# guinea pig bedding



## lmgakg

I have a friend with guinea pigs and she knows how wonderfully I always speak of this group...so she asked that I ask a question for her. She really wants to get a cheaper bedding for her guinea pigs, she has two of them and is buying some pet store stuff for the bedding but it's outrageous. I suggested the wood pellets I use for my rabbits, but she said she read that that is not good for rodents because they will eat it. My aunt always used wood shavings that she bought in a pet store as guinea pig bedding and never had a problem with her pig. Does anyone have any other ideas or thoughts????

Thanks!
Lisa


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## Unosmom

Its been a while since I had my guinea pig, but I always used pine shavings with no issues, back in the day it was like $10 for a huge bag at walmart, but I'm sure its more now. Make sure its not cedar shavings which can cause allergic reactions and respiratory issues. 
I think ideally I'd use carefresh, but it was always pretty pricy. Maybe its possible to find a supplier that sells it in bulk because I know some people use them for horses and buy them in larger quantities. Another good option is aspen bedding since it doesent have those aromatic oils that cedar does, not sure how much it costs though.

Maybe send her this link since it looks like they have a sale on bulk paper bedding and free shipping on orders over $50

http://www.petco.com/product/3370/Carefresh-Natural-Pet-Bedding.aspx


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## AveryandAudrey

I have a guinea pig and i used Carefresh brand. Aspen wood bedding in good. Do not used Cedar nor pine. those are very bad for them and cause nasal infections. Tell her to check out cavycages.com. (sorry if I cant reference to other forums on her, I'm not sure)


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## swolek

I know a lot of guinea pig owners who use fleece bedding (sometimes with old towels underneath for extra absorbency). Droppings get shaken out and the fleece gets thrown in the wash (so you'd probably want at least two sets of bedding).

My sister uses Carefresh but it's not cheap. Aspen shavings are cheap but they get everywhere, ugh!


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## swolek

Oh, and here's a link with pros and cons for different bedding types: Guinea Lynx :: Bedding

The website in general is very useful . I hope it helps.


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## lmgakg

Thank you all very much!!!! 

Lisa


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## Caty M

I use pine and then fleece in their hut. I want to see if I can get cheap paper bedding from a horse supplier- I'm sure it would be cheaper than $15 for a tiny bag of it!


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## naturalfeddogs

​Carefresh is really a good one. I use it for our ferrets and it really controls odor as well.


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## Huginn

You can always try the recycled paper pellets. They do not contain the aromatic oils that the pine pellets do (which can cause respiratory infections), are much cheaper and environmentally friendly. A lot of feed stores will also carry recycled paper strips in much larger quantities for a better price. If she buys the recycled paper pellets from the cat litter section they are much cheaper than they are in the small animal section of the store (I recommend this to my customers daily).


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## Little Brown Jug

At work we use Cozy n Fresh. Best stuff ever, does a real good job at controlling odour. We also use Boxo, again awesome at control odour way better then that shaving garbage. Its pricey but you don't use as much or have to change it as often. plus with the cozy n fresh there is a frequent buyer program.


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## swolek

Huginn said:


> You can always try the recycled paper pellets. They do not contain the aromatic oils that the pine pellets do (which can cause respiratory infections), are much cheaper and environmentally friendly. A lot of feed stores will also carry recycled paper strips in much larger quantities for a better price. If she buys the recycled paper pellets from the cat litter section they are much cheaper than they are in the small animal section of the store (I recommend this to my customers daily).


If I recall, pine pellets don't have the aromatic oils that are an issue due to processing. But I've never used them.

I agree with you that the paper pellets are great . I use them for rabbit litterboxes. With guinea pigs, though, they'd need to be used under a layer of something more comfortable (like Carefresh) or in an enclosure that has fleece, beds, etc. Because otherwise they're not very comfy for sleeping and piggies love soft things .


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## Huginn

swolek said:


> If I recall, pine pellets don't have the aromatic oils that are an issue due to processing. But I've never used them.
> 
> I agree with you that the paper pellets are great . I use them for rabbit litterboxes. With guinea pigs, though, they'd need to be used under a layer of something more comfortable (like Carefresh) or in an enclosure that has fleece, beds, etc. Because otherwise they're not very comfy for sleeping and piggies love soft things .


Oh yes, I would definitely recommend something soft to sleep on and cuddle on. I've still had some customers come in and complain their Gpigs are sneezing on the pine pellets, so I quite recommending it altogether. I think it all boils down to personal experience and the individual pig. I personally like the Carefresh Ultra, it lasts a lot longer.


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## wags

When we had our guinea pigs, of course always lined the cage with newspaper the black and white section first for easy clean up, and used aspen or care fresh. also they love that hay which is a nice area also for them to sleep on with their little area they like to hide in! My hubby is into wood projects and would have shavings that were NEVER cedar so this would also be a bonus! I know Cedar is a big NO NO! I miss our guineas now!


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