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Bedding for your guinea pig is often overlooked or not given the attention it needs. It’s not just something for your cavy to poo on, it plays a big role in their environmental health and consequently their physical health.
This is more than toilet paper people!
Bedding is the material that a guinea pig will kick up and breathe in every day. It’s what keeps their enclosure clean and dry. It’s also a material that you’ll buy over and over again while creating a lot of waste!
So, for your cavy’s sake, as well as the planet’s sake, let’s make sure we're getting guinea pig bedding right.
The right bedding will keep your guinea pig comfortable and take care of their sensitive paws. It will prevent bacteria and mold growth that can lead to illness, and it will keep your cavy’s house (and yours) smelling fresh!
There are some materials that can be found in guinea pig bedding that expose your pet to harmful substances. So while you may have bedding that does keep your home smelling fresh, it may come with a cost.
Before we talk about the healthy options for bedding, let’s make sure you aren’t picking up any packages with red flags on them.
Remember, if a company is proud, you’ll see them bragging on their package. If they aren’t proud, what’s in the bedding will be unclear or confusing!
Your days of scratching your head over guinea pig bedding are over.
With all bedding types, especially wood bedding, you need to keep dust to a minimum. Remember, your guinea pig lives life low to the ground. They’re up close and personal with their bedding.
When dust is stirred into the air from their bedding, they’re easily breathing this in. Dust in a guinea pig’s airways can cause respiratory issues.
It’s also important to keep the stress on your guinea pig’s body to a minimum so their immune system isn't taxed trying to fight off something as unnecessary as dust.
Dust is hard to completely eliminate in bedding but 99% dust-free is exactly what you’re looking for. Make sure the bedding you buy is labeled as a low-dust product.
Sometimes paper-based bedding is made from the leftovers of reclaimed paper production. This is called sludge! Sludge has dioxin in it which is toxic for guinea pigs.
Make sure the bedding you’re buying (especially paper-based bedding) is clearly marked as sludge-free.
While we love a nice smell as much as the next person, where that smell comes from is very important. When manufacturers try to cover up odors with artificial fragrances they’re introducing toxins and chemicals into the bedding.
Unnatural fragrances can be harmful to your guinea pig’s respiratory system. While you may think something is only lightly scented, for little noses close to the ground the impact is much more than it is from where you're standing!
We will talk about a naturally scented option in a minute!
If you have other pets, sharing isn’t caring. Never use cat litter for your guinea pigs. Cat litter is designed to clump together when wet. If a guinea pig swallows cat litter, it’ll bulk up in their stomach and cause a blockage. This is a serious emergency!
Often, the effects of unhealthy materials in a guinea pig’s enclosure aren’t obvious in the short-term picture. Still, there are signs to watch for to let you know your guinea pig bedding isn’t working!
Signs your guinea pig bedding may be causing issues:
If you’re ever concerned or confused about your guinea pig’s behavior or symptoms, contact an exotic vet and get a professional opinion!
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the stand-out guinea pig bedding options that check all of the boxes and wave only green flags.
While all of the guinea pig beddings on this list are excellent safe options, some are better for specific circumstances than others. For example, are you someone who spot cleans frequently? Do you want to add your bedding to the compost pile? Are you layering two types of bedding for odor control?
Let’s get into it!
Soft paper bedding is what you likely see most of in guinea pig enclosures and litter boxes. It’s soft on your cavies feet and very absorbent.
White Paper Bedding makes a beautiful habitat while making spot cleanings easier in between deep cleanings. Just keep in mind that Small Pet Select’s White Paper Bedding isn’t 100% biodegradable so it’s not compatible with composting.
Soft Brown Paper Bedding is the soft paper bedding you can compost! When you have multiple cavies, spot cleaning is harder to accomplish, and you’re more likely to just dump the whole litter box and start fresh anyway.
Floral Bedding is white paper bedding infused with dried flower buds. This creates a lightly scented natural option for guinea pigs without any harmful chemicals.
While we talked about scented beddings being harmful, when the scents come straight from flowers, they’re a good option for pet owners looking for something fancy.
They make a beautiful habitat too!
Small Pet Select’s Aspen Shavings Bedding is heat treated and shaved right from the logs. It doesn't contain any harmful aromatic oils and is 100% biodegradable. Another great eco-friendly and compostable bedding.
Aspen shavings usually need to be changed more than soft paper bedding as they’re slightly less absorbent, but many pet owners love a natural wood option and this one keeps everything clean.
Paper Pellet Bedding is great for routines that include spot cleaning. It’s easy to see where the bedding needs to be changed, just make sure you replace it and keep 2 inches of bedding in the litter box.
Bedding should be completely replaced every ten days, if not more often. Wipe down the litter box with a guinea pig-safe solution. White vinegar is great for disinfecting safely.
Pine Pellet Bedding is dense which makes it very absorbent. It’s not a soft bedding and shouldn’t be used with pets who have sore or sensitive paws. Small Pet Select’s Pine Pellet Bedding helps with odor control without the addition of harmful chemicals. This bedding is often used with softer bedding on top.
Hemp Bedding is the eco-friendly powerhouse of the guinea pig bedding world.
Small Pet Select’s Hemp Pelleted Litter is made from 100% all-natural pesticide-free hemp fibers. Hemp is naturally absorbent and neutralizes odors creating the perfect material for small pet bedding.
Let’s run through everything guinea pig bedding needs to accomplish:
A wet environment is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mold. Fungal and other skin issues arise when a guinea pig’s skin isn’t able to stay dry. This is why it’s so important to have bedding for your guinea pig that does its job well!
The more absorbent the bedding is, the less time you need to spend changing it out. Quality bedding makes less work for you. Consider how much bedding you will need (more on that soon) and how much often you plan to change the bedding when choosing your guinea pig bedding.
When urine is left to sit, you start to notice real quick! Unabsorbed urine has a strong odor. For this reason, absorbency and odor control usually go hand in hand.
You want people to know you have guinea pigs because you told them and not because they can smell them!
Bedding is the most disposable product you will buy for your guinea pigs. So its environmental impact must be considered! A top priority, really.
Whether you plan to compost your bedding or not, you should be looking for something that is biodegradable (or mostly biodegradable). We don’t need guinea pig bedding taking up space in landfills! Especially when there are so many eco-friendly options for bedding for your guinea pig.
Hemp Bedding is at the forefront of eco-friendly pet products. Not only is it biodegradable but farming hemp captures up to 10 tons of CO2 per acre. Growing hemp also doesn’t rely on pesticides so there’s more organic and pesticide-free hemp!
It doesn’t matter how absorbent something is if it isn’t safe for our cavies. Buy products from companies that take your pet’s well-being seriously and who know enough to be taken seriously!
Now that you have proper bedding, let’s talk about what you need to do with it! Most guinea pigs only need bedding in a litter box and not spread through their whole enclosure. A guinea pig needs at least 7.5 sq. feet of space. Two guinea pigs need 10.5. This is the minimum. The bigger the better!
Luckily, guinea pigs usually do very well with litter boxes so you don’t need bedding spread through the whole enclosure. This provides more freedom with their enclosure so you can give your cavies more space!
Guinea pigs need bedding that is stacked at least 2-3 inches high. This will allow urine to be absorbed but keep in mind more bedding isn’t bad!
Some cavy parents will use a dense bedding layered on the bottom of their litter box with a softer bedding on top. Consider pellet bedding for the bottom with soft paper or aspen bedding on top!
A litter box should be large enough for your cavy to move around comfortably in. Imagine your guinea pig doing a dance in the box. You’re on the right track!
Right there is where the litter box goes!
Unless you plan to babysit your guinea pigs all day cleaning up messes, bedding is what will determine your ability to keep your guinea pig’s enclosure clean.
It’s also something that has the potential to introduce toxins into your guinea pig’s world so the right bedding will keep their enclosure “clean” from chemicals and irritants.
And last but not least, proper bedding helps you do your part in keeping our world clean. As animal lovers, eco-friendly products should always be prioritized!
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