I have 4 guinea pigs, 3 males and 1 female. The males are all the female's babies. They will be 2 weeks tomorrow. And yes, I know to seperate them at three or four weeks. I have a 32 square foot cage, 16 square foot for the female, then 16 square foot for the three males when I seperate them. My female likes to be alone, so she will be caged alone. But just wondering, what are the pros and cons of using hay as bedding? Thanks! (All the extra information added in to show that I DO take care of my guinea pigs.) And also, can hay be used as bedding for other small animals? I.E. hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits.
2007-02-18 02:00:07 · 10 answers · asked by Kristin 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
You can use hay, BVUT do not. Timothy hay is part of their food and they will *mess* in it and it will NOT be clean. I will give you a link to check out.
http://www.2ndchance.info/guineapigcare.htm
2007-02-18 02:04:40 · answer #1 · answered by Ex Head 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The pros to using bedding are that its far easier to clean than just a floor full of pee and poop. It allows your piggies a soft place to nap, you don't want them sleeping on the hard floor, do you? Bedding also absorbs some of the urine and makes the cage less smelly overall (as you know, guinea pigs don't smell often as long as you clean their cage frequently).
Using hay as a bedding, for the first few hours, may be nice. As your piggies can eat the whole bedding... but with eating comes the peeing and pooping. They'll be pooping and peeing in their own food! Ew! If you're willing to change the hay bedding twice a day, might be more often since you'll eventually have three piggies all in one cage, then you might be able to get away with it.
I use pine bedding and suggest it to everyone. It doesn't cause breathing problems like cedar bedding is prone to do. Some people use soft bedding made out of fabric (I, unfortunantly, can't remember the name!).
2007-02-21 16:48:53 · answer #2 · answered by Marilynne 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You probably could use something like timothy hay as bedding, but there are other things that would work better. Many small animals such as rabbits and chinchillas need to have hay as a supplement to their diet. When I would feed my chins, I always gave a bit to my hamster and mice as well, but they never ate it, they only used it to make their little sleeping nests. So yea, you can use hay for that, but it may not be as absorbent or odor-reducing as some of the other bedding products they have on the market, although for a cage that size to have expensive bedding . . . wow. Personally, I wouldn't use hay for the sole bedding of a small animal, especially if it's a male, simply because of the smell. (There's ammonia in their urine)
Good luck.
2007-02-18 10:10:42 · answer #3 · answered by hmx_mail 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yeah!! I use the wood shavings for my bunny and hamster, but my bunny likes her hay and sometimes lays on it!! It's comfortable o you should be able to use it with no problem! Hay bedding can smell bad after a few days if she soils it, but make sure to change it anytime you see that she has left some oopsies. Hay can be used for any small animal because they can sleep on it and eat it!! It's like 2 in 1!! Sure try it out, if the animals won't like they'll begin to scratch and move the hay thats when you'll know that its just not working!!Good Luck with the animals
2007-02-18 10:05:47 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wouldnt use hay for your guinea pigs bedding... my guinea pig likes to eat hay all the time and we just give it to her in a hay bin... you don't want your guinea pigs eatting the bedding do you?? We use aspen bedding for our guinea pig and that seems to work out good.... and I wounldnt hay for other small animals bedding either!! Hope this helps....
2007-02-18 10:05:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes hay works perfectly fine as a bedding... pros its edible and if its fresh there usually isent any allergy
cons it gets pushed flat sometimes and its harder for their poop to fall through the floor and if its not fresh hay it can be really dusty and cause allergeys.
i had rabbits and gerbils and i always used hay for their bedding because since i lived on a farm that was what was avalable and cheap :D
2007-02-18 10:05:45 · answer #6 · answered by i_eat_spoonz 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sure. My guineas LOVE it because they can eat it too. Pros : Its a good insulator so they are warm and it doesn't stink too much. Cons: Its kinda messy and they will poo and pee on it then eat it but oh well.
I use bedding called Carefresh and my piggys love it. It's made out of recycled newspaper except it's soft and fluffy and it keeps them warm.
2007-02-18 15:20:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you can use hay alfalfa works well too and they like eating it.
2007-02-18 10:04:06 · answer #8 · answered by stephh 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sure as long as you clean it and change it every day or two.
2007-02-18 10:02:29 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
sure go ahead fill their cage with lots and lots of saw dust and cotton candy, cotton candy makes em happy and saw dust turns em on
2007-02-18 10:06:53 · answer #10 · answered by jamshed007us 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋