I spot clean every day and love to clean it actually cause the pigs get so pumped when they see a new set up!!! Every 3/4 days I replace the fleece and wash them. Super easy. Changed my life when I got a hand vacuum!
I do the same :) i got peeing pads under and on top i put their fleece :) but ima be getting back surgery in a week so ima change it to pine bedding for a bit :)
@@sunfishdana i get a kitty litter scoop,and hold the pad over the trash can,and brush them off. everything comes off and they are ready for the washmachine
@@isabelshearer8079 uh uh. That's not often enough for spot cleaning fleece and preventing odor . Full fleece change once or twice a week but... Scoop those poopies twice a day. Takes all of ten minutes and bonus time with piggies while u are scooping. If you can't scoopy da poopy every single day fleece may not be for u.
@@crestedgecko6122 no because Francis Rivera was discussing spot cleaning. Not washing. She said she spot cleans couple times daily.... Which is great. And then Isabel added her opinion. And I disagreed. And that's the conversation. Hope that cleared it up for you.
Helpful tip for fleece users: if your pigs tend to do their business in corners, get corner litter pans, put pine pellets in the bottom and cover with hay... the pellets absorb urine instead of it sitting on the hay and controls odor
We made our own fleece pads. We also made smaller pads for the area our piggie used for the bathroom. We made enough pads that we could clean the cage every night , and we never had an issue with smell.
Omg I love your channel I would never had a good enough care of it wasn’t for I have a herd of four. Would you ever get a Peruvian piggie I have one and her personality reminds of velvet
Scotty I love how patient, kind and sweet you are 😂 I can't tell you how badly I want to shout "because you're not cleaning it enough!" Every day people! Every day, morning spot clean/shake and change any really wet fleece, evening complete bedding check and change. Guinea pigs should never ever be a once a week change. Xx
I spot clean my cage everyday, and the poop box 1/2 a week, but the fleece itself last me a week and just smells (and not that much) the day I am about to change it! I use 2 towels, 2 pads and then fleece and it works really great at least for me! But I agree with you!! Depending on the type of bed sometimes you should clean at least 2/3 a week!! In the Summer I usually have to clean more!
@@skinnypigs1 it seems like my two boys like to go wherever there is NOT a pad...wahhhh...LOL. I lay down smaller pads over the big ones and they go right for the spaces in between. Stubborn boys :)
Guinea pig cages only stink when they need to be changed but guinea pigs smell amazing! At least mine do. Especially on their heads. I could sniff piggies all day long!
I used to use shavings and even the fleece bedding but with 6 guinea pigs it was a lot of constant cleaning so I switched to a flooring with holes. Actually it's a rubber fencing material, not that horrible metal that hurts their feet and they love it! Of course I made sure the holes were just big enough to let the mess through but not so big that it creates too much of a pressure point on one part of their foot. Now the mess falls through into a bin that I can easily pull out and empty. Best of all, the piggies are ALWAYS super clean! They will even choose to sleep on that flooring rather than the fuzzy hanging hammocks in the cage. Also, don't buy hay or bedding from the pet stores if you can help it. I can buy a 100lb hay bale (make sure it's Timothy hay) for about $35. I calculated that I would have paid over $600 at a pet store for the equivalent amount. Of course you need the space to store it but man does it smell amazing! For the nesting areas of the cage I use pine pellets which the hardware stores sell as a fire starter. It's exactly the same as what has been repackaged and sold in pet stores. For a 40 pound bag it'll cost you about $6.
I have 11 grown up boars. 9 in our living room and 2 in kids bedroom. Potty pads changed daily and liners every 6-7 days. Spot cleaning twice a day. I find that the only time they smell is if they pee on top of the hay so I keep it in hay feeders above floor. never used different bedding due to my asthma.
I like puppy pads under. The pee wicks all the way down and if I can smell it before cage changing and laundry day I can change the pads for a quick fresh-up.
Can you put pee pads above the fleece liners? Because id be fine with changing the pads often but when they are underneath is just hard to lift everything out of the guinea pig cage to get to the pads.
I have used paper bedding, fleece, and shavings. My favorite personally is paper bedding since I believe it is more absorbent and less messy than shavings. I agree with leaking water bottles, other than that they really only poop in corners. I do change the bedding every week, and I layer that stuff 2-3 inches deep or it gets so gross. My girls live in two connected Midwest cages.
Shavings are a great odour absorber, I've also seen wood pellets, piggy and rabbit safe. Not sure if it would be comfortable though. It's a great point to make sure everything your pig has is pig safe. I've also used lemonjuice for tough urine stains for rodents I've known and loved. Thanks Scott, love seeing your little fluffs 💕❤💕
I do 2 layers of fleece and small fleece pads in certain areas. So every day I puck up mess a couple times. I pull out a layer of fleece every few days until its the last layer and then I start over. For me its easy and things aren’t smelly.
That's why I don't understand the smell comments. I use wood chips. My guinea pig mainly just smells like wood chips. Which is a light odor, not potent at all.
I use Guinea Dad fleece and the cage has no odors. On the Guinea Dad channel he tells you in length how to spot clean and clean the fleece and it works well. They are expensive but I have found that they are well worth it for me.
Folks , for those who dont know this...when this fine fella says 2x4 and points to his pens behind him, he does NOT mean 2 feet x 4 feet. He means 2 grids by 4 grids. He's using grids of "C&C" pens as a unit of measurement. I think those grids are a foot and a half... not sure and dont have one in front of me to measure it.
@@fitzguineavision I just measured mine on one of my pens, you are correct. 14". And there is an inch of space between them where the plastic sockets connect, so around 15" total.
I have 9 guinea pigs and one pig that is pregnant. My cage has only gotten stinky once..( I was so sick that I couldn't stand up, to do anything.... let alone clean my piggies cage. ) I use fleece . I spot clean, change out the hay ( remove any wet or soiled hay and replace with fresh hay) daily. I spend at least 1hr + cleaning the cages each day. Plus floor time, weekly weight checks, daily cuddles, grooming (haircuts, nail trims, and butt baths as needed), cleaning food, water dishes, pigloos, and fleece. I also use vinegar when washing the fleece to help get the "pee smell" out, and to clean the coroplast. Guinea pigs take alot of time , money and love.... In exchange for doing all those things, I am rewarded with the love and companionship from my 9 amazing guinea pigs ! Guinea pigs are awesome and deserve to be treated well. If you are in unable to put the time ,effort and work In to caring for them then maybe you should consider not getting an animal or get another animal that doesn't require so much work. And I mean this in the most respectful way possible!!!
2 by 4 is absolutely fine for a lone pig.I just cleaned my dresser and laid my bottom grids down and wait to get corplast on Monday.Maybe cutting it on Tuesday or Monday.Oh yes ! Putting up curtains Tuesday !We are getting the rest and the pig on Wednesday.
I'm a new subscriber and a new Guinea pig mom and I love your channel! It makes me so happy to see the passion you have for these animals! I use fleece but I'm fortunate to have two girl piggies that only pee in a litter box most of the time. They still poop in and out of the litterbox though so I sweep everything clean with a whisk broom twice a day and there's no smell
I use Guinea dad liner and litter boxes where their food and water are. I use paper bedding in the litter boxes and since that’s where they spend the most time (eating) I will change it every 2-3 days. The liner I spot clean and then wash every 5 days. I have a VERY thorough mom and we had problems with the pine bedding for years with my last Guinea pig but with the liner, litter box system I’m using now, my mom doesn’t smell a thing. I got the litter box technique from the shelter I work at. My pigs aren’t litter box trained but it’s just an extra step to keep everything smelling nice!
Wash fleece liners with vinegar in the wash, it neutralizes smells so my fleece always stays fresh use puppy pads under the fleece. I find that works for me.
you can make fleece a lot easier to use. Instead of taking it out to shake it twice a day buy a small handheld broom and dustpan and sweep up the poop and hay daily. Try sprinkling a small layer of baking soda underneath the fleece before you put it down to absorb any odors. You can also put puppy pads under the fleece to absorb extra urine to keep it cleaner. Also when you wash the fleece along with a small amount of detergent try adding some vinegar to the wash to help with odor. That is just what I do and it helps with the odor and the simplicity of it.
I use fleece (homemade) but put down smaller fleece pads in the piggies hidey's, under their water bottle and at the hay rack. The smaller pads can be changed when needed, every 2 to 3 days, and the main fleece, which covers the whole of the cage is changed weekly.
I use fleece and when i use extra blankets it is always on top of fleece liners, or it gets wet for their feet. With 5 i do this in the main traffic area to keep it a bit fresher, i change them every few days and the main fleece liners once a week. I use a lot of smaller pads too, but its a lot of work and more than pine.
I was doing the same thing but it still somehow still gets a little stinky in their potty area. I was kind of hoping for a better solution with the kiln-dried pine shavings, I guess more fleece it is. Thank you!
@@gloriajackson759 the other thing I do is use a few litter trays with newspaper and hay in them, and this helps a bit with containing the mess. I do love my fleece but I wonder about the amount of laundry sometimes too.a layer of hay in them, and this helps a bit with . But with fleece you need to do a lot more spot cleaning. The girls though love that as everything gets moved a little.
I use pine bedding and always felt guilty about it. I tried paper bedding but way too expensive. I tried fleece blankets and other materials and they jsut became soaked and smelled within a day. The bedding we use is kiln dried, I just checked so now I feel leas guilty. We have a pen attached to their cage and that part we lay down old towels with puppy pads underneath. We keep all their toys in that area so they don't tend to pee too much there. I definitely need to put more woodchips down though because we clean it fully about every 3 to 4 days.
I keep my 2 guinea pigs on fleece in a 2x4 cage with loft and change the big liner once a week. I also put smaller liners in high-traffic areas like where they eat and sleep and change those when they start getting funky (usually halfway through the week unless the piggers are being extra stinky lol). I never smell my guinea pigs' cage unless I'm right next to it and usually only if it's getting close to cleaning time.
I use the Guinea Dad liners and then use smaller fleece pads in high traffic areas that I change daily (ex. Under pigloos and under water bottles). I also spray the cage and pigloos once a week with diluted vinegar to keep fresh
i use paper pellets, just a thin layer in the middle and thicker at the corners- where they pee. only replace the corners every weekend and change the whole bedding every month. Pine gives me and my family the sneezy-sneeze, even though they aren't dusty. I have 4 girls. The downside of the paper pellets is the noise when they run around or popcorning, i can hear from my bedroom. kinda disturb my sleep. lol. Also i'm using the paper pellets for my cat litter boxes and parrot enclosure too. so I buy them in bulk and use them for all my pets.
Is there a link for the bedding you use? It's cheaper than what I use and you get more as well. Just cant seem to find that bag size for the price you said as well.
I am new owner with midwest cage / I clean bottom with vinegar & water dry with paper towel & spread baking soda on bottom of vinyl / then add use blue roll of trash bags from doller tree/ cut them open and line cage/ I add disposable XL dog pads and use thick moving blankets as my top layer / I have fleece one on side of cage & jus moving water resistant blankrt on other/ spot clean daily l have no smell! 2 pigs poop a lot but hand vac gets up I do major cage clean on sunday only
I use fleece blankets on top of towels and put their hay in 3 huge litter boxes. Works well for us and I can change up the cage adter every clean so they don't get bored. I need to save up for guinea dad blankets!
Fleece is work but it means I get to play and communicate with my boys more. I spot clean with a handheld vacuum twice a day and switch the fleece every 4 days. I keep little pads I've sewn in the corners where they tend to go and under their hidey. Fleece needs to be done correctly with an absorbent layer. For anyone new or interested in fleece skinnypig1 had a great video on this. Love all you do and your videos Scotty!
Thank you so much! The paper bedding I thought was awful so we switched to fleece. Unfortunately my piggies really like to push it aside (no matter what I do) and pee under the fleece liner. Its been exhausting trying to find the right bedding. Your explanation was perfect! I think pine bedding will be our next trial. I like the smell and my poor piggies havent been smelling too great with the fleece either and we do spot clean twice a day. It was disappointing :(
I use fleece and change potty pads every other day. My boys love to use the potty in the back corners though so I like to use a vinegar/water mixture and a cheap reusable cleaning cloth to wipe down my coroplast when I think it is getting a little icky in those spots.
We appreciate your honesty! I know guineadad reimbursed you on your purchase of a fleece liner so it really adds to your credibility that you still say you prefer kiln-dried pine shavings to anything else. Don't get me wrong, I own a guinea dad fleece liner and love it but I just really appreciate your integrity, honesty, and reliable good advice.
I love you addresses putting 3 inches of shavings. I use shavings also. People don’t realize it. And you can pick or spot clean cause I pack it down so the poops only have a layer. So I keep them off their poops. Unless your lucky to have a pile pooper lol. But great video. It is a common question. And size of cage makes all the difference.
I recommend to use the little wand in a vacuum since it gets all of the must off that's stuck. Although it can stress the guinea pigs so I only vacuum once a day or so and spot clean the rest. Fleece sewn on both sides of batting can be used as pee pads (reusable as long as washing machine/dryer is on one of the lowest setting, for knits and delicates)
My 3 Girls Oreo Reese and Peanut say it Fleece for Me!! I place down a big bottom bedding and then I use large and Med sized PP para all around the heavier soiling areas. I clean twice a day sweeping all the pads off and flip over if not wet through or replace pp pads if wet too much. Once a week or week in a half I wash the large bottom pad. I have a small desk top Air Purifier Air Cleaner plugged in and running daily. No Smell in my Apartment.
I have the Midwest cage for my guinea pig. Is it normal for my guinea pig to kinda twitch when popcorning? Plus my guinea pig loves to run around acting silly and she queaks loud
I just started using fleece about a month ago, I made all my liners and pee pads myself. It never smells bad. My pigs are healthier because they don’t get shavings in there prevent parts and eyes. (They are very old pigs) I clean my fleece ever 5 days with and additional 2 spot cleanings a day (minimum) I really enjoy it too because my piggies popcorn around and watch me and they socialize with each other and myself way more. I’ve saved money and become better with a sewing machine 😊 it’s a perfect set up for my. I definitely don’t like the paper bedding, it doesn’t last long enough for the amount of money each bag costs(in my experience)
I use Guinea Dad fleece and it doesn't usually smell much. I clean and spray with a vinegar and water solution every day. Also, washing with odorless detergent and vinegar helps. My room smells more of hay than anything else lol.
Im new to piggies i only have the 2 girls after trying the wood chips and the original paper bedding they had from the shelter i found the fleece works best for me. But because i personally am super sensitive to the smell of urine i made my own routine which is. Daily i change the bathroom/kitchen towel and the bedroom towel but every 2 days i chance the fleece base out. Now keep in mind i haven't been able to get the nice pre-made fleece liners yet so I am just using a pack of fleece cloth we got from a hobby store i would eventually like to get them turned into good liners with an absorbent layer but im pretty sure that wouldn't change my routine since i would still smell the urine. My piggies benefit from a very clean habitat anyway so yeah. We also have a litter box set up with water and food which has the aspen shavings that gets changed out daily unless its not to bad
Once again you show how amazing you are, this time to your fellow human being! I'm not affiliated to any of the companies you mentioned but thank you for giving them a wee shout out :)
I don't have any fancy liner for my piggy. I put down a layer of those puppy bads and then a fleece blanket I got at Walmart. To get rid of the smell on the blankets I wash in hot water, detergent, baking soda, and vinegar. So far it has worked like a charm. I use a gentle detergent so it doesn't bother my little ham. Lol
I have a 3 by 5 C&C cage, Leo has 2x3 and the three ladies have 3x3 until Leo's neutered and reunited and then I'll make a second level with the same method u used for Gary so Fleece fits my set up best. I use a cat litterbox as their cafeteria and it helped maintain the cleanliness of the rest of the cage's fleece to the point I don't need to change the big ones until 10/14 days has passed while the litterbox is cleaned every 2/3 days. But maybe I'll try pine shavings for the litterbox and see how it controls the pee smell
I’m ordering the guinea dad liners for my two pairs of boars. Pine seems like a great idea also! Switching it out mid week seems like something I will do. I have a layer of fleece then puppy pads in certain spots where they pee. Thank you!
I use fleece that I made myself. Two absorbent layers and two pee pads I change it every 5 days and wash it with detergent, vinager and Borax and the piggies and their cage haven't had any issues with stinkiness. 😁
TBH that question makes me angry a little bit. The short answer is, you arent doing your job. Either you arent doing housekeeping properly, or your piggy is sick and you should take them to the vet. Get to work! I love guinea pigs and Im a cranky old man.
My coworker gave me a guinea pig she couldn't keep anymore and warned me that his cage reeked. I never had a problem with it once I got him and I figured out what the problem was right away. Long story short, she used the incorrect bedding, didn't clean it enough, and it was way too small. I use aspen, she used shredded magazines. I clean the bathroom spot daily and the cage once a week, she only changed it once a week. The cage was a "starter cage" that's too small for a hamster. Mine is 7.5 square inches of floor space.
I thought fleece was for me but not i have tryd everythag and it is just the odor i used paper beding and i didnt have a smell and as much as i love the fleece me guinea girls health means more to me .
My 5 are in a 6 and a half by 2 c and c cage with 2 layers of liners and a hay tray lined with newspaper. I put extra mats uner their beds which are changed every day or two and I shake out the poos at least once a day. The smell is just awful!
whenever i give them a newly cleaned cage, it stinks REALLY BAD in seconds. there arent even any poos. they are marking their territory i think. how do i stop it?
Another reason the cage may smell bad is if your guinea pig has a urinary infection. This has happened several times when I found a really funky smelling cage or piggies and I took them to the vet and it turned out they had a UTI.
I clean the hutch ever day and fresh blankets every day and quick sweep up for poops b4 sleep but when my boy piggies alivn is rumbling it smells of weed no lies but otherwise piggies don't smell I am lucky I so love the videos
I b use fleece blanket alway.i try adding shaving. bedding because guinea pig would sneeze but she ok now. I. Always double check them.yeah try make. Second. Floor for guinea pig
