Can I Use Newspaper As Bedding For My Guinea Pig?

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Many people would like to know if it is okay to reuse their daily newspaper as guinea pig bedding. On the surface, the advantages of this plan seem obvious – take something you already bought and used, and the reuse it again. Its only going ot get thrown out, right?

Here’s the real deal – newspaper is just not very good guinea pig bedding and if you are looking for a cheap reusable option, you would be better off using fleece.

This is why newspaper is not the best type of bedding:

Newspaper stays wet a very long time. This will increase cage odor significantly and force your guinea pig to sit in wetness most of the day. This also means that when you pick up your guinea pig, some of his or her urine is likely to transfer to you and anywhere your guinea pig walks. This is important to note as many people are actually allergic to guinea pig urine.

Newspaper will shred into tiny little sticky pieces once it becomes wet. You will find these little shredded it bits everywhere – on your piggie, on you, and in your home. These tiny pieces will also crumble as you try to clean them up.

Since newspaper does not wick moisture away but rather traps it, you will find the bottom of your guinea pig cage becomes coated with dried layers of urine build up. This means that you will need to clean your guinea pig’s cage more often and spend more time doing unpleasant tasks like scraping layers of dried urine off the bottom of the cage (unless you aren’t bothered by horrible cage odor.)

So what is a better alternative? Fleece!

For many years only breeders and people in the know knew about the many advantages of using fleece (the fabric) as an inexpensive, reusable cage liner. Today, this information is becoming available to a wide range of people.

What you need to get started-
First measure your guinea pig cage so you have an idea of how much fabric you need to buy. Assume you will need a little extra fabric around all borders. Take that number and multiply by two as you will want to make two cage liners (so you can always have one in the cage and one in the wash.)

Head over to your nearest Wal-Mart or craft/fabric store to buy your fabric. Do not spend extra money buying a premade liner at a pet store or online unless you absolutely must as this project does not require sewing or other special skills. Average prices are usually under $10 per yard. Make sure you buy enough fabric to match your measurements.

Before you can use the fleece as a liner, you will need to prepare it. Fleece is naturally water repelant – which is not what you want. Washing fleece multiple times will increase its moisture wicking capabilities. Most people have good luck running fleece through four wash cycles.

Place the fleece in your guinea pig’s cage on top of a base layer made of either towels or a single layer of newspaper.

And you’re done!

Amanda is a life long guinea pig expert. For more great information on guinea pig bedding be sure to visit our site guinea pig bedding and sign up for our free newsletter!

guinea pig care

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Guinea Pigs Care

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Guinea pigs are very adorable animals and they could be enjoyable to have around. However, taking care of them can be quite a hassle if you don’t know the correct way to do it. This article will share some tips on how to care for a guinea pig.

Healthy diet. Provide a diet rich in nourishment that has a varieties and proper balance, including a daily supply of fresh hay and water. Guinea pigs are vegetarian and have a unique internal digestive system made for eating plants . Giving your piggy other types of food can lead to sickness, diarrhea and weight gain.

Your pet prefers a calm and quiet environment. Any sudden loud noises or voices will affect their mental health. Guinea pigs are social animals. Thus, the location of their cage (and size) is very important for them not to feel lonely , and they are able to move about with minimum confinement. They need to be under indirect sunlight and bright places, too.

Provide a comfortable and safe environment for your pet. When your piggy is let out of the cage, it is very important that you safe-proof your home first as they are curious and will explore around. You can start by putting away hazardous and unsafe objects in your home. Always remember to protect your cavy from your other pets and animals.

Provide stress relieve conditions. Although guinea pigs can appear calm and relaxed on the outside, it might be feeling extremely stressed on the inside. Avoid stressing your pet with loud noises, unsuitable partner, unfamiliar herds, cages that are too small, no hiding spot within the cage and bathing them unnecessarily.

It is good to let your pet out of the cage time from time to time in order for it to safely explore and exercise itself. Guinea pigs like to stimulate their curiosity and play with their sense of adventure by having some playful activities outside their cages.

Groom your guinea pig regularly. This includes combing/brushing its hair and trimming their nails. Give general inspection of your pet’s health and body. Its front-teeth will grow constantly and require chew toys to keep them in suitable lengths. If the teeth have grown too long, this will cause inconvenience to your guinea pig with their daily diet. As for their nails, give them a variety of different rough surfaces to stand and walk on in order to help wear down the length of the toenails. You can also carefully trim their nails yourself with a nail clipper.

I hope this article enlightens you the basics of your guinea pig care. If you know the right way to do it, the joy that you receive from your pet will far out-weight the effort to take care of your guinea pig.

For more tips on taking care of your guinea pig, visit www.myguineapigpets.com/caring-for-your-guinea-pigs/ and don’t forget to sign-up for FREE e-course!

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The Different Breeds Of Guinea Pigs

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Guinea pigs come in all kinds of colors, breeds, and varieties. There are many things to think about when looking to choose the right guinea pig for yourself. Generally speaking what it comes down to is choosing either a guinea with long hair or one with short hair. Additionally, something else to consider is the quantity of guinea pigs that you want to have.

Be aware that the short haired guinea pigs are more simple than long haired guinea pigs to take care of. This is mainly because the guinea pigs with long hair have to be combed and groomed constantly. If not, their long hair will tangle and become a gigantic mess. If you choose to go with a long haired guinea pig, make sure you read up on your guinea pig information and be ready to work hard to take good care of your pet.

Other than the hair length, there’s really not a lot of difference. The personalities of guinea pigs are very similar with just a few small differences in the breeds. Here’s a tiny run down on the differences.

The Abyssinian breed of guinea pigs may be the oldest breed of guineas today. This breed is often used in shows and can be easily identified by the swirls (or rosettes) it has in its hair. These guineas live up to eight years or more if well cared for. The Abyssinian is a long haired guinea so it is not an easy guinea pig to take care of.

One of the most common guinea pigs in this country is the American Guinea Pig. This breed is probably the most commonly found. This breed a short haired guinea which means that they are easier to take care of and they also have a great personality. These breeds are wonderful pets for young kids, but not something that you are going be able to put in a show to make any money.

The Peruvian breed is a very unique and one of a kind breed of guinea pigs. These guineas can grow hair over a foot in length! This breed is generally a show guinea pig though because of how long its hair is and how much work they are to take care of.

Some other breeds to ponder are the Silkie which has a silkie like hair, the Teddy which looks like a cuddly stuffed animal. There is also the White Crested guinea pig which has a white spot right on the pinnacle of their forehead. And the Texel who has very thick hair on such a small body.

When you are deciding which pet to choose, be aware the amount of guinea pig care your new pet is going to require. Hopefully the tips in this piece of writing will give you an excellent place to begin. But there are much other factors and breeds that I did not talk about that you should consider as well.

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