Messy Chin Needs a New Cage

[PipPipPip]

I'm looking at updating my Chin's cage, and I could really use some advice... This is my first chinchilla, and I don't know all the possibilities out there!

When I adopted Pippin, he came with a cage that looks exactly like this one, except it has a plastic drop pan, not a metal one:

Pip has lived in this cage for his whole life (6-7ish years), and has had no complaints. I, however, hate it. It's a pain to clean since the entire top needs to lifted to get to the tray, it's bulky, it's an eyesore, the small doors make reaching in it a challenge, I scratch myself and tear my clothes on the sharp corners constantly, and I absolutely hate how I can't scrub down the wire like I can the plastic bottom. I would really love to replace it, and I'm looking at the Critter Nation:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3402796

What I like: Big open door, slide out tray, bottom shelf for storage, looks easy to clean.

A few concerns I have... The bottom tray looks very shallow; Pippin already gets his poop and pee all over the carpet, and I worry this cage would not help with that. Would urine guards block "spillage"?

What can I line the bottom pan with? (Using newspaper right now due to shavings allergies and I hate it!) I've seen pictures of cages with fleece, but is that safe? Does that help at all with urine odor? Do chin owners just wash the fleece every so often then? Are puppy pads safe?

Is this cage large enough? I like that it's wide, but I worry Pip would miss those extra 2 levels... I know the cage comes in a larger size, but that's a bit out of my budget.

Finally, Pippin is super messy! There seems to be more pee/poop outside of the cage than inside, even with a urine guard and the deep plastic pan. Are chinchillas normally this messy, or did I just luck out with getting a messy one? I'm used to rabbits, which at least can be litter trained haha. I'm worried that upgrading to a new cage would cause even more issues with cleanliness, which would defeat the main purpose of buying a cage that is easier to maintain...

Sorry for the million questions! I'll be stalking this forum for a while to get some cage inspiration, but I could really use some advice from more experience Chin owners!

 

[~Alex~]

If you have an issue with how much he dumps out of his cage maybe consider building your own cage? From my understanding its fairly inexpensive or within the same price as a cage.

Look on the cage picture thread (its either on pg 1 or 2) and you will see a lot of members have cages they built themselves (or husbands/bfs did) that are wood outside and white on the inside. Try pming one of them Im sure they would love to tell you the materials.

Also on the critter nation I know it only opens on one side. Which may or may not be an inconvenience...Fleece is very safe for a chin as long as the chin does not pull on it a lot or try and eat it. About the odor...your always gonna have it a bit. It seems to get worse in contact with wood but it will work fine. Most people shake them out everyday and wash them once a week or so (so they will usually have like 2 at the least to be able to easily change it out)

Puppy pads are not safe if your chin will be walking on it. I had left over ones and used them because my chin has a wire floor with a slide out pan. Other than that I would not use them!

Chins can be litter trained as well. But Im not sure how well that will work out with the dust allergies.

Also try looking on craigslist you never know what youw ill find!

 

[aaronnaudrey]

Critter Nation

My wife and I are getting our CN in on Wednesday, so I'll be able to weigh in a bit better then.

I will say that in the 10ish hours of research I've done into cages, I've found the that CN's are nothing short of amazing, and other than hand-crafting one specific to your needs, nothing compares. But... that's just me

Like I said, as soon as I get it assembled and whatnot, I'll post pics, vids, etc. I'm going to be ordering an outrageous amount of fleece stuff to fill the cage(s) with, so yeah, hopefully we'll have some nice pics soon.

- Aaron

 

[Daina91880]

I've only had my chins for a few weeks and they've been in their ferret nation for about a week now. I switched to fleece when I moved them. I love the fleece. It's easy and clean and doesnt smell at all. Every day I vacuum the liners with the hose and the brush attachment on my vacuum, and every third day or so, I change the liners and wash them in detergent and vinegar. With only one chin, you could probably wash your liner less often. IMO, its the perfect solution to a shavings allergy, plus it's economical since you resuse them over and over. If t's true that only one side of the critter nation opens, I would suggest getting the FN instead. I was SO excited that I could open the whole front of the cage. It makes everything so easy.

ETA: You can always buy an add on level for the FN at some point when your budget allows you to expand

 

[3chins]

Unless they just changed the Critter Nation cages the whole front opens with 2 doors.
We have 3 stacked [had a double and bought another one to go on top] together for my sons rats. I removed the legs to make it easier to reach.

 

[Shooper]

Both sides do open up, even on new ones. This is an awesome cage! Look at the Ferret Nation cage thread and you will see all kinds of setups. The ONLY difference in the Critter Nation and Ferret Nation is the bar spacing.

 

[Lillybabe]

Shooper, is it not true that the Critter Nation cage is a bit smaller than the Ferret Nation? I thought there was a picture here of someone with them side to side. At any rate one level of a Critter Nation or a Ferret Nation is plenty big enough for a single chinchilla. If you put in several wooden shelves he'll have a field day and more room than with the cage you have. I haven't heard of a male chinchilla peeing outside of the cage that much. When I had my guy's cage next to the wall some would get out... but not after I upgraded cages. Personally I think those wire levels encourage chinchillas to pee down through them from above. When I switched caged I got wooden levels and he hardly ever peed on them and there wasn't pee on the wall anymore (though I also stopped keeping it close to the wall). The girls to my knowledge have never gotten any pee outside of the cage. I have the deep Bass pans though.

 

[jess32247]

I got a Marshall Mansion cage from Petco a few weeks ago for $150 (plus free shipping!) and it's huge, plenty big for a single chin.

Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://www.petco.com/product/104532...og_4-_-Marshall Folding Ferret Mansion-104532

The demesions are 25"w, 54"h, 37"l

The doors are a bit of a problem, the only thing I don't like about them. Not much space under the cage itself either, but I use a bin next to it for storage.


To your other questions, yes fleece is safe. I bought a big peice of fleece at walmart for 4 dollars and just wrap it around the pull out try with a old towel under it. I spot clean daily and wash it every 3 days, the smell is very little. Puppy pads are not safe

You can get mess gaurds for the bottom of the cage or the shelves, I'm not quiete sure who sells them though. Another member will probably know! But I've also seen people who used fleece as bedding, get a extra big peice and pay the sides up so it keeps all the mess inside, if that makes sense. Like instead of wrapping it on the pull out pan, they would leave it flipped up.

Chins are very messy! Mine loves to make a mess outside and inside her cage. I can tell she's smiling at me while I clean up her mess, but she's totally worth it!

 

[~Alex~]

Sorry! I got the cage mixed up with the Fiesty Ferret which only opens on one side! All of them look so similar sometimes! haha