What is best for lining the bottom of a southern flying squirrels cage?

[Laura Wingfield]

Hay, wood chips, sawdust....? What is best for lining the bottom of my little guy's cage? I want to keep his enclosure as natural and native as possible. "Sir Walter Ricochet Lightning Feather Tail" awaits any and all replies. Thanks!

[island rehabber]

Hay, wood chips, sawdust....? What is best for lining the bottom of my little guy's cage? I want to keep his enclosure as natural and native as possible. "Sir Walter Ricochet Lightning Feather Tail" awaits any and all replies. Thanks!

Welcome, Laura and Sir Walter etc! :grin3 Love that name.
I am no flyer expert, only raised and released one (and a couple-three hundred grey squirrels), but I used Carefresh bedding for all. Yes it's pricey, but you can get a store brand and save a few bucks, still having the odor control and absorbency of the recycled paper. It's 3-4 days before you have to clean out the corners where they pee, and then only need to replace that corner so it really is economical in the long run. :great
You can also use dry leaves, but I would microwave them for at least 20 seconds first to kill any microbes, etc.

[CritterMom]

Your flyer will spend approximately .0000000001% of it's time on the bottom of any cage. Spend your time giving him stuff to climb and a place to "nest" at the highest spot in the cage, and the bottom will only be where the poops and food fall!

[Chickenlegs]

“Jabba” has fleece lining the bottom of his cage. It has a tray under wire so bedding just wouldn’t do much—cept put even more crap on the floor. Everything else in his house is for playing, his big cube, his basket, his ramp, his box full of fleece squares—all for playing, nesting, hiding stuff. He gets a stick too but his stick is currently toothpicks so till i find another good stick he is stickless. Fleece works for me because it’s washable.