Guinea Pig Bedding UK: Paper, Fleece and Hay

Products were chosen from the makers’ published specifications and live UK retail listings, checked October 2026. They were not tested by us. The shortlist covers paper fibre, recycled paper pellets, wood pulp, spruce chips, hemp, washable fleece and hay, which are the types UK owners actually put on a solid hutch floor.

How Much Bedding Does a Guinea Pig Pair Need?

A pair needs a weatherproof hutch of at least 1.5 x 1 m with a 2 x 1 m run attached, and the floor of that house should be lined so feet stay dry. The PDSA guinea pig housing advice asks for a dust-free lining plus clean, dry hay, straw or shredded paper as the bed itself. Measure the solid base, not the outer timber, then buy enough paper or pulp to cover it 4 to 6 cm deep after it has been fluffed. Fleece is cut to the tray size rather than piled, so you still need an absorbent layer under the fabric or a liner with a built-in core. Outdoor runs on wet soil are a separate problem: move the run before the grass turns to mud, because belly fur sitting in cold slurry is how sores start.

Indoor C and C grids are usually quoted as 69 x 142 cm for a 2 x 4 layout, which is why a fitted liner is easier than loose paper that falls through coroplast gaps. If you keep pigs in a shed through winter, add extra hay on the sleeping side rather than filling the whole floor so deep that they struggle to walk. Feeding hay belongs in a rack as well as on the floor, so they can eat without sitting in yesterday’s wet pile.

Which Bedding Materials Stay Kind to Skin and Lungs?

Dust-free paper and dust-extracted wood pulp are the safest everyday guinea pig bedding paper choices for pigs that already sneeze, because both stay softer than kiln-dried chips. The PDSA substrate guide names Carefresh, Fitch, Megazorb and Burgess Excel as suitable linings and warns that ordinary sawdust irritates lungs. Carefresh Natural Paper Small Pet Bedding is a tan paper fibre sold as 60 L, stated as 99 percent dust-free, twice as absorbent as shavings, and able to hold ammonia smell for up to 10 days. Fitch Paper Pet Bedding 70L is a UK-made stamp-sized shred of about 15 to 20 mm from a compacted 70 L bale. Small Pet Select White Paper Bedding expands to 56 L of unbleached virgin fibre, which shows wet patches clearly. Kaytee Super Absorbent Paper Bedding is a compressed white paper pack that expands to 24.6 L, absorbs six times its weight, and is listed as 99.9 percent dust free.

Chipsi Classic 15 Litre Litter is untreated fresh spruce sold dry only, so it belongs in a thin lining layer rather than a deep pit. Back2Nature Small Animal Bedding 10L is ridged recycled-paper pellets that sit flat instead of rolling, which helps ankle joints on a litter tray. Aubiose Hemp Bedding is organically grown hemp in a 19 kg bale, sold as dust-free and highly absorbent, and it works well in the toilet corner if you put a softer paper on the lounge side. Avoid scented shavings and cedar, which none of these listings add.

How Do You Keep Fleece and Paper Clean Through the Week?

Paper is scooped daily where it is wet, then the whole tray is emptied weekly, which matches the PDSA daily and weekly clean. Fleece needs a different rhythm: lift poos twice a day, wash the liner when the core feels cold and damp, and never use fabric softener, which blocks wicking. Baanfly Large Guinea Pig Cage Liners come as a pair of 119 x 79 cm pads with an absorbent knitted face, a TPU waterproof layer and wrapped edges, and the set adds a small brush and dustpan for daily spot cleans. The ZBKJYILF Guinea Pig Fleece Cage Liners are a four piece set with a thick cotton core and TPU backing, so you can rotate them through the wash. Baanfly Guinea Pig Fleece Blankets are six 35 x 35 cm coral velvet squares with a waterproof lining and a non-slip base, handy under hay racks and water bottles, which are the wettest spots in most cages.

Hang fleece until it is fully dry before it goes back, or you will put pigs on a clammy sheet that smells by evening. Paper from Fitch or Carefresh can go in the council compost bin if your local rules allow pet waste; check first. Keep a spare liner so the cage is never bare while one load is in the machine. If you travel, a folded fleece pad also lines a small pet carrier without spilling chips across the car.

How Do You Deal With Smell, Allergies and Winter Cold?

Odour is mostly wet wee left on a shallow bed, not a missing perfume, so depth and daily scooping matter more than a scented bag. Owners searching for the best guinea pig bedding for odour control usually do better with a hemp or pellet toilet patch plus a paper lounge than with one thin layer of chips. Aubiose Hemp Bedding pulls liquid down and leaves a drier cap on top when you lay it several centimetres deep. Back2Nature Small Animal Bedding 10L does the same job in a tray because the ridged pellets wick instead of sitting soggy. For human allergies, paper fibre and hemp beat dusty shavings; keep the bag in a shed so you are not shaking it beside your own bed.

PDSA winter advice is extra bedding and, if needed, a move into a shed or car-free garage, still with a large indoor run. Hay piled on the sleeping board holds more warm air than a bare fleece sheet. If you already use guinea pig bedding fleece as the floor, add a hay pile in one corner rather than wrapping pigs in fabric they can chew into strings. Outdoor concrete runs should be covered with boards or turf, because hard, cold ground bruises feet. An indoor pen used for daytime floor time needs the same non-slip, easy-wipe rule the PDSA sets for indoor pigs.

How Do These Guinea Pig Beddings Compare?

How Should You Change Over to a New Floor?

1. Measure the solid floor and note any 2 x 4 grid size before you cut or pour.
2. Put down a wipeable base such as coroplast or lino if the tray is wire, then add paper, pulp or a liner.
3. Keep a hay-filled hide on the dry side and a pellet or hemp patch where they already toilet.
4. Scoop wet spots every day and wash fleece as soon as the core feels cold.
5. Empty the whole house weekly, scrub with a pet-safe cleaner, and wait until timber is dry.
6. Put a handful of the old, dry paper back so the house still smells familiar.
7. Watch feet for redness during the first week, which is a sign the new floor is staying wet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last reviewed: 15 October 2026.