Granite Tiles for Bedding

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eskinnyy

New member
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
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2
I have seen many people use granite tiles to line the bottom of their chinchilla cages and I am interested in how it works.

Does this only work well for potty trained chinchillas?

I read that people get the tiles sealed in order to make clean up easier. Is that true and how do you do this in a safe way for the chinchilla?

Also, where do people get these tiles?

Are ceramic tiles better or worse to use?

Are there any other negatives or things I should know before switching to this method.

Thanks!
 
If you tile to bottom of the cage there are a few things to keep in mind.

First is weight, granite is heavy, so make sure the cage you have can handle the weight of the tiles. Ceramic is cheaper and lighter, but still does have weight to it. Also tile is hard, so a fall is going to hurt more.

Second is that yes you do need to seal granite tile or it will absorb pee over time, even potty trained chins can have accidents. I don't know for sure but I would think it would be the same as sealing a granite counter top. Depending on the product you need to leave it for 24-48 hours before it's ready for the chin to go back in. Ceramic tile already should be glazed and is water proof as is. You then grout the tiles in place like you would when tiling a floor, and make sure you seal the grout. Other people just put the tile in tightly together, that way they can remove the tiles to clean when needed, but if not trained to pee in a litter box the pee could seep through the cracks.

Third, if your chin is not potty trained you will need to wipe up pee as soon as they pee. Without anything to absorb the pee they will likely step and jump in the pee puddles and get it all over themselves. Even a chin trained to pee in a box is still going to poo everywhere too, so you will still need edging to keep poop and hay inside the cage, some people just tile a pan.

The last thing I can think of, depending on the cage and what tile size you get, you will likely need a tile cutter in order to cut the tile to all fit.

You get tile at any hardware store, depending on the size of the store and what kind of tile you want you may need to order it in though. I know some people will just get whatever is on sale, since you likely aren't tiling a whole room sometimes stores might have an incomplete box or one of discontinued tile that you can get cheap.

Personally I use fleece liners, and I put tiles on top. At any given time I have 2 granite chin chillers along with 4 small ceramic tiles. My chins are not potty trained but still get the cooling benefit of the tiles, with the fleece under it to absorb pee. Though it's likely more work since I have to hand wash the tiles during cage changes.
 
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