cloth lining the cage?

[stella'smom]

hi! i would LOVE to line stella’s cage with cloth (i cloth-diapered my children, so it doesn’t bother me to wash it!). i was thinking about using something like a chux pad you would get in a hospital. my friend said she’d make it for me. then she mentioned how guinea pigs owners love to line their cage’s with uhaul blankets with fleece on top. i was worried about fleece with stella, b/c i was afraid she’d eat the piece’s of fabric that come off of the fleece. i thought it’d be best to just use cotton. i was going to just shake it out everyday and wash it maybe every other day, unti lshe’s fully litter-trained. then i won’t need to wash it as much.

anyone have experience with any of this? or opinions?!

tia!!!

[Cassandra L]

When I got my bunny he was already litter trained, so I don’t worry about the cage getting too dirty. I just lay down a fleece blanket on the floor of the cage so it’s more comfy on his feet. He licks the fleece a little, but doesn’t bite it or eat it. I wash it about every 10-14 days and pick up any stray hay or poo everyday.

[stella'smom]

thanks for the reply!

stella eats carpet fibers, so should i worry about her eating fleece fibers, or no?

[lashkay]

Yes, ingested fleece could be harmful, any ingested fabric, especially carpet fibers, unfortunately can cause harm in the intestines. Watch your bunny carefully to see what is happening with the fleece or anything potentially hazardous like carpeting. If he’s chewing or swallowing it, you need to remove it from him or her. I bought a handmade soft fleece baby blanket from MaryLikestoSew on eBay. Petie lies on it but thankfully, doesn’t chew or ingest it…at least he hasn’t yet. I live in a state of suspended animation that my bunnies are going to start chewing on stuff before I catch them at it. We have to be so watchful and it’s worth it. Intestines impacted with foam, fabric, plastic, rubber etc. can be painful to the bunny, heartsore for the owner to watch, difficult and expensive to deal with at the vet, as you can well imagine! Take care….

[stella'smom]

ok, that just made up my mind for me!!!!! i’m going with regular cotton!

thanks for the info!

[lashkay]

Alas even ingested cotton wouldn’t be good, although there may be less likelihood of your bunny chewing that fabric than others. As long as you’watch what your bunny does with it to remove it at the first signs of chewing/eating, you should be able to offset potential problems. I had heard someone on the BB forum got an Amarkat cat bed for their bunny they liked. I looked them up and liked the looks of one. Within hours on the first evening I gave it to Dustor, he was picking at it with his teeth. Against my better judgment, I trusted him with it for the night. The next morning, there was a neat hole the size of a nickel in the microfiber covering (like canvas or denim) and the pollyfill stuffing (bad if ingested) was exposed just inside it. I wasn’t taking any more chances with the thing so out it went. Now they make stuffing for pet beds out of rrecycled plastic soda bottles – it’s called intelliloft, if anything, even worse than polyester stuffing if ingested! Holey-moley! Fingers crossed for your cotton with your bunny!

[stella'smom]

i picked cotton because there are no fibers hanging off of it that she could pick at. (think of a bedsheet). i will however make sure she doesn’t chew holes in it though!
thanks!

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