Litter Boxes and Fleece-Do you need both?

piggy121995 · Post » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:11 pm

I am using fleece for my cage, but I also ordered litter boxes. Would I have to buy a bag of bedding for the litter boxes, or would it be better to just not have litter boxes?

clairey · Post » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:19 pm

It's all down to your personal preference. I have a 2x1 kitchen/litter box and the rest of the cage is fleece. At least 70% of their output ends up in the litter box as that's where their hay is. This means I can get away with washing the fleece and towels less often than people without litter boxes but I have to spend a fair bit on bedding each month.

Pikatot · Post » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:20 pm

I like having a litter box in my cage. I do put bedding in it (aspen or carefresh) and then use that as the "kitchen" so the hay doesn't get dragged all over the fleece since hay can be a little difficult to peel off the fleece.

codyNpatches · Post » Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:18 pm

I have two boys in a 2x4 c&c and I only use fleece, no litter boxes. I have seen people here that use fleece in their kitchen/litter areas or bedding of some type.

lissie · Post » Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:43 pm

I'm planning to switch my haylofts to fleece. I've been using wood pellets which works well but I find cleaning fleece much easier for me.

jedifreac · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:45 pm

I have a 2x5 cage for two boars, with a 1x2 litterbox inside. So far it's worked really well. In fact, with the litterbox (aka "kitchen") they're practically potty trained. At this point, they only poop in the kitchen, and under their hideys on the fleece.

Some people have to sweep their fleece twice a day for poops but I can even get away with every other day (I just shovel the poopy patch of litter in the kitchen and I'm done.)

This can vary depending on your pig's preferences but I feel it's worth a shot. I put yesterday's news in my litterbox, sometimes with carefresh on top.

strawberrymentos · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:27 pm

I have a 1x2 "kitchen" area where I put their food dish and hay rack, and I use aspen shavings there. Sometimes a little hay and shavings get dragged out into the area immediately around the kitchen box but it helps keep the rest of the cage clean because they are in the kitchen a lot, eating hay, and they also poop a lot there too. I scoop poops daily and clean once a week.

cabaya · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:38 pm

I think the 'litter box' kitchen area is very helpful. I use them in my pigs and the foster pigs cages. I didn't make a kitchen area for awhile and it was annoying to spend more time trying to get all the hay pieces off and it made the cage look messy. Here are pictures of my cages with the boxes:
http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1648099#1648099

Feylin · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:47 pm

Yes. It keeps hay off the fleece very well. I use wood stove pellets (horse bedding pellets are the same thing) because they can't be tracked on to the fleece like shavings or carefresh. Also, they're about $6 for a 40lb bag and go MUCH further. A 2 pellet thick layer is all I need.

I made the kitchen area out of coro.

lissie · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:38 pm

Feylin, how do you deal with weekly cleaning? I started using wood stove pellets after seeing them in your cage on "show your cage" thread. I love them for the odor control but hate them for how heavy they are. I have two 1x2 haylofts and at the end of the week, it is really heavy to carry out to the trash.

Feylin · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:49 pm

Yeah. It's heavy. That's the down side!

How much are you using? I only make a layer about 2 pellets deep. As they dissolve they expand.

Also, you can only pick out the saw dust and leave the pellets. I probably completely empty the kitchens once a month that way. Each week, I remove about 1/4 of it that's dust or soiled.

lissie · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:54 pm

I use about an inch thick and dump the whole thing weekly.

piggy121995 · Post » Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:24 pm

Feylin, where do you buy your wood stove pellets?

jedifreac · Post » Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:53 am

Piggy121995, places like OSH and Home Depot and other hardware/garden stores should carry them, especially in the winter time. The trick is to find stove pellets with no additives in them like propellants. They are very inexpensive, but can be quite heavy.

sus4rabbitsnpigs · Post » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:34 am

You can find horse based pellets that are similar in most feed stores too for about the same price if not cheaper.

piggy121995 · Post » Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:51 am

I found a store near my house that carries horse food pellets. Would guinea pigs try to eat that?

Feylin · Post » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:01 am

No, you don't want feed! Haha. Yes, i'm sure they'd eat that and say thank you very much.

The pellets I buy are compressed Aspen shavings, with out the accellerant. They come from Lowes and are only avaliable in winter here.

In other seasons I just buy horse BEDDING pellets from the local grain elevator/feed store.

Lissie- I think you're using too much.