i wanted to know if anyone who knows about guinea pigs could tell me if using these mats(pictured) instead of bedding inside a guinea pig cage would be a good idea.
>>17204366
i'm looking for alternatives to using bedding(since its like 20 dollars a bag) and i need to change my Guinea pigs cage rather often. so can't afford to keep buying bedding and keep feeding her decent food/veggies at the same time. so any advice concerning what can be used in her cage instead of bedding would be really helpful.
>>17204366
Pets are expensive. If you can't afford its basic upkeep and care, you can't afford the pet.
>>17204366
Are they marketed for that sort of thing? You have to make sure they won't hurt the animal and that the animal won't try to ingest them.
>>17204382
I know this, but i just didn't realize how pricey she would be before i got her. Since I can't go back in time and take back the choice I made to buy her, I am trying my best to be a responsible pet owner and keep her homed and loved. which means i am trying to bring down the cost where i can, since i refuse to do that with her food(since she needs greens and such to be healthy), that just leaves the bedding.
while i understand why you posted what you posted, your advice is not helpful. I made a comment when i got her, and now i am trying my best to see it through. so please if you don't know about bedding alternatives that are reusable/if the mats would be a good idea don't comment.
since all you're doing is attacking someone who just asked for some advice concerning an issue they are having.
>>17204387
the ad listed they can be used with guinea pigs, but the listing also didn't say what they were made out of. so maybe it isn't a good to get them based just on the idea she might try to eat them...
would the spacing on the mats be a problem though? since i read if the spacing is too wide on the bottom of their cages it can hurt their feet, so i was also unsure if the gap was too wide.
>>17204366
First of all, that looks like hard plastic, in which case absolutely not. Should be soft rubber/silicone if you're even thinking about it.
In general, the advice is to not use any grilles/grating of any kind with guinea pigs (they don't like it at all, and tend to get their feet stuck in the gaps and their natural instinct is to try to forcefully yank them out, which can lead to twisting their ankle or breaking a toenail).
>>17204424
This is true, I've also had guinea pigs.
Don't do it, OP.
There is an issue keeping them on hard surfaces called bumblefoot.
It is widely encountered keeping them on metal screen or mesh to avoid having to provide proper bedding.
Basically they develop hard pads which crack and heal over and tend to get hair and other bedding ect stuck in the wound and eventually they end up with infected mushy sores which will tear off and it is kind of a vicious cycle resulting in their feet rotting off.
Their feet aren't really large and strong enough to distribute their body weight over surfaces that aren't completely supportive with a little give.
Most people use wood shavings or unscented wood pellets like you'd get for certain types of natural cat litter. Others use fleece blankets to line cages and just shake off the poop and wash them every few days. It depends what is cheapest locally for you and easiest to get.
Also pet bedding really benefits from buying in bulk. If I want to buy a cube of shavings (1L) it'll be like £1. A 5L block is like £2.50. I can even get a 25L bale for about £6, but you'll need a car and a storage bin. Buying loose fill bags or similar is a false economy in the long run.
Hay is also like, £1 for a tiny bag or £3 for a 25L block. I can buy a literal bale from a farmer (lasts us approx 6 months) for £2, but I've got to drive to get it and they don't really give much of a shit about me turning up twice a year to buy such a low value so I don't tend to do it unless I'm passing and I can see them near the house.
Also in decent weather grass time in free food. Also greens aren't that economical, carrots and peppers they'll eat happily and here, are much more economical for calories/vitamin C than greens. See if you've access to clean local plants like dandelions, these grow all over our land and they love them.
Line your cage with old newspaper to provide a slightly absorbent base. Use only a fairly scant amount of bedding for absorbancy which shouldn't break the bank changed twice a week.
>>17204424
i that case, i won't use the mats. I read that fleece cloth could be used as long as it was cleaned daily, so would there be any issues if the pig tried to eat the fabric or is it a safe option to use in her cage?
Fleece is perfectly fine to use in their cage, although there is impaction problems if they eat it. Mind, there's impaction problems with them eating any bedding really.
Have you looked into finacard/other cardboard horse bedding? Might be a cheaper option if you buy it in bulk.
>>17204432
thank you so much for the information, i won't buy the mats, instead i shall buy the fleece blankets and see how she responds to them.
I know there are farms nearby where i live, so i'll look into getting hale from there(never thought of trying that before) thanks for mentioning that,
just your whole post was really helpful thanks:)
>>17204446
Yeah if you've got access to it, transport and storage look into what people who keep horses do.
They'll often be using wood shavings for bedding and you can believe they don't buy the half a dozen bales it takes to create a decent stable bed at pet shop prices and quantities. They'll also get through an additional couple of bales a week as well so it has to be realistically priced and available.
Shredded paper is also used by some for horses, but isn't really suitable for guinea pigs. Neither is straw because it is too sharp and isn't very absorbent. Wood pellet products can be more expensive than wood shavings, but depends on what is popular locally and what you can get, a bulk quantity of pellets is likely to be cheaper than smaller quantities of shavings if you can't get bulk shavings or have to factor in transport issues.
The hay thing can sometimes be hit or miss because even if you get the grade designed to be eaten horses don't give as much of a shit if some of it is a bit woody and maybe mixed in with other plants, from experience you'll have to get used to picking out the odd suspect looking thing here and there, but it is so cheap as to be practically free bought by the bale.
Also storage is a thing. When we get a bale I keep it in the garage raised up off the floor to avoid insects/rodents and to let air flow around it. We keep it longer than maybe a stable would so you've got to think about that. I wouldn't want it in the house because it is kind of rustic. It isn't so bad to get bits off because they are compacted as a 'stack' of folded leaves, when you cut the string it'll kind of come off the smallest face in individual 'leaves' and you can tie the bale back up again. The leaf will want putting in a large tub or bin which seals up so you can have it ideally in the house for daily usage, you can also sort/inspect it pretty mess free within the tub to pull out any woody bits.
>>17204470
Others tips would be get uniform pellets for food because while they are more expensive than 'muesli' they prevent selective feeding which means in the long run they actually eat more of it and you are throwing less away. With the muesli they'll leave the bits they don't like which can be like, 30-40% of it by weight. Again we bulk buy them in realistic amounts, like 5-10kg for £8 instead of £3 for 1kg, but store it in an airtight container out of the light to avoid degrading the vitamin C content. Asda is a good place to get an own brand pellet feed in the UK.
They should have access to unlimited edible hay. This will prevent teeth problems and digestive issues in the long run and is pretty economical if you bulk buy. It should be most of their diet. Honestly we basically use newspapers and a little shavings and use enough hay to the point where most of the bedding is hay after a few days. They get cleaned twice a week or so. If throwing out so much hay is expensive for you find some way to keep it off the floor (a manger or similar) so that it is eaten not trampled and spoilt.
Fresh vegetables we provide small amounts of twice a day, usually carrots, pepper and a little apple, maybe a few dark greens if we are eating them. These are reasonably cheap and they eat them readily. Leafy greens are kind of nutritionally sparse and contain lots of water which, lettuce, celery, cucumber, watermelon and stuff like that should be avoided except as a treat in small amounts because it isn't economical and they'll eat it all day, gain no calories and get diarrhoea. They'll appreciate it in hot weather though.
Also if you've a garden get a covered run. Provide shade and somewhere to hide and basically grass is free food for them. Ours are outside whenever we are home and the weather is ok for them.
We've a merino, a skinny pig and a lilac short hair at the moment. We had a rex until recently. Used to be mad on them, had 16 at one point.
