Outside cage.. tips?

[AmysAnimals]

Hi there,

As for housing the piggies outside, I agree with those who said it isnt the best idea,especially since Australia gets hot, no? Anywho, as for keeping a nice scent try fleece as people said above. Its actually a much cheaper alternative to any other kind of bedding. The initial purchase might be a little steeper than one bag of bedding but in the long run, its worth it! Make sure to wick your fleece (wash it 3-4 times without any softner) and it will absorb and pee right up. Ive only had my piggy for a week and I already love the fleece. Its so easy to clean--all you need is a hand held vaccum to sweep up any poo. Make sure you clean your cage every day (spot clean for poo) that will help keep things nice, neat and pretty.

If you must cage them outside, consider calling someone to install a roof as well as heating and air conditioning, some windows, a nice sturdy door and maybe some floor tile too

[Cubby46]

thankyou for all of your suggestions guys.. at the moment while i search for fleece the guniea pigs are in the garage with only newspaper bedding.. the cage floor is plastic by the way. O have had to clean it out a little more often than usual, but its a small price to pay to keep them inside and comfortable while i look for bedding solutions..

I had to beg and plead with my dad.. he says im a wacko for thinking that they cant go outside seeing as we have done it so many times before etc. and he still disagrees with me. My mum is the one that i got to persuade him, i had to bug her non stop for about 5 hours. But i am now looking for a store or saomething in my area to fine some fleece(my mum thinks using fleece and rewashing is disgustiong and that she doesnt want me using her washing machine for that, could i wash it by hand do you think? in soapy warm water?).

anyways if anyone can find me some stores that sell suitable fleece in north brisbane it would be really appreciated. I am still unsure of what sort of fleece and where i buy it and how much it will cost and how i use it in my cage etc.

Thanks

[moca138]

As long as you shake the fleece off really well so that there is no poop stuck to it and little if any hay, it washes very well. Can you tell her you would do that, and go the extra mile of rubbing down the machine afterwards with some bleach? That might make her feel better about it. My washer has a glass panel that tends to get piggie fur on it after a wash, so I use a washcloth and wipe it down so my clothes don't get furry!

[sus4rabbitsnpigs]

The garage isn't really a suitable place either unless it is completely converted and furnished, and you spend a lot of time there daily.

Please read http://www.guineapigcages.com/location.htm

[AmysAnimals]

As far as washing fleece, my family wasnt all so keen on me using the family washing machine either at first. I decided that I can afford to just throw that fleece away on a weekly basis and still save money compared to traditional bedding. My fleece costs about 22 bucks and lasts for about 6 weeks (replaced weekly). If I were to buy Carefresh bedding instead of fleece, the amount I would need to fill the cage for only one week would have cost me 24 dollars. Its actually much mroe cost effective to use fleece than other beddings no matter how you look at it. If your mom doesnt want you throwing the fleece in the washing machine as is try this-- let the fleece soak in hot water in a wash tub or bin for a few hours with some viniger. That will rinse the fleece out so you can just throw it in the machine like any other peice of fabric. You want to just do one load of fleece. Dont put it in with clothing of course.

[cielo]

If you are going to use fleece, read this: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ect-study.html

Fleece is tricky to use Make sure that you read this link first. It took me some trial and error, so it didn't stink. How many pigs you have?

[Cubby46]

Oh, thankyou so much guys! that's very helpful. I am looking into fabric stores in my area to buy some, i was also thinking of getting a little extra fleece for bedding and maybe some rolled up fleece to make a tunnel... that could be fun, i was explaining to my mum about how to wash it and stuff and that if it causes too much trouble i can hand wash it.. she looked much more interested in it after that.

Only thing is now, for the underneath bedding should i still use newspaper? I wont be able to find anything better than that. I am starting to get interested in those little hay racks too and i would like to know what sorts of toys my guinea pigs would enjoy too, they have not much at the moment.

I have two little piggies.. im looking to put up pictures of them but all my pics of them are on my phone

I will have to borrow my mums camera and take some snapshots sometime. Today i got some great shots of them lying down comfy on some towels on the outside table, they had just been fed and were enjoying the nice breeze coming through

[Cubby46]

P.S. sus4. the garage is fine, if it had internet and a bit more space id be living in there. Its apart of the house, seeing as you have to go through there to get to the downstairs bathroom, it has windows, a door leading out back and its fully insulated. Also the temperatre is always about the same as the rest of the house. I open the door as often as i can so they get a bit of a breeze going on in there, and it's directly next to the main area of the house and the door from there to the garage is open all the time so they see us alot. I was once told that if i could live in there, the piggies could too. and i have before. problems solved.

[guineapiggoddess]

Sounds good!