and observe these tiny cute pets.
What Is A Guinea Pigs Bedding
As a pet parent, you will usually keep your guinea pigs in a cage much of the time. That means we’ll have to fill the cage with things like food dishes, own fleece, a water bottle, toys, and some sort of compostable, small animal bedding so it is important to consider the cage size as well. Not all bedding for guinea pigs is safe and healthy for the planet, so let’s take a look at what you need to know about the different kinds of cavies fleece bedding available, look at the best bedding, and figure out which is the right bedding for your pet cavies. Read through this article for a detailed guide to choosing cavies bedding.
Best Bedding For Guinea Pig: How To Do Bedding?
What Should I Put In The Bottom Of The Cage?
- When it comes to the guinea pig bedding, the most common guinea pig bedding types, the stuff you put in the bottom of their cages, are paper-based bedding, natural paper bedding, fleece bedding, Aspen wood bedding, Pine bedding, cedar and pine bedding, kiln dried pine bedding, hay bedding, or blends of paper and wooden shavings. These are common because they are all considered to be acceptable forms of bedding. These are also eco-friendly guinea pig bedding options.
There are some other materials that people do use sometimes. Other types of wood like kiln-dried pine shavings, cedar wood shavings for cedar sheet, straw, clumping cat litter, and corncobs are some of what many cavies owners have been known to use. Experts have dubbed the use of corn cob, cedar shavings, and pine shavings as unacceptable, though, and recommend against using them.
Should I Use Shredded Paper?
While paper bedding can be found at most pet supply retailers, some people find it to be more costly than they’d like because you have to replace it in the nest quite frequently. Resourceful owners of cavies then sometimes think about shredding paper themselves to put in the cage or feeding hay so they can save a little money.
Shredding up blank paper that’s not colored with any kind of ink is fine as an alternative to the pet supply shop paper bedding. Plain, white computer paper works well on this or even unmarked brown paper bags.
Guinea Pigs Bedding: Can Newspaper Be Used?
No, a newspaper should never be used as bedding for cavies. The reason is in the ink that’s used to print newspaper stories. That ink can have harmful chemicals which is dangerous to a male and female guinea pig. Some scented sheet material can harm cavies which is why you need to be mindful when buying one. When the newspaper gets wet, it can easily leak ink into the cage and onto the skin of the cavies living in the cage, as it’s not absorbent sheet. Sometimes, cavies will even eat the sheet in their cages. If you’re using shredded newspaper for cavies bedding, then they would be ingesting the ink on the paper of the best cavies bedding and that’s definitely not safe.
Are Cat Litter For Guinea Pigs Bedding Safe?
There are a number of reasons you should not use cat litter as sheet for cavies. One of the most serious issues with cat litter is the chemicals that are used in it to eliminate odors, although not the best odor control. Those chemicals can be harmful to a guinea pigs’ skin, might also cause skin irritations as well as cause guinea pig’s health problems and affect the guinea pigs’ respiratory system should your cavies ingest them. Make sure to stay away from chemicals that may cause health and respiratory systems issues.
Another hazard of cat litter as sheet is it gets tangled up in the hair of these animals. That causes a nuisance to your pet and an inconvenience to you, rather than ultimate comfort. It can even cause pain to your cavies. It is important to put into consideration if your pet has safe bedding.
Lastly, the texture of cat litter can be uncomfortable under the guinea pigs’ feet. The reason is those little pebble-like pieces that cat litter contains. Guinea pain have very sensitive little feet that don’t do well walking around on rocks or rough terrain. Consider what is best for your pet pigs.
Is Fleece Liner Good For Guinea Pigs?
Fleece bedding is in the form of a liner that sits on the bottom of the cage. It has a lot of benefits for the cavies, you, and the environment. It’s cost-effective because you don’t have to keep replacing it with new biodegradable and compostable fleece. It’s the best reusable bedding, thus, it doesn’t create a lot of waste. It looks nice and stream-lined laying flat in the cage, rather than cluttered up with cavies paper sheet, and it’s super soft and gentle on your guinea pig’s feet. So yes, fleece cage liners are best for their sheet. You may get one at a fabric store near you.
Is Fleece Or Paper Bedding Better For Guinea Pigs?
Using paper bedding or fleece liners are both good choices on a guinea pigs. One of the tips with the guinea pig fleece bedding is to keep it clean and free of solid waste, harmful bacteria, harmful toxins, and dust free. Dust extracted bedding is good for your beloved pet. Guinea pigs love and need comfortable bedding. Speaker of the bedding, you need to just make sure you’re selecting acceptable forms of bedding materials so your piggy doesn’t get harmed. Weighing out which is the better option for your cavies may be more about what’s better for your entire household.
What Is The Cheapest Bedding Options On A Cavies?
You’ll find that paper bedding is the cheapest guinea pig bedding options most of the time making it one of the best bedding for cavies. However, it can start to get expensive due to having to change it out to keep the cavies cage clean for your guinea pig. A more cost-effective alternative for the long run is using a fleece liner that you can throw in the laundry bag. Unlike paper bedding, you can reuse the liner so there’s no replacement cost.
What Bedding Is Bad On A Guinea Pigs?
Shredded paper bedding that has ink or other kinds of dye on it is bad for guinea pigs. As was stated above, paper bedding can be some of the best bedding options to use in your pet’s cage, but only if it’s ink and dye-free.
Wood shaving bedding is bad for guinea pigs unless it is Aspen wood. Aspen shavings is the only acceptable form of wood bedding on these animals, or any small animal. Cat litter is extremely dangerous on a guinea pigs. It’s bad for their feet, their skin, and their tummies should they ingest it, it may cause intestinal blockage. You should buy the best aspen bedding if ever you plan on buying a new breeding ground, it is good as it absorb moisture and smells very well.
The absence of bedding is a bad idea, as well. Sometimes owners decide not to put anything in the bottom of the full cage This leaves the guinea pigs to walk around on wire or plastic that is too hard for their little feet. It also means they can get covered in their own waste because there’s nothing to draw it away from them. Some type of material, such as paper bedding should be covering the bottom of the cage at all times.
Guinea Pigs Bedding: Do They Like Bedding Blankets?
Guinea pigs do like blankets. You’ll want to make sure to find an appropriate size for a guinea pig. But, they do like to snuggle up under things like fleece blankets to help keep them warm and comfortable. Bedding with a blanket is the best guinea pigs bedding you can give them.
Should I Cover My Cavies Cage Or Cavies Bedding At Night?
Many owners of guinea pigs cover their cages at night. This is fine and helps keep your guinea pigs warm through the nighttime hours. However, it’s important that you only cover part of the cage. Leave enough uncovered so there is enough air making it into the cage and so that light can make it in when the day comes back around.
Best ventilation and light are both essential to maintaining your pet’s health and well-being. You can get some from nearby pet stores.
Make sure to consider all the factors that might affect your guinea pigs before you buy one.
Wrap-Up
The best bedding for your guinea pigs should provide comfort, cleanliness, and security to them. It should be soft, free of inks and other chemicals that are harmful to them and avoid respiratory problems, and have properties that help it absorbing urine wet bedding, it must have an absorbent top layer. You should stick to paper bedding, Aspen bedding, blends of these, or fleece liners to give your guinea pigs good bedding that absorbs moisture to their needs.
Frequently Asked Questions:
A suitable and best bedding on the base of any cage of guinea pigs is Carefresh or a comparable paper absorbent substrate fleece. It is important to have a primary bedding material that can catch the wastes of the guinea pigs while being environmentally friendly. These animals take pleasure in small pleasures such as shredded paper or what we call paper pulp.
What Kind Of Bedding Is The Best On A Cavies Outside?
Can I Use A Towel For Pets?
Yes, it is wise to use puppy pads in your pet’s cage. Frequently, guinea pig owners choose to utilize super-absorbent pee pads as an additional measure. Pee pads, which are compact liners and absorbent layer puppy pads, are positioned in areas prone to heavy use. They can be conveniently wash in a machine and serve as an excellent means to spot clean daily in your guinea pig’s habitat. Invest in cage spot cleaning and sanitizing dirty toys if you can, especially if you own much older guinea pigs; you might find a great amount of dust levels extracted after months of negligence.
Should I Cover My Guinea Pig Bedding At Night?
How Thick Should Guinea Pig Bedding Be?
How Do I Make The Perfect Bedding On A Guinea Pig?
How Do You Know The Cleaning Time For Guinea Pigs Bedding?
Why Is Bedding Important On Guinea Pigs?
Last Updated on May 14, 2023 by Allen Laconsay
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