Hercules

[bpatters]

Can you get wood pellets? Like those for horse stalls? Or for wood stoves, if they don't have any accelerant added? It's by far the best, cheapest, and most long-lasting bedding I ever used for guinea pigs.

[ItsaZoo]

The fleece is actually recycled plastic bottles, so it feels like fabric but is actually plastic. Cotton would be totally different. I use some large pads that I made from cotton fabric with a cotton terry cloth towel inside to absorb moisture. You still have to launder, but it’s easy to shake off the hay and mess.

Chenille bath mats are polyester, so they’re synthetic, but I don’t know if the material is the same as fleece.

With paper, it’s not real absorbent and I would be concerned about hard surfaces and foot health. I have one that needs soft bedding or she gets podermatitis on her front feet. So she’s on multiple padded fleece layers - walking on clouds!

[daj]

I thought wood products were to be avoided because of the resins or something like that that is an irritant?
I've had them on artificial turf covered by a cotton sheet for a few weeks now. Hercules has stopped the incessant head shaking, and all three have stopped scratching. None of the sheets have gone through my laundering process yet. But they will go on laundered cotton this week. If the scratching and head shaking come back I will conclude it my laundry products, and if not, I will conclude it was the fleece microfibers.

[Lynx]

If you find something that works for you, that will be great!

[ItsaZoo]

I use white vinegar in the rinse cycle of my washer. It’s supposed to get the detergent residue out and also take care of any bacteria. I had some problems with smelly laundry at one point, and ordered Washer Bomb to clean the washer. That and regular use of vinegar got rid of the smell. Clothes washers just don’t empty completely anymore, so there’s always water sitting somewhere.

If your guinea pigs start scratching after their bedding is laundered, maybe get a cleaning product like Affresh or Washer Bomb and then start using vinegar in the rinse.

[Lynx]

I have a front loading washer and learned leaving it open (I hook it so it is partly open) has helped greatly reduce any bacterial buildup (which I suspect is the cause of the smell - bacteria/mold). Interesting to know there are products that clean and disinfect thoroughly!

[daj]

How about aspen shavings?

[Renonvsparky]

If you have a Tractor Supply there, they have a bedding pellet that is pure wood (not sure what kind, but no additives). Pretty much any wood bedding pellet that is pure and free of additives will work. You just have to make sure that your piggies can't get under the fleece, towel or whatever you use on top of them. Not because chewing them is necessary bad for them, but because you really don't want them getting into the urine that gets soaked up. When you change their bedding, you can scoop out the wet stuff and replace it with dry. You don't have to replace all of the pellets. They will crumble and turn into a coarse sawdust and that's perfectly fine as long as it's dry. A 40 lb bag lasts me for 6 months and I have 7 cages using it.

[bpatters]

Actually, the pellets dry out really quickly. But you don't have to replace them at all. They'll form a pretty solid floor. But you can just stir them if you want. I had a large cage with pellets in it that lasted 10 months without replacement, just occasional stirring. It would have gone longer, but I had to move the cage, so restarted with fresh pellets.

[Waddles]

I love the longevity of the wood pellets. I use them as a base layer in my cage with fleece liners on top.

[Renonvsparky]

I'm extra picky about my guinea pigs. I've left wet pellets in and stirred them around and I would up with these little black bugs that look like flies without wings. They hop and are hard to get rid of without changing all of the pellets. I live in one of the most big infested places in the country, so it doesn't surprise me. Since I started scooping out the wet stuff and replacing it with dry, I haven't seen any. It's usually one or two small spots and by the water bottle. Even with 9 guinea pigs in 7 cages, the 40 lb bag last 6 months.