Guinea Pigs Bedding – Choosing a Material for Your Cavy

Like most animals, guinea pigs need clean and soft bedding. You will need to change the bedding frequently to ensure that the animal stays healthy. Litter training a cavy is very tough and they can go the bathroom in a number of places around their cage. For this reason, you will want to make sure that their bedding is replaced to keep down the stench and impact of ammonia and keep their cage clean.

Ammonia is a part of urine. High concentrations of it are often offensive to humans, but it can lead to more serious problems for your guinea pig. High levels of ammonia can make it so the guinea pig develops respiratory problems. Concentrated ammonia over time will damage a guinea pig’s lungs, burning their esophagus and creating other health problems.

Guinea pigs do eat some of their own feces as part of their diet, but it is not a big part of their total intake. You will need to remove droppings from the cage on a regular basis. Some owners will solve this problem by placing the animal on top of a wire mesh that serves as a floor, allowing the droppings to go to a bottom level right away. Over time, though, the wire mesh hurts the pig’s feet and can make them develop painful and debilitating sores.

Line the cage with inexpensive materials that are comfortable, clean and easily changed to solve the problem. You can find plenty of great choices.

Hardwood chips and shaving are a great way to provide soft and absorbent material for the bottom of the cage. Aspen is another popular choice, although some locations of the world make it more expensive than others. Stay away from cedar since it contains phenols or aromatic oils that can cause respiratory and liver problems. Pine is a great choice as well, but it has also been associated with respiratory and liver problems. You will need to air it out and change it often, especially if it continues to smell.

Wood pellets are another choice. Made from a mixture of wood scraps, they are cheap and can last a long time. Some might contain potentially harmful materials, however, so be careful. Extended use of the pellets might be wearisome on older animals as well. The wood pellets should not shed or else these loose pieces can be lodged in the eyes and nose of the pig.

Paper products can also provide great bedding since this is an economical material. The paper is soft and absorbent, which is great for odor control. Its soft texture is great for walking with the animal as well. If the paper becomes wet, however, it can shed and the materials can get in the eyes and nose of the animal, leading to problems. If you have a quality paper product from a reputable manufacturer, you won’t have these problems.

Megazorb and CareFresh are great commercial brands to try. They have different levels of absorbancy, support and dust control and they are often suggested and advocated by cavy owners.

         

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