making cage liners?

[cavylady]

I currently use fleece/towels but I figured it'd be easier if they were together and realized today that cage liners online are quite pricey and I know your paying for their time and professional quality but I know how to use a sewing machine not the greatest but I could defiantly get one made can someone explain how to create a cage liner using non- sewing slang words.

[Bean]

I bought some fleece to make liners, but in my laziness I've ended up just cutting it roughly to size and then having the top of the cage hold it in place!

It was pretty useful when I switched cages as the dimensions were a little different and I didn't have to adjust anything!

[3piggles]

I measured the cage length and width, then bought some fleece by the yard, off a roll at the store. I washed it several times, dried it, and cut it two inches bigger lengthwise and widthwise. Then I cut the towels to the correct measurements, centered it on the fleece, and folded the fleece over on all four side. Then I sewed around all four sides, giving me a mat. It's one piece, easy in and out of the cage. Because the towel is heavier than the fleece, it holds the mat in place for a good sweeping, and makes it harder for the pigs to get under the edges, as the edges lie flat.

I've also made mats, again with the towel fitting the bottom of the cage, but with the fleece enough bigger to pin to the cage sides further up. You'd have to decide where you needed to pin it to the cage, and add that amount to each of the four sides. I used binder clips to clip the fleece to the cage sides.
Binder clips: www.staples.com/Staples-Black-Metal-Binder-Clips/product_SS271759

If you live near a U-Haul store, their quilted packing/moving blankets are great under fleece. Wash the whole blanket and dry it, so if it's going to shrink, it will do it then. Then cut the blanket to fit the cage bottom, and attach the fleece in one of the two ways I listed with the towels. I've tried other versions, such as Home Depots quilted moving/packing blanket, and it fell apart in the wash.

[cavylady]

I think its called u haul I'll give it a try, thank you.

[3piggles]

You can tell if it's U-Haul or not by the sign: www.facebook.com/uhaul It's worth the extra money to buy their quilted blanket. They sell a cheaper blanket, not quilted, and it shrinks something wicked, so not worth the money for any use that requires washing and drying

[cavylady]

Alright I'll check into it

[Jenny]

Hi everyone - I haven't posted in years, and my piggies have passed but now that I am in an apartment that allows pets, I have been trying to raise funds to get guinea pigs again I miss them so much!!!
I had heard that putting the layer of U-Haul blanket, with a towel in the middle and fleece on top is a great way to keep odors at bay and preserve the bedding condition longer.
Has anyone tried this?
Also, I would like to sew the three layers together for ease of cage changing, but how does this work in the wash? Does it still go through the wash ok, or does it clean better when separated?
Thank you! In the past I had just used a few towels underneath, and took forever tucking the edge of the fleece over the sides of the coroplast, and also used potties with bedding.... this time I want to try the three layers with no potty. Thoughts/advice appreciated! Missed you all, Merry Christmas

[3piggles]

Hi, Jenny, and welcome back Skip the towel. It traps and holds the urine smell, which is the opposite of what you want to do. Also, fleece dries very quickly, and toweling doesn't, so you spend a lot of money drying the fleece/towel pads, than the fleece/U-haul quilted pads. The quilted pads do leak the dark blue dye, so use a color catcher pad with it, or buy a fleece pattern that won't be effected by it. All of white lines in my fleece have gone grey from the dye, before I realized what was happening.\

(Homemade color/dye catchers: 1 cup of very hot water; 1 tablespoon of washing soda. Dissolve washing soda, pour over pieces of cloth to be used as dye catchers, saturate all the pieces of cloth, then hang to dry. use 1 cloth per wash load. I use wash cloths I bought by the bundle at Walmart, but any cloth that doesn't unravel will do) The store bought color catchers have a lot of perfume in them, and since pigs live so close to their bedding, perfumed bedding is not good for them.

If you make the fleece part of the pad about 4 inches bigger on all four sides, than the quilted pad or whatever absorbent layer you are using, cut out the corner pieces of fleece so you have fleece tabs on all sides, those will fold under the coroplast nicely, without making it lumpy or raising the coroplast off the cage floor.

I have been making my own pads for years. The fleece is a soft surface, and wicking fabric to wick the liquid off the surface to the absorbent layer below. Neither layer neutralizes the urine smell. For that, you have to have a neutralizing layer, something like kitty litter, Carefresh or pine pellet horse bedding. I use the pine pellet horse bedding, usually available in 40 pound bags, as it only needs to be replace a few times a year, unlike kitty litter and Carefresh, which need to be replaced weekly. If you use a clumping kitty litter, you save a lot by removing the clumps, and adding as much more kitty litter as needed. Avoid the odor fighting litter with crystals, as they have too much scent, and should a pig accidentally eat a crystal, I don't think the pig would fare too well. Those crystal litters are meant for cats that don't get close enough to the litter to breathe it, and that don't live on the litter but just visit it when needed.

Use a section of fiberglass window screen between the fleece pad and the loose bedding, and the loose bedding won't stick to the underside of the fleece pad. The pigs can't get to it to chew on it, and fiberglass window screen can be washed in the washing machine, hung to dry, and reused.

[Jenny]

Thank you for your reply, 3piggles! I will buy the quilted U-Haul pads: good to know, since I almost bought the regular. Would it help anything to put towels underneath, or have 2 layers of quilted pads? I am planning on changing the bedding twice/week so that the odor doesn't build up, so it will just be fleece and pad. Unless a towel on the bottom would also be helpful?
My coroplast has walls coming up on all sides, so would you recommend sewing the fleece to the uhaul pad or just tucking it under the pad? I always draped the fleece over the top of the coroplast before, since my pigs seemed to want to find a way to get underneath the fleece. But since I'll be changing bedding 2x/week, I want to make it as easy as possible.
Thank you! I missed wheekers.

[3piggles]

No, skip the toweling completely, as it holds the odor, and extra quilted padding does the same. If you want to stop the odor, and not have to change the bedding constantly, you need a layer of odor absorbent material under the pad, not more pad. Unscented, clumping kitty litter, Carefresh or pine horse bedding pellets. I have no odor, because the loose bedding absorbs it. I meant to mention this in the last post. Put a layer of fiberglass window screen between the pad and the loose bedding, and the loose bedding won't stick to the underside of the pad.

www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/equine-fresh-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb
These are the best, as once wet, they turn to granules, which are more absorbent than the pellets. This is the brand I use, but I'm sure there are other brands. I change my pellets/granules once every few months. If the pigs really soak an area, I replace that with fresh pellets. Also, if you have a store bought cage with a plastic base, in granule form, these keep the plastic base free of staining from the urine, and even remove some old stains. I was amazed the first time that happened

www.amazon.com/Scoop-Away-Litter-Ammonia-Unscented/dp/B003LPZSWG
I've also used this, though it had no scent when I used it before. Having a slight scent in the kitty litter isn't a problem, as it's under the fleece pads, so the pigs won't be bothered by it. Also, the amount of dust, while low, doesn't matter, as it's under the fleece pad.

Carefresh is the most expensive for the amount you get, especially since you need to use a lot more of that than of the pellets or kitty litter. I still have some Carefresh, but haven't used it since I went back to the pellets. It was costing a fortune to keep up with it.

Any of these will absorb the odor, if used under the fleece pad. Changing the fleece pad twice a week won't help, if as soon as you've done that, they eat something that causes smelly urine. It's better to find a way to neutralize the odor constantly, than to be endlessly washing fleece pads.

[Jenny]

Thank you 3piggles! this is extremely helpful. They will be in my living room, so the less smell the better
I bought my fleece yesterday, and I am working on getting the uhaul quilted blanket. I'll probably pick up some fiberglass screen and equine bedding pellets too! I want to have my fleece all washed thoroughly and sewn to my blanket and all of that before I look for my piggies! I have to make sure $ won't be a problem since I have many January bills. But I am so excited!!! I made a hay bag too. I'll post pictures when it's all ready

[3piggles]

Wash the quilted blanket in hot water several times, too. It helps get out the extra dye, so you won't have as much dye bleeding, once the pads are made.The quilted blanket won't shrink, once it's been washed in hot water a few times, so your pads will keep their shape.

Once you get the pigs living in the cage, when you clean the cage, just stir the pellets and granules around to redistribute them. If you have some very wet spots, mix those spots in with the rest of the pellets/granules, leave the pad off to let it all dry a bit, then put the screen and pad back in. The wettest spots will be around the water bottle, which will drip. Fill the water bottle all the way to the top, with a bit of a mound of water on the top, before screwing on the cap. That creates a vacuum, and keeps the water bottle from leaking. It will still leak maybe 10 drops, each time a pig drinks, which is why it's good to have a very absorbent medium under the water bottles

It's great that you are getting everything ready for the pigs, before they arrive. The pigs will thank you for it If you get pigs from a rescue, try to get a bonded pair. Some rescues find pairs that will get along, and we can adopt them that way. Saves a whole lot on wondering if they'll get along, once they're home. Getting two pigs from the same tank in a pet store doesn't guarantee that they'll get along, as you're taking two pigs out of an existing hierarchy, and they need to create a new hierarchy for the two of them. Best of luck