What Bedding Should My Guinea Pig Have?

Bedding isn’t only meant to be comfortable for your furry friends but it helps protect their overall health. Keeping their home space nice and clean means there’s going to be a lower risk of illness and disease. One of the key health factors in finding the right bedding is making sure it’s not going to cause any breathing issues. Guinea pigs are susceptible to respiratory infections so finding something that’s safe and dust-free is one of the most important steps, but there’s still lots of options.

Fleece blankets have become more and more popular as a hygienic, reusable choice for cage liners to help keep them clean. Fleece blankets like Pet Living Pet Blanket Black & Beige can be washed and reused so they’re great for piggy parents who want to change their pet’s bedding bailey to make sure they are always clean and tidy. Fleece is absorbent and allows you to easily see how messy their home is. This environmentally friendly bedding option is cosy and comfortable for your guinea pigs. It’s super easy to spot clean and looks clean and tidy when you lay a fresh blanket down.

The drawbacks include; the cost of firstly buying plenty of fleece to keep swapping your pig’s bedding however, this does balance out in the long run because you won’t need to rebuy bedding all the time. If you don’t want to have a cycle of washing to do to always keep on top of getting them clean they may not be the best option for you. If you keep your guinea pigs outdoors, fleece bedding alone may not be insulating enough, especially when trying to keep them warm in the colder months, but it makes a great option for indoor cages!

Guinea pigs are a little hay mad - they absolutely love it! Be it to play in, to eat or to make a bed in, they’ll always head over to fresh hay to investigate and have a nibble. It’s a great substrate to allow for natural foraging behaviour and they’ll never be short on something to eat. Hay like LFJ Millers Meadow Hay Extra Large Bale can serve as both bedding and food to help keep their teeth nice and worn down. You’ll still need to offer a source of feeding hay that they’re not sleeping in to make sure it’s always fresh and clean, but you get the benefit of knowing their substrate is safe and edible. Hay is great for insulating hutches and cages, it’s fantastic winter bedding but it isn’t very absorbent. If you’re going to use hay as a substrate, it’s still recommended to put an absorbent layer of bedding beneath for soaking up any urine.

Hay is natural and compostable however, it does need daily spot cleaning to keep on top of it. It’s also a little more costly than some other bedding options as it’s usually a food item so to add a nice deep layer to their hutch that they’re mostly going to sleep in and go to the toilet on might not be the best use. If you want your guinea pig to live in luxury, they’ll adore the freedom to eat whenever they want.

Paper bedding is another great option for your hutches and cages. It’s highly absorbent, often super soft and comfortable and helps to control odour. A high-quality paper bedding like Carefresh Natural, Small Pet Bedding is low in any dust to help protect your fluffy friends from any respiratory illnesses and is super easy to spot clean. With how absorbent is it, you can usually see instantly where you need to clean up so it’s easy to keep their home nice and fresh in between more in depth cleans. Whilst you can use your own shredded paper to cut the cost even more, paper bedding made for the purpose of pets is much softer and you can guarantee that it’s ink free. You should never give your guinea pig paper with ink on it as they may ingest it.

Paper bedding is often made from recycled paper so it’s an eco friendly option and on top of that, you can throw it in the compost heap after you’re done instead of putting it in the bin!

Straw is a bedding option that divides the guinea pig community a little. In some situations, it can be a little too harsh as bedding. If you buy a big bale of it from a farmer it comes in long pieces that can be quite sharp. That doesn’t mean you should rule out straw entirely as a bedding option. It can be used as a more cost effective bedding compared to hay. It’s just as good at keeping their butch insulated and you can concentrate on providing a top quality feeding hay rather than using it to line their entire hutch. Straw bedding is easy to spot clean and if you use straw like barley straw, it’s considerably softer.

LFJ Millers Barley Straw Bedding is a nice and soft barley-based straw bedding that’s finely chopped to make it comfortable for your guinea pigs. It’s dust extracted to limit the risk of respiratory infections. Straw is a good alternative to hay and you can give them a nice thick layer of it to keep them warm.

Wood shavings are a popular choice for pet bedding when it comes to small furry friends because it’s relatively inexpensive. It’s also very easy to see where needs to be spot cleaned each day as it’s nice and light in colour and becomes darker and clumped together when it gets damp. It’s more absorbent than hay and straw bedding but less absorbent than recycled paper bedding. A nice thick layer of wood shavings can be very warm and comfortable for your beloved pet. You should only ever buy dust extracted wood shavings like Woodshavings Bedding to keep your guinea pigs free from respiratory illnesses and avoid any cedar based shavings as they can cause allergies.

Some guinea pigs can still be sensitive to other types of wood shaving so keep an eye on them if you’re using it for the first time. Wood shavings should also not be mistaken for sawdust. Sawdust is too fine to use as bedding and often contains lots of dust. For indoor piggies, wood shavings can get a little messy and sometimes get flicked out of their cage but it makes for nice comfortable bedding. For a wide range of different bedding options for your beloved furry friend, visit us in store and online today!