The Ultimate Guinea Pig Guide to Using FLEECE Bedding!
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- Why fleece? Fleece (done right!) is the best bedding for large guinea pig cages! This video runs through the pros and cons of fleece and reveals how we use fleece for maximum effect.
Here are the Amazon Storefronts, where you can find all products I recommend for guinea pigs (small commission received - thank you)!
Storefront UK: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/squeakd...
Storefront US: www.amazon.com/shop/squeakdreams
Make Your Own Waterproof Fleece Pads: • How to Make Your Own W...
Make Your Own Water Fleece Liners (older video, same method as pads, new video coming this year!): • HOW TO: Make Your Own ...
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:31 The Truth!
1:01 How it Works and My Reasons for Using Fleece
3:16 Other Potential Pros
4:42 There are Downsides?
6:42 How to Properly Use Fleece
7:30 What My Liners are Made Of
8:13 Cleaning Expectations
9:35 Is My Litter Tray Really Hygienic?!
10:07 Liner Recommendations
WATCH NEXT:
The Reality of Owning Guinea Pigs: • The Reality of Owning ...
Reasons Why You Should Get Guinea Pigs: • Top 10 Reasons Why You...
New Guinea Pig Owner Checklist: • The Ultimate Checklist...
Feel Good Morning Routine: • Feel Good Morning Care...
SQUEAK DREAMS LINKS:
Facebook: / squeakdreams
Instagram: squeak_drea...
My Etsy shop with guinea pig sewing patterns: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SqueakDr...
My website is now live! www.squeakdreams.com
Like the music in my videos? Get a free 30 day trial to Epidemic Sound here: www.epidemicsound.com/referra....
Links above are affiliate links.
It was nice to see the reality of having Piggies, most youtubers don't show the reality and always show their perfectly clean enclosures which most of the time they are not perfectly clean
I’m in my 40s but got inspired to get guinea pigs after watching your videos, I made all the fleece bedding following your wonderful tutorials and patterns and even built my piggies a cage roughly based on yours too. I now have three rescue guinea pigs who I have had for a year now. Thank you for all the information.
I loved how real you are when you talk about how dirty your cage gets! I swear I'll clean my walk away for 5 MINUTES come back and theirs poop and hay every ware!
I made myself a very large blanket-sized fleece/mattress protector for floor time, and I love lying down on top of it with the piggies after a fresh wash. They love climbing all over and "burrowing" underneath me. It's adorable!
You bring a smile to my face when I look at you. How sweet they all are, Callie, Roxy, Phoebe and Nacho ❤️🐾
Thanks to your videos which are very informative and inspiring, my wife and I decided to get a small herd of four sows. I used to keep guinea pigs many years ago, but still I decided to do my research to refresh and to keep myself updated before purchasing some. We have our furry potatoes for about a couple of months now. I made a good load of fleece liners and pads thanks to your very good tutorials. The litter box idea was a game changer for us. We introduced a second littler box at the opposite diagonal corners of their enclosure, we must have the cleanest guinea's as they seem to do all their mess in the two boxes. Our pads don't seem to get that messy or wet at all. Ours do like to tunnel under the fleece, but I made some fleece tunnels with boning in one end which they love. My wife loves your videos, very clear, easy to follow and understand. Thank you
I have made 3 liners for my diy cage from the start, thanks to your tutorial, they are a bit wonky as it was my first time sewing but never the less I love them 😍 thank you for all your videos! Just got my two girls on Tuesday and we are loving them ❤
You will be a great piggie owner❤
I’m sure they work perfectly❤Keep sewing, it gets easier to achieve good results.
Your Guinea pigs are sooooo Cute.
thank you so much! before I got a Guinea pig, I did so much research from your channel and your tips work! Thank you!
When I got my guinea pigs, I started right away with fleece after watching your videos. I do full fleece change every other day, but spot cleaning in between.
I have made my own fleece liners after watching your videos
Fleece is my go to bedding too! I have a couple of premade ones and am slowly making my own pee mats . I also have the hay litter tray 👍
Love love fleece and my daughter has made the blanket using your tutorial and we loved how well it washes and stays dry. You’re the best we love your channel
Huge fan of fleece liners. They made looking after my piggies so much easier.
Plus can confirm, the Kavee ones are as thick and warm as they look.
They are fantastic, one of my piggies is very shy, but once we got the fleece liners he would splat out whenever he got the chance as they are SO comfy.
❤❤❤❤
My piggy loves his fleece
Thank you for the idea of using a litter box for my piggies I switched from a hay rack over 6 months ago and boy do my two boys love it.
The "paw inspired critter box" raised edge fleece liners are so good. They make it super easy to sweep off of because of how sturdy of a fleece they are.
I used fleece blankets and towels for years before buying a couple of liners and pads. Initially expensive but worth it. So much better and absorbent, can leave it up to 10 days before a change! Pads and bobbly bath mats get changed every couple of days (2-3)😊 love watching piggies explore clean liner.
If I watched your videos more often , I probably would’ve been able to keep my piggies instead of Rehousing them
We designed our cage after your cage exactly, except 60x180cm (for a pair of cavi's) and slightly thicker plexiglass. I am super happy with the fleece plexiglass and with the fleece, and with the elevated height, it makes observing and interacting with my cuties much easier. Also, due to the fleece and plexiglass and height I was able to observe a slight limp one of my cavi's had very early on, and I don't think I would've noticed it at all if they would be on wood shavings or if the cage was on floor-level. When the cavi's have a sleepover when we're on holiday, they do stay on woods havings because it is less daily maintenance for the person taking care of them.
Thanks Sarah- that was great- really helpful. Mine are very similar in set up to you but a very big 8 ft by 4 ft cage plus a C&C 4by 3 fleeced run/ play space off the main cage. I have used fleece for nearly 4 years and also lots of pads. A top tip for reducing some waste- if I’m just doing a poo sweep without hay- I tip them down straight the loo! Hay box like yours is completely cleaned out every day- I use as small layer of Aspen shavings which along with hay is compostable so I actually don’t bin anything!
Lovely to see you all and enjoy your Sunday xx
We love using fleece, my mum cleans the cage everyday, she even turns the old hay and poop in to compost for the garden. Mum will only use polor fleece. We have a hay saver from cozi cavies too which gets most of the poop and pee, used with newspaper and lots of hay. Mum used to get wood pellets but they looked horrible and left marks on fleece.
The only time ours got under liners was when we first got them and layered up using towels and fleece, since mum made proper liners they don't get under.
We have a wash bag... Mum Hoovers our gage to help keep hair off fleece.
Also mum got those reusable bed pads, I think they are made with zorb but she gets them cheap in vinted and eBay etc . The main fleece lasts up to 3 weeks because we have little pads under hot spots.
Would you like to see my latest video I made today and let me know what you think .
You inspire me to make my own liners and I’ve been using them for a couple of years now and so far so good! I really like it 🥰
Thank you for helping us so much
I've had the same set up as you for over 8 years and use fleece and vet bed over mattress protectors for all that time. I have two hay box areas too, I find it is the best way to keep them clean and just spot clean twice a day. I also have a large peice of vinyl covering the bottom of my enclosure to protect the wooden base from any but rare leakages ❤
I’ve found that my Guineadad liners get weird and hard after a while and no longer stretch out to their original size. Homemade is definitely the way to go! Thanks for another great video 😊
I NEEDED this video! Thank you so much! 🩷
Love your videos❤️❤️❤️❤️
Such cute and happy piggies
I have a werewolf skinny guinea pig. I started with all bedding, but like you, not budget friendly. I quickly moved to fleece. I am still a new piggie mamma, and still learning, but your right, if you buy the wrong kind, it doesn't do the job and actually spend more money. I quickly learned, have built up my fleece and I love the PlushPiggie fleece, The Pig Room and Guinea Dad Pee Pads and I do love Paw Inspired pee pads and I have a liner. I have had no issues, and maybe some issues are on care and not washing correctly. I save money on concentrating on the pee pads where Harriet goes the most. Hay, love how you do your hay and I do mine a little like yours, but I put a little bedding underneath the hay, pile on the hay and it keeps the top more dry. Easier to clean to and when I am refreshing and replacing, which i do 2-3 times a day.I use laundry bags too--I didn't know you could use a pillow case, thank you for that tip! I think the Main thing about fleece is that there are no short cuts to the care and use, and getting the right kind so it does the work that you want it to do. Great video!
This video is a lifesaver 😊 thank you
Here are some of my thoughts on fleece: i wash them in unscented soap and oxy clean, they don’t smell. Hang to dry. I’ve started pre washing u haul before cutting, the liners seem to come out better. Uhaul cuttings can be zig zagged back together as frakenbatting. Longer pins or corsage pins and a walking foot make sewing with fleece easier. I almost always use a dollar store fleece throw for the backing when I use fabric store fleece on the front. I’ve had good success with mattress protectors, bamboo batting and cotton batting for Guinea pig fleece items. I still have to make the slipper but I like all of your patterns Sarah, they wash and wear very well.
I love using fleece. I make all of my liners, pee pads, tunnels, and other accessories. Mine are pretty well litter trained so they rarely pee on the fleece liner. Most of their mess is done in their litter box which I change regularly so smell isn’t really an issue.
Great video
Very informative
Greetings from Perth, Western Australia
Can you please do one on wood chips
I use Pawchie cage liners. Nothing sticks to them. I have four I use for 18 square feet for my two piggies. I have chenille bath mats for pee pads, but use my home made pads with a waterproof underside for the hay tray. These I change every day and although hay spikes stick to them, they are great for me as I can’t access newspapers. I shake them out before washing and again after washing. They go in an old pillow case. The cage liners and chenille pads are washed in a nylon bag for washing dog bedding and it’s great.
Definitely fleece! I’ve got 4 piggies and my cage is 2 by 1 meter so using wood shavings isn’t an option. I did try but then I had to ask around to my neighbors if I could use their bins as well because mine was overflowing within a week 😅 My liners are 1 by 1 meter so I don’t have one massive one and I change out one liner each week. On top I use pee pads and bath mats (ikea) that I change out every couple days or so if needed. This way I have 2 washes each week which is manageable. Piggies seem to really enjoy it also. Lots of piggie ❤ from The Netherlands 🐹😉
They're so stinkin cute
Another excellent video Sarah 👏. It's totally honest, which is brilliant.👍 I use bathmats , and micro fibre mop heads ( I have a lot! ). But it works great on top of the bathmats in the most pee areas . I made a couple of pee pads too, but find they smell after only a day and the microfibre ones don't. I think you just find your own way , what works best for yourself.
I absolutely LOVE ur videos. I use Kavee Fleece and Kavee cages and they work so well. I'm also looking to start using pee pads. I was wondering if you could do another video about how to properly do lap time? I have 2 fairly new boars so we are trying to start doing it but not too sure how to. Ur piggies are so cute ❤
Hi Sarah! I love using fleece but you are spot on with the downside of burrowing piggies! My piggy Blossom loves to go underneath and burrow across the cage. In the process, she flips over their bunk bed and knocks up the pellet dish. 🤦♀😅 I'm currently trying to find a solution because she makes a potty mess underneath too, naughty pig!! 🤣
I don’t know if this helps, but I put a pillowcase of paper bedding under the liners in my carriers. Could you maybe put and old pillowcase of bedding in the area where your pigs burrow?
We have two cages, two pairs of boys in each. I use mattress protectors as the bottom layer, then on top of that I use bobbly bath mats. I think they are also known as noodle bath mats? I know some types are not suitable as the bobbly bit is actually a loop which could cause injuries. I have double layers of bath mats in high pee areas, around the hay trays, under their hideys etc, so they can be cleaned more frequenty if required. Otherwise each cage gets a full clean and all bedding washed and replaced once a week - Mondays for one cage, Thursdays for the other. I 'poo pick' every day, and if I need to replace any of their fleece hideys or top layer bath mats I'll do that. I shake everything outside to get as much of the hay and hair off before going over the fleecey items with a rubber curry comb type brush. I don't really need to do that with the bath mats. Then they go into animal wash bags, although your idea for using pillowcases secured with bobbles sounds good too. Ideally I'd do it more frequently than weekly, but that's all I have time for at present. We have an air purifyer in the room and we've covered the carpet in their room with unside down vinyl backed picnic blankets so that I can sweep up the floor easier.
Cat/kitten litter trays are used for their hay, and yes they do pee and poop a lot in there, so they get cleaned out regularly too.
We are lucky that our garden waste recycling wheelie bin is also our food waste bin so that gets emptied every 2 weeks all year round, so all the soiled hay and poops go in that and I like to think it's all going to be composted so I don't feel bad about the waste.
We tried other bedding when we first got them and I hated it, plus the dust affected my husband's and daughter's allergies. There's still a bit of dust from the hay, but much easier to manage.
Thanks
Thank you for the super thanks! 🥰
You should do an unboxing video
We have two unaltered boars, and they pee and poop literally everywhere. I have a similar cage setup to yours (thank you for the inspiration!) and trying to use pee pads was getting us mostly nowhere. We still have to change out the entire fleece every 2 days. I do still use pee pads in the hideys and tunnels, but we have to change those daily!
Love this vid! Fleece is definitely my preference and I'm in the process of making the hay tray, but I tried to cut the side off with a saw and the plastic splintered, leaving a jaggy edge. How did you cut yours? 😄
We love fleece.😀
Have 2 female piggies for the first time on fleece. And they do smell. Not bad. All my other piggies I had over the years were on wood shavings .That was bad. In the past i made some liners. from your video. Maybe do it again for placing on more spots.
3:12 oh wow Roxy! 😯🤗☺
Hi! I have a few questions that I really hope you can answer! Me and my family are moving this summer, and an abandoned Guinea pig walked straight into our garage! She is doing great by herself right now, as I am with her everyday for hours, but we are going to get a bigger cage and some buddies for her once we move! Right now she is in a 3x2 cage, with multiple spots for hay, hiding holes, and entertainment. We plan to diy a 7x2 cage, would three piggies fit in there?
i use calgon tablets in my washing machine, to keep scaling down,helps washing machine last longer in hard water areas
cant imagine your cage covered with newspaper shredding! it looks much better with fleece.
can you make a video about all the equipment u use?
Everything I use to look after the piggies? Sure 😃
@@SqueakDreams thank you :)
I washed two of my guinea dad fleeces then realised the first two weren't quite dry!
Oh did I get the sulks big time with no pockets to hide in!! They had their cardboard boxes that I place under the pockets, which they love. Still, lesson learned, I won't make that mistake again! 🫢🐹
Is a towel good as an absorbent layer for a fleece pad? Thanks for the video's!
Fleece is the best 😊❤. It saves money, softer for the piggies, and makes the cage look prettier! Also, a question: Who's the boss these days from the piggies😂?
Hope you have a good holiday! ❤
~Beatrise (yup still me)
So true! Nacho is the boss, you wouldn't guess it though as he only very occasionally shows any dominance!
aw❤
Thanks for the video! Could I please ask if you've ever had your piggies try to eat the fleece? I've been told that sometimes they eat holes in them and I would be concerned about their health. Really wanting to try this though :)
We had 3 piggies a while ago in a a 200 x 80 cm cage. We used the same system - combined fleece with a litter box. So we had one big cage liner, pee pads for the hot spots and a litter box with hay and wood shavings. We had to chage everything a lot more frequently. The litter box had to be changed once a day, the pee pads twice a day (morning and evening) and the cage liner once a week. Otherwise it started to smell. I wonder if our 3 piggies were more smelly than yours 4 piggies or if we were more sensitive to the smell.
We had them in the kids room of our daughter. So because their enclosure was in a sleeping room, it was important that there was no smell lingering in the air. So it was a lot of work with the piggies...three extra loads of laundry per week.
Yes I love using fleece and made my own liners too. My only issue is some of my fleece (blizzard and anti pill I use from craft store) has stopped wicking. Here all fleece has that waterproof layer you need to pre wick in the wash to remove. That worked but now it’s been having issues. Not sure why. I might try to buy some fleece blankets to see if that fleece wicks better and for longer ❤
This happened to mine until I stripped them with a soak in oxiclean and added extra vinegar to the wash cycle. Detergent build up is definitely an issue with polyester fabrics.
@@daniellevilloria227 thanks, I do usually add a little vinegar each wash for antibacterial purposes but I’ll try to add more and see if that helps.
Saya suka sekali melihat video anda, cara penanganan marmut yang begitu rapi, lembut dan bersih, kamu adalah salah satu channel yang memotivasi dalam membuat konten tentang marmut. Semangat💪 10:55
We use fleece, and wash the liner every day (we have several we rotate).
hey, great video :)
I just want to share that I used fleece for years and I wash them in 60 C Celsius I don't remember how long I wash them. If you are interested , do experiment with the X time and see what's working for you. I guess its depending on how many piges you have for a square. !_
I have the option to buy 220g and 300g fleece, which one should I buy?
When you do a full fleece change and the guinea pigs aren't in the enclosure, where do you put them? I'm getting guinea pigs soon and alternative placement has been one of the main issues I've come across while planning.
Hey I was wondering, where do you get the hammocks you use in your cage? I’ve been looking for one but I can’t find a good one! 🙁
for canadians, you can get a 4.99 cad twin mattress protectors from ikea :3
❤❤❤❤❤
I need help at this point! My mom says that it’s better with sawdust because the cage doesn’t need to be cleaned every day. But I don’t know!
Should I go with fleece or sawdust???
How much time am I going to spent cleaning/ day with fleece?❤️❤️❤️
Sawdust can be critical if digested by guinea pigs. Fleece does have to be cleaned more often,but it is a life saver and cheaper than buying bedding and using it up within a month,unlike the fleece which mine is around 2 years old and still going strong.
I just finished making my fleece liners. I have washed them three times in hot water. After the third wash (while still wet) I tested them and they were wicking. This morning they are dry and I went to put them away but was so proud and showed my husband...they lost the wick. I washed in hot water 3 times and hung them to dry. What did I do wrong? Should I have hung them in-between each wash?
how did you cut the entrance in the storage box out of curiosity?
Hello
Not at all on this topic but for your litter tray did you just cut it and sand it cause I don't have piggies yet and I've been struggling to find a good litter box I'm also worried about there little feet
Is 28 inch by 56 inch a good cage size for 2 females (2 by 4 c&c cage
My guinea pigs poop keeps getting stuck on their nails. How can i prevent that? PLEASE help
I use washable pee pads and then put cheap fleece blankets from Walmart on top. Works great!
can you use blankets?
Hey just wondering what Timothy hay do you get and where from science selective is getting really expencive at 11 pound a bag any suggestions would be helpful
I order from Haybox, their Timothy blend option. I have a discount code in some of my videos, it comes up if you search "Haybox referral code" in CZcams ☺️
@@SqueakDreams thank you so much for replying ok I’ll try and see how that lot goes thank you
Hello 🤗
Hello and enjoy! 😊
Did you make your cage ? If so do you have the dimensions for it / where you got everything?
She has a video on How she made it!
I just thought, do you have pet insurance or not? Because I've been wondering whether its worth it and I should get it or not so I thought I'd ask the most knowledgeable person ever on guinea pig care (you). Also I absoloutely love your vids, I've been watching you for years ever since i got my piggies willow and luna. Keep doing what you're doing we really appreciate it 🧡
Yes we are insured with Exotic Direct, only from last year and it has been more than worth it for us due to Phoebe's health problems. I pay £33 a month for the three girls (Nacho isn't on the policy yet!), going up to £39 after a year (and several claims) and Phoebe won't be covered for similar health problems, which is unfortunate but how most insurance companies work! £65 excess for each claim but I have been able to put multiple vet visits together.
@@SqueakDreams thank you! Good to know 👍
My guinea pig baby blue died today she had bladder cancer and now her sister is alone I miss her how do I prevent bladder problems? 😭
If anyone is has a lot of experience with fleece or sewing can you try to answer my questions below? Thanks.
How do I get my fleece to be tight layers?
When I sweep my large liners (4ft x 6ft) I also have loose fabric roll and get in my way when I try to sweep.
The fleece also pulls when I sew it so it manages to turn out too long even if I cut them as accurate as possible. I’ve tried many different settings and many different techniques of pinning but at this point I essentially put a pin every inch and it still happens.
How do I measure fleece and Uhaul accurately?
I measure a ridiculous amount of times throughout cutting, pinning, and sewing and I just can’t figure it out.
no mater how many times I measure, and how long I spend measuring I never get all 4 layers to be the same size.
in addition, I am NEVER able to make my liners and pads the size i want them?!?!?! And it’s absurdly annoying when it’s a couple inches short of the cage size.
How do I get all of the fine hay, hair, pellet crumbs, poop that gets squished etc. out of the fleece? I’ve tried many ways but I can never get all of the stuff that I don’t want in my washing machine off the fleece. Even though I use mesh bags there seems to be particles of something inside my lint tray in my dryer no matter how hard I try.
AHAHAHHAHAHH I MADE IT!!
I accidentally introduced burowing to them... what do I do?
First like and comment
Speedy!!
The brown Guinea pig at the start looks like mine
All of them so cute ☺️
I use twice the amount of fleece you’re using and I clean up poop twice a day. I change my fleeces twice a week. The smell is awful! It’s so much work cleaning and the smell never goes away. They are in the upstairs living room and it has so much ventilation up there. Please tell me what I’m doing wrong. I seriously don’t know. I’m considering changing to alternative bedding because people who use hemp bedding say they can never smell the pee.
You might want to try switching detergents. Something stronger like tide power with added borax or oxiclean. Also allowing them to dry in the sun is WAY more effective than any other method at removing ammonia.
Kelly is a supa beautiful gp! What race is she?
My favorite thing about fleece is all the custom styling options. We currently have Star Wars and Harry Potter on rotation but I’m working on a honeybee hive. The hair totally gave me heeby-jeebies when I started using it, but we found a 100% effective method of removing hair from fleece bedding was transitioning our herd to skinny pigs! 😂 Once you go hairless you never go back! ✨It’s magical✨
I got 2 guinea pigs and have been very frustrated with the amount the pee and poop. It is so disgusting and they also smell so bad. I clean their cage every single day and use puppy pads I throw out every single day l. I give them fresh cucumber lettuce Timothy hay and pellets every day. So. Much. Work.
Can you tell me your cage size because im getting two guinea pigs in like 4 weeks
75cm wide 2 meters ling