[Gpdd] Care--placement of & bedding

[Debbie Ganley]

I have the same size C&C house for Potter & the floor is just fine.  I live in Florida so we have Ac & heat being blown in from ceiling ducts & Potter has never had so much as a sniffle.  The 50x30 house is really too big to be put on a table or stand--it's wonderful tho.  I use pine shavings--there's some controversy about it, but I open the bag when I bring it home to let the aroma out & it's been no problem--I get 2 bags of Nature's Gold Premium Pine Shavings at Walmart for $2.47 each--I totally clean her house once a week with vinegar & water in a spray bottle, & replace all the bedding (usually takes one bag)--every night I scoop the wet stuff & most of the poop & replace the empty areas with fresh bedding.  I tried Care Fresh & hated it--just soaked up the pee & made a mess--Potter wasn't too thrilled with it either, kept lifting her feet out of the wet spots.  She just had surgery 2 weeks ago for a tumor on her tummy, so I used old towels with newspaper underneath so she didn't get bedding in her incision--she didn't mind it, but the towels get really wet, really fast so you have to do laundry every night.  Some people swear by it--I was happy to go back to bedding.

Something interesting about water bottles--we all know to clean them good since pigs slurry--but I read in Dale Selig's book to clean the bottle once a week with hydrogen peroxide & water (equal parts) & rinse them good.  Kills any germs that may have built up.  You can also put uncooked rice & water in the bottle & shake it up--that'll remove any alge that may have built up (but if we're cleaning the bottles, it shouldn't be a problem--ugh!)  Also use a Q-tip in the sipper tube--amazing what can build up in there!  

Good luck with your new baby boy!  Deb & Potter