Bedding experiment

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:52 am


I've been trying to find a way to save time with the guinea pig laundry. The fleece, double towels and underpads take a lot of time to deal with, and now that it's 10 degrees here, I can't stand the thought of going outside for a half hour to shake out their laundry.

So...I came up with what is probably a dumb idea. Here at work, we toss out tons of cardboard weekly for recycling. We get shipments for supplies, furniture and equipment almost daily, and the large cartons are just being tossed into the recycling heap on the loading dock. I wondered if two layers of cardboard under fleece would be a workable alternative to towels and crib pads.

I set up Toby and Otis' cage with it last night with two layers of medium-size sheets of cardboard that were a good fit with just a little overlapping (I could have trimmed them down, but was too tired), tossed fleece over the top and tucked underneath. I used a few pieces of double-sided tape to secure the fleece to the cardboard, but I'm thinking I could probably "notch" the cardboard on the corners and secure the fleece that way instead.

I'll be interested to see how this goes. Ideally, when it's time to change the cage, I can just toss the fleece in the piggie laundry bag and toss out the soiled cardboard. *Hopefully* the fleece on top will stay dry. That would just mean shaking out and laundering fleece instead of also dealing with heavy wet towels and liners.

I'll let you know how it turns out...

rpaws

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:05 pm


Would like to know how it turns out. Sounds like you are in an area where you don't have to worry about trash disposal costs (fee per bag) when disposing of soiled cardboard.

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Eenypup

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:20 pm


We tried that at one point and it got really messy. Towels work a lot better.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:06 pm


You might need to puncture the cardboard lots to get it to drain from the fleece. And be prepared for it to be messy/soggy.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:53 pm


You're probably right. There has to be a better way!!!

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Halva
Supporter in '10

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:01 pm


I've used thick brown corrugated cardboard, as opposed to the cereal box sort, before but years ago when I was still using shavings. I'd just roll the lot up like a giant swiss roll and chuck out. Used to work better than newspaper for me but I'm not sure how it would work with fleece.

Best of luck with the trial!

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:20 pm


That's what I have -- thick corrugated, and I doubled it. Probably a dumb idea to try it with fleece, but I just can't handle the work involved w/ fleece and towels right now.

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mmercedesmom
Supporter in '09

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:10 pm


I understand completely! I spent hours cleaning this morning and am now waiting for towels to dry so I can change out the last one.

Need to do rat's cage too and am thankful I can just dump it.

I do really, really like the fleece though for spot cleaning poos and keeping their little feeties drier. Especially my skinnies.

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vanillapooh1979

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:07 pm


Can you lay a tarp under the cardboard that way when you take it out you can roll it up then just empty in a bag ? I tried the whole fleece thing for two weeks and honestly couldn't deal with it . I am consumed by laundry as it is with my kids .

Right now I use a combo of wood chips and care fresh and a layer of hay on top . I have found that the mixture of the two beddings allows better absorption and reduces smell .

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Piggiecavyguinea

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:14 pm


Oh, geez. You discouraging people! Shame shame! I was going to get fleece this weekend. Blech!

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JennG
In Memory of Mama

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:16 pm


Ok sef, I use puppy pads/newspaper (puppy pads go where the piggies "hang out" more), then folded towels and then fleece. What I do is I roll up the fleece and get the towels off, then I dump the poo onto the newspaper/puppy pads and roll that up. I then throw it all into a big black garbage bag. That way I don't have to go outside to shake anything off. I usually have a stray poo or two or ten but I just hoover it up and wipe down and then put all the new stuff down. I hope this helps.

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rshevin

Post   » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:23 pm


Piggiecavy, the fleece thing is a very personal choice. Some of us love it, some of us hate it. It's pretty inexpensive to try out if you're interested. You can always repurpose the towels and blanket if it doesn't work out.

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