I have 1 male guinea pig that is housed in this cage. Since they don't necessiarly "go" in one spot it does make it harder to keep clean. The canvas is waterproof of course but in order to not have to scrub the bottom everyother day,i decided to put down newpaper and fleece on top to help pick up the mess on the larger side and put in the Aspen wood bedding on the other side. The bottom doesn't look new anymore but that doesn't affect the use of the cage. I love that the whole top removes for cleaning. Squeekers loves his house, and im happy knowing that he isn't in a cramped cage from the pet store.