When you are about to get a cage for your guinea pigs, you have to pick a flooring for the cage. But, what is the best flooring for a guinea pig cage?
Coroplast sheets are the best flooring materials to build to the base of the cage. PVC canvas, linoleum, or newspaper also make great flooring. Plastic flooring is the best for a prebuilt cage. Newspaper sheets work well as a liner for this floor. However, you have to cover the floor with fleece liner or other bedding materials for extra comfort and safety.
Outdoor hutches usually consist of wood floors. But, you have to ensure it’s made of safe wood for guinea. Stay away from wire mesh floors as they are harmful to guinea pig’s feet.
Flooring material is one of the most important items for a guinea pig’s cage.
Let’s find out what to put on the floor of the guinea pig cage and get reviews on the best flooring materials with their pros and cons.
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Why do you need to floor your guinea pig’s cage?
You need to choose a good flooring for a prebuilt cage or put flooring in an open bottom cage to protect your guinea pig’s feet and give them a comfortable surface.
Here are the reasons for which you need to floor your guinea pig’s cage.
Building a floor for an open bottom cage
Most of the guinea pig’s cage care is open at the bottom. It has only fences.
You cannot put your guinea pigs on the exposed floor of your room. It’s not good for their health and their soft feet.
So, you have to put flooring material on the bottom to build a custom floor for the cage.
This is more important for DIY cages.
Protecting guinea pigs sensitive feet
Guinea pigs’ feet are short and their bones are not so strong. So, they need a soft and comfortable surface to walk on.
Building a floor or having a good floor protects their sensitive paws.
Otherwise, their feet will get hurt and develop an infection or other medical conditions.
Controlling moisture and odor
It’s hard to control moisture and odor in guinea pigs’ cages. If you choose the flooring that isn’t good at these it will make the situation worse.
So, use good flooring which can absorb moisture from pee or poor and control odor.
Check out the best absorbent bedding material for guinea pigs.
Flooring for the solid bottom cage
Some prebuilt solid bottom cages may have a sliding-out bottom while some may not.
Sliding out the bottom is easy to clean the waste and toilets of your guinea pigs from the cage.
But, both types of cages need the flooring to absorb moisture and control odor.
Lining the wire bottom cage
If you have a prebuilt wire bottom cage or a customized cage that consists of a wire bottom top floor, you must cover it with the good flooring material.
The reason is that guinea pigs’ little and sensitive feet can get trapped in the wire spacing or it can hurt their feet while walking or standing. So, you need to make the surface smooth and comfortable for them with flooring.
Though the wire bottom cage allows the mess to go under the bottom, you should make a good floor for their safety.
Making cleaning work easy
Guinea pigs don’t usually want to use a litter box and it’s hard to train them. They can pee and poop anytime and anywhere in the cage.
So, it’s important to choose good flooring so that you can clean it easily.
This can control moisture from the pee or poop and prevent a bad smell.
If you choose a prebuilt cage, you may find a wire bottom cage that allows waste to go underneath the cage.
The floor of the solid bottom cage is like a big little box to solve the problem.
For an open bottom cage, you have to choose bedding and a bottom that’s good at moisture control.
11 Best flooring ideas for Guinea Pig Cages
Here are the top 11 best flooring materials for guinea pigs cage.
1. Coroplast flooring
Coroplast is the most popular flooring material for guinea pigs’ cages. A coroplast or correx sheet is basically a variety of corrugated plastic.
The main reason for people using coroplast is that most guinea pig owners use c&c cages and coroplast is the major component of this cage.
Moreover, this works perfectly as a liner or base for the guinea pig’s cage. This sheet is highly customizable. That means it allows you to cut and score into a suitable size and shape easily.
Not only for that flooring purpose, but you can also use it to make the ramp or cover of a ramp because it can be customized to any shape.
Coroplast is very strong, sturdy, and easy to clean. You can also take the sheet out of the cage to clean it properly.
The price of this product is reasonable. However, assembling the sheets need a little bit of time and effort. But, it’s worth your time and money.
Use fleece bedding to cover it and make it comfortable for guinea pigs. If your guinea pig tries to chew the edges of the correx sheet, cover that with a PVC trim.
Find all the answers to your queries about coroplast from our other article.
Our recommended product
Midlee Corrugated Plastic Cage Liner
2. PVC canvas flooring
PVC canvas bottom is another widely used flooring material for guinea pigs cage as a Midwest Guinea Habitat is very popular among owners for indoor cages and PVC canvas is used for flooring of this cage.
Midwest includes this canvas with the cage and you can also order it separately if you need it.
This flooring material is made of durable, leak-proof, and PVC-lined materials. So, it’s easy to clean and also comfortable for your piggy’s sensitive feet.
However, I suggest you use fleece bedding over it for extra comfort and protection.
Another important this about this flooring is that it’s chew-proof. So, you don’t have to worry too much as you do about other flooring materials.
You can set up the canvas easily and remove it anytime you want to clean it.
Though PVC canvas bottom works best with Midwest guinea habitat, you can’t use this canvas for other cages because you can’t cut it to any size you want.
This product is a good value for money.
Our recommended product
Canvas Bottom for Guinea Pig Habitat
3. Fleece flooring
Fleece is one of the best and most popular lining materials for guinea pig cages. You can use it on the floor of the cage to give your guinea pigs comfort and extra softness as they love it.
Some fleece requires to have another liner at the bottom of the cage. Coroplast is the best liner to be used under the fleece.
However, if you choose a good quality fleece, you may not need to put other liners or an absorbing layer under it.
An example of this kind of fleece is GuineaDAD fleece. It can absorb moisture and can control odor nicely. You can also clean this flooring material easily.
Fleece bedding is very soft and dust-free which is friendly and safe for guinea pigs.
Though fleece flooring has a little bit high initial cost, it is reusable, washable, and worth the money.
Our recommended product
GuineaDad Liner – Midwest Size, Blue | Guinea Pig Fleece Cage Liners
4. Plastic flooring
If you get a prebuild cage for your guinea pigs, you can expect to have a plastic cage bottom on it. This is commonly used for this type of cage and is good for guinea pigs.
Plastic flooring doesn’t hurt your guinea pig’s sensitive paws or cause any health problems and therefore, it’s safe for them.
As it’s made of waterproof plastic and has a smooth surface, urine, poop, and dirt don’t stick on the surface. So, it’s very easy to clean.
You can clean this plastic floor easily with a cage cleaner that’s safe for your little piggies and a cloth.
However, it’s important to cover this floor with enough bedding material because it’s slippery and bedding material can slide all over the place.
Sliding bedding prevents piggies from walking freely and scares them. You can use newspaper sheets on the bottom of the floor to prevent this.
5. Newspaper flooring
Newspaper is a very commonly used flooring material for guinea pig cages. An interesting fact is that it can be used with any kind of bedding.
A thick layer of newspaper sheets absorbs moisture extremely well and works great as flooring.
When you use it at the bottom of the cage to make the floor, it’s completely safe for guinea pigs because top layers such as bedding materials prevent them from coming in direct contact with it.
But, you have to make sure that there is no exposed portion of the newspaper from any corner of the cage. In that case, they may try to chew the paper which can be dangerous for their health due to the ink.
But, usually, guinea pigs don’t chew on the paper. Try to know about the nature of your piggies.
You can also use inkless and plain paper if you need extra protection. But, the newspaper is better at absorbing moisture, and that makes it a great liner.
Use the newspaper sheet as flooring instead of the shredded newspaper as those come in more contact with guinea pigs.
Moreover, you can replace the newspaper anytime you want and you don’t have to spend any money on that.
But, it should be fresh and have almost zero dust. Dust is bad for guinea pigs’ respiratory systems.
Read my article on shredded newspaper for guinea pigs.
6. Linoleum flooring
Sheets of linoleum can be used for the guinea pig’s cage floor as it creates a great base for the cage.
If you are looking for an alternative to coroplast, it can be a good choice.
Moreover, you can find linoleum sheets more easily than coroplast. Besides, it’s cheaper in price.
Setting up the base is also very easy. Just cut a sheet to the perfect size and put it on the floor of the cage.
Take help from some clips or sealer that’s safe for your piggies to seal the corner of the sheet.
Not only that, it’s much easier to clean and maintain. You have to spend less time doing maintenance work.
You can also put this sheet over the base of the floor that’s made of wood. This will give extra protection.
However, you have to be careful that your guinea pigs don’t chew and swallow a piece of it. You can cover the edge with a good bedding material to prevent this from happening.
7. Shower curtain flooring
If you want something that’s extremely easy to find, a shower curtain can be a great option for you.
You may not need to buy a new product if you already have an unused or extra shower curtain. Just make sure it’s clean.
You can also cut it easily to a preferred size and shape to use as the base of the cage.
As it’s made for use in a shower, it’s also very easy to clean.
However, you can consider using newspapers over the curtain to provide additional protection.
Use fleece as bedding on this base to prevent your guinea pigs from coming in direct contact with it.
This is because some guinea pigs may like to chew or eat it.
8. Plastic tablecloth flooring
Plastic table cloths are another very easy-to-find material that you can use to line the floor of the guinea pig’s cage.
It’s also very cheap and you don’t need to get a designed table class for this purpose.
When choosing a plastic tablecloth you should ensure that it’s thick.
It’s also available in various sizes and you can cut it easily as it’s needed for the cage.
It works effectively because it’s made of plastic which is waterproof. Cleaning work is so easy.
You can also use an old plastic tablecloth if you have one. But, it must be intact and should be cleaned.
If you think it’s not enough as the base of the cage, you can also use another liner with it to provide extra support from our list.
After putting the plastic tablecloth on the floor, place fleece over it for the comfort of your guinea pigs.
9. Waterproof drop cloth flooring
Dropcloth can be a great way to line the cage. Usually, a drop cloth is used to prevent paint from getting on the floor while painting.
You can take advantage of this product for your Guinea pigs cage.
But you cannot use any kind of drop cloth. Make sure it’s waterproof.
You cannot use paper drop cloths as it doesn’t prevent moisture. It also needs to be replaced every day.
You can get a waterproof drop cloth easily from a paint store. It’s durable and reusable. You can also clean it quite easily.
Prepare it with a proper size for the floor of the cage, put it on the floor, and cover it with fleece bedding.
10. Mattress liners or pads flooring
Waterproof mattress liners or cotton mattress pads work great as the flooring material for the guinea pig cage.
Cotton mattress pads may be a better option because they have a great absorbing capacity and can control moisture extremely well.
This mattress pad is also great as an absorbing layer for the Guinea pigs cage. It’s also reusable and washable.
On the other hand, waterproof mattress liners may require an extra absorbing layer. However, it also serves the purpose of a lining material really well.
Mattress liners work great with fleece bedding on the top floor of the cage.
11. Tarpaulin
Tarpaulin or a tarp is a good flooring material for a guinea pig’s cage. It’s usually made out of plastic and very strong compared to similar products. Moreover, it’s waterproof.
One sheet of tarp is very large. So, you can buy one piece and use it for the guinea pig’s cage floor. You can even prepare the edge of the cage with the same sheet.
Normally a tarp is used to protect the car from bad weather. It’s also used to provide additional protection for the garden.
Tarpaulin is readily available and one can get it anytime from a local or online store.
The price is variable, you can buy a cheaper variety to line the cage. It can even be cheaper than coroplast.
Just like other flooring materials, you can put an absorbent layer and fleece bedding over this liner.
Flooring options for outdoor guinea pig hutch or enclosure
Here are the best flooring ideas for outdoor hutches or enclosure
Wood flooring
Wood flooring is commonly used for the outdoor guinea pig’s hutch. As you have to put the enclosure outside, a wooden floor is more suitable for that.
However, any kind of wood flooring is not safe for Guinea pigs’ health. You have to choose a wooden hutch that does not contain any harmful ingredients for Guinea pigs.
Make sure that it doesn’t have any automatic oils or isn’t made of softwood.
Woods that are safe for guinea pigs flooring are aspen, Kiln-dried white pine, linden, poplar, basswood, and weeping willow.
The drawback of this wood flooring is that it’s not so easy to clean. However, it depends on the type of wood from which it’s made.
Besides, it’s not good for moisture-controlling as it soaks the urine or water. It is hard to clean. This leads to a bad smell and stains over time that can’t be removed easily.
A wood flooring can also build up mold that’s harmful to your Guinea pigs.
You can use newspaper as a liner and safe to use wood shavings as the bedding for your guinea pigs to make it better.
Grass flooring
Grass flooring is only effective for guinea pigs’ outdoor enclosures. You shouldn’t consider getting grass from somewhere and spreading it on the cage floor.
When you place an outdoor hutch in your garden or backyard, you can keep them on the ground with the natural grass.
But, make sure that those grasses aren’t chemically treated or don’t contain any fertilizers, pesticides, or animal toilets.
For an indoor cage, you can use hay for the floor, but it’s not good as bedding due to poor absorbing capacity.
Newspaper flooring
Just like indoor guinea pig cages, you can use newspaper flooring for the outdoor enclosures.
Newspaper works great for guinea pig hutch floor covering.
But, make sure it does not remain exposed to guinea pics directly.
The reason is if they decide to chew on the newspaper, it can be dangerous for their health due to the ink of the paper.
However, if you use wood shavings as the bedding, you can definitely use newspaper under it.
Concrete flooring
Another flooring option for the outdoor enclosure is concrete flooring. Many people believe that this flooring helps keep nails short of the little piggies.
But, it’s not completely right. You will still need to trim their nails from time to time.
Concrete flooring is nibble-proof. That means your guinea pig won’t chew on it.
However, concrete flooring is not good for their sensitive feet.
This is rough and uncomfortable for them. Their feet get hurt continuously from the concrete. It can also cause an infection of the feet called bumblefoot.
So, you can use this flooring only temporarily, or if it’s possible you don’t use this kind of flooring.
Another problem is the heating issue. Concrete can store a high amount of heat and release that fast. During the day it can get too hot and at night it can get too cold.
But, you can still use concrete flooring if you cover it completely with enough comfortable bedding materials such as wood shavings.
Factors to be considered while choosing guinea pig floor
Here are the things that you should consider before getting flooring for a guinea pig cage.
Safe for guinea pigs
The contents of the floor must be safe for guinea pigs’ health. Ensure that it doesn’t contain any harmful substances such as aromatic wood oils or dust.
Comfortable for guinea pigs feet
Guinea pigs only have feet that are short and sensitive. So, you have to ensure that the flooring material doesn’t hurt their paws.
Smooth surface
As piggies’ feet are so strong and bones are delicate, you have to provide them with a smooth surface so that they can walk and move freely.
Moisture control
You have to choose a flooring that’s waterproof such as plastic. It should control moisture to prevent building up germs and foul smells. Besides, it shouldn’t soak moisture like some wooden floorings.
Space for bedding materials
The floor or base of the guinea pig’s cage should have enough space to hold the bedding material. Bedding material is so important to keep them safe and healthy.
Check out the best fleece, wood, and paper bedding for your piggies.
Ease of cleaning
The flooring material should allow you to keep it clean easily.
Flooring to avoid for guinea pigs cage
You cannot use certain types of flooring because guinea pigs’ feet aren’t so sensitive and they are temperature sensitive.
Soft or aromatic wood flooring
You cannot use wood flooring that contains harmful substances to guinea pigs.
Aromatic oils of some wood such as cedar or soft pine wood cause respiratory tract problems and even death.
So, avoid soft resinous, or aromatic wood flooring.
Moreover, some woods are chemically treated. Those are also not suitable for your piggies.
Wire mesh flooring
As guinea pigs’ feet are small and not so sturdy, a wire bottom floor isn’t preferable for them.
Their little paws can get trapped in the holes of the bottom and injure them seriously.
Besides, walking on these surfaces will injure their feet continuously and cause bumblefoot. It can also break their bones because it’s very delicate.
Even if you use these bottoms, make sure you cover them with other flooring materials and enough bedding.
Metal flooring
A directly exposed metal floor is not good for guinea pigs. They can’t grip this slippery surface and therefore face trouble in walking.
Moreover, it absorbs heat a lot and makes the surface too hot. Then, when the weather gets cool, it releases the heat quickly and makes the surface cold. This is bad for guinea pigs’ health.
It gets worse if you choose this flooring for the outdoor hutch.
Because of these drawbacks, guinea pigs owners don’t usually use metal flooring.
Wet Grass
You can let your guinea pigs out on the grass without any issue. But, if the grass flooring is wet, you must avoid it.
If they stay on wet grass for a long time, their body will get wet. This will cause hypothermia and even death, as they are temperature sensitive.
Moreover, Wet grass may build up mold that’s not good for their health.
Takeaways
You always choose a floor for your guinea pigs that is great at controlling moisture, comfortable, safe, and easy to clean. However, you should always put good bedding to cover the floor and give your guinea pigs a safer and more friendly environment.
