Some pictures of my cage setup

[tunes]

Aside from the obviously unsafe wheels, several of those cages are also not baby safe. The openings are too wide, a kit could easily escape through them and be lost.

The ones on the left are not bad, and the Demar type in the middle are okay, but all the ones on the right 2 columns are not safe for kits. Anything with more than a 1/2 x 1 inch opening is not kit safe.

 

[kathiva]

I can't imagine having to clean all of those cages! I have six cages and find that enough! How do you do it??????? All in one day? a few a day?
how long does it take??? What kind of routine do you have?

It takes me about 2 to 3 hours, even a bit more when I have to sweep all the shavings and put them in the garbage bag, and clean everything up, it does take me quite a while because I desinfect each tray every time I clean the cages. I clean my cages once a week, and I try to clean them all at once, even though I am tired, I tried my best, and if I can't, I try to leave maybe one or two cages left to clean, that I clean the next day.

 

[kathiva]

Aside from the obviously unsafe wheels, several of those cages are also not baby safe. The openings are too wide, a kit could easily escape through them and be lost.

The ones on the left are not bad, and the Demar type in the middle are okay, but all the ones on the right 2 columns are not safe for kits. Anything with more than a 1/2 x 1 inch opening is not kit safe.

Yeah, I know, the ones in the right I don't use them for babies, I use them for the adults, and the ones on the left side, I use them for pregnant females that are about to deliver so they give birth there. Those cages don't have ledges, and they are not so so small, so they are pretty good for them in terms of espace. If you can see, the chin that is trying to escape in the picture, Misty, I have her there because she is going to give birth soon, maybe a month or less, so she is with her kits there, and maybe later, I might move her to a bit bigger cage, like the 18 inch tall ones,
I don't have so many maternity cages, since I don't have so many babies born at once, maybe 3 or so, now, I only have one litter of babies that were born, not any other ones yet.

The red cage in the right though, that is the only one that I have used for kits, as it is less tall than the others, and have the small spacing, the bigger ones, I would never use them for babies, they could fall.

 

[RDZCRanch]

No, I don't have any of those wheels with kits,
I do have only one flying saucer, which it is in the purple cage on the right side, which it fits, but it fits just right, and that flying saucer fits just right in the other 2 by 2 cages too and there is space only for a wooden hut in the purple cage, and for the other ones, there is only space for the food dishes, no wood huts, but since the metal wheels fit just right in my cages, what other wheels would you recommend? are the chin spins too big as well? I've never had one to really know

You don't NEED wheels. The white wire wheel is extremely dangerous for ANY chinchillas, kits or adults. This should not be new information to you at all. A quick search of "wheel" will show numerous threads saying what wheels are bad and which wheels aren't. The wodent wheel you have in the cage above the purple cage with the flying saucer needs to be dumped. The chinchilla in the cage with that wheel is bigger than the wheel! Any wheel that is plastic or wire is a big no.

Also, what are those two red hammocks at the top made out of? Those do not look like fleece. In case you also missed this basic care instruction, fleece is the only safe material. Whether the chins chew it or not, they should only have access to fleece.

 

[jamanalo]

On a personal note, as a breeder, I would never invite people to see my animals in cages like that. It looks very crowded as well as many unsafe items.
Kathiva you keep throwing in excuses, and how you admit you did wrong, that you will change the wheel right away, etc. Before you continue breeding, I think everyone will agree; you have lots and lots to learn. Just the basics, of wheels, kits and playtime, etc.
Your chinchilla room is very cluttered, ask any rancher, a big factor in breeding for quality is airflow and ventilation. If you say that you have show animals, and you want to breed for that, reorganizing of your "stuff" may be necessary.
If you couldnt get a room big enough, scale down on what you can own and keep. Maybe you have too many animals to handle. You said yourself, cleaning is tiresome that you will wait on cages for the next day. The only think that is effected is the chinchilla in that it will need to live in a dirty cage one more day. I'm not trying to be degrading, but I'm just stating the obvious.
Not sure if everyone on the forum here knows, but in Canada, animal hoarding is at an all time high.

 

[RDZCRanch]

On a personal note, as a breeder, I would never invite people to see my animals in cages like that. It looks very crowded as well as many unsafe items.

I hope you don't use runs then...because runs look a heck of a lot more cramped and don't have any toys or "stimulation" for the chins. Those make a bad impression on pet people more than anything else.

Kathiva you keep throwing in excuses, and how you admit you did wrong, that you will change the wheel right away, etc. Before you continue breeding, I think everyone will agree; you have lots and lots to learn. Just the basics, of wheels, kits and playtime, etc.

This is a subject that is more than a little dead. Kathiva will either breed or she won't, continually bringing this up and upsetting members of the forum does nothing.

Your chinchilla room is very cluttered, ask any rancher, a big factor in breeding for quality is airflow and ventilation. If you say that you have show animals, and you want to breed for that, reorganizing of your "stuff" may be necessary.

I do not see how she would have a problem with air flow or ventilation into her cages. They are all wire and there is a good amount of space between each cage. It may not be the ideal set up because of the mismatched cages, but that by no means makes it a horrible set up.

If you couldnt get a room big enough, scale down on what you can own and keep. Maybe you have too many animals to handle. You said yourself, cleaning is tiresome that you will wait on cages for the next day. The only think that is effected is the chinchilla in that it will need to live in a dirty cage one more day. I'm not trying to be degrading, but I'm just stating the obvious.
Not sure if everyone on the forum here knows, but in Canada, animal hoarding is at an all time high.

I don't know about you...but I have over 50 cages to clean here every week. It wears me out. Does that mean I should have less chinchillas to the point that it doesn't wear me out to clean? If a chinchilla goes one day longer with a slightly dirty cage, it is not the end of the world. The big thing is that the cages are cleaned each week. The room does not look too small for the cages by any means, she's keeping them on one wall and that may just be more efficient for her. You aren't bringing up or arguing any valid points...it seems like you are just attacking Kathiva to attack an easy target. It's not helping her learn.

 

[tunes]

Jordan - Why do you insist on following Kathiva around and commenting on her posts as though you are God's gift to chins? You aren't all that experienced and all knowing either. Us "old timers" remember you quite well from CnQ and we know your experience level.

Lay off and stop hunting her answers looking for reasons to pick. This is becoming a common theme and it's starting to irritate me. If you actually HAVE something constructive to say that's fine, but everything you posted above is complete crap.

It would seem to me if you have time to dedicate to chastising Kathiva, you would also have time to fulfill orders that you have left hanging?

 

[momenteller]

Kathiva, I just want to say that although you may still have more to learn (as most of us do) I appreciate that you stick around and keep asking questions.

 

[starleomach]

This seems like a very dangerous set up all around.
not baby safe, any cage with a female in it should be baby safe, as there can be pregnant females that do not show signs of pregnancy, the wheels are not safe and frankly breeding animals should not have wheels, growing animals should not either as it can stunt their growth...I learned that the hard way last year when I had a bunch of gals grow up in my 1 cage with a wheel I ended up with lean muscular chinchillas...not so good at a show.

And

Most of my cages are 2x2x2, which I like using for 2 o 3 chins,

2x2x2 is the minimum requirement for 1 chinchilla, you may be able to get 2 in there with shelves and if you clean 2-3 times a week, but 3 is tooo many.

 

[kathiva]

Oh, I never knew of the wheels would be bad for breeding chinchillas and that could be muscular in the end, thanks for letting me know
As to the size, I didn't think that it would be so bad, I have mostly two chinchillas in each cage, I maybe have one trio or two, but that's it.
I actually those big cages don't use them for the babies or for the pregnant females, I use the ones on the right side, which I use when I think that a female starts showing a bump, I would put her there,

but then I wonder, how could I have breeding females in big cages because they need it, since you said that my cages should be bigger than 2 feet tall, and then it's not good because the females could already be pregnant and deliver in the big cages that are not safe for kits? I don't really understand what would be the perfect solution for this.

 

[starleomach]

Those cages to the left look smaller than the carriers I use for 1 animal. If chinchillas do not have adiquate space you will have poor airflow and your set up is just waiting for an illness to go through and wipe out your animals. Frankly I would be embarassed to have someone come by and see my chinchilla room set up like that.

Also each of your cages is so different it makes cleaning a nightmare I have 40 some cages many of them large colony cages and even now 34 weeks pregnant I can usually get them all clean in one night. It takes me 3 hours now only because I move so slow and now stop to rest. when I was moving quicker I got cages done in about an hour and a half.

How do you wash pans most of those look like you would have to unstack them to scrub them down good? what happens if you get hit by a virus? it will wipe out all your animals. It just looks cluttered and cramped. I am not against breeding runs and smaller cages I have a breeding run and I use holding pens for the animals I am growing out and such but IMPO your cages are too small and crowded and it may cause health issues.

Over crowd your chinchilla room and animals will start dying, babies will die and adults. That looks over crowded to me

 

[kathiva]

no, they are pull out trays

 

[monarch]

Those cages to the left look smaller than the carriers I use for 1 animal. If chinchillas do not have adiquate space you will have poor airflow and your set up is just waiting for an illness to go through and wipe out your animals. Frankly I would be embarassed to have someone come by and see my chinchilla room set up like that.

Also each of your cages is so different it makes cleaning a nightmare I have 40 some cages many of them large colony cages and even now 34 weeks pregnant I can usually get them all clean in one night. It takes me 3 hours now only because I move so slow and now stop to rest. when I was moving quicker I got cages done in about an hour and a half.

How do you wash pans most of those look like you would have to unstack them to scrub them down good? what happens if you get hit by a virus? it will wipe out all your animals. It just looks cluttered and cramped. I am not against breeding runs and smaller cages I have a breeding run and I use holding pens for the animals I am growing out and such but IMPO your cages are too small and crowded and it may cause health issues.

Over crowd your chinchilla room and animals will start dying, babies will die and adults. That looks over crowded to me

I dont see how this set up is any more over crowded than owning runs or colonies. The only difference I see here is the installation of hammocks and wheels. She already agreed that she can take the wheels off. What else seems to be the problem?

 

[RDZCRanch]

I dont see how this set up is any more over crowded than owning runs or colonies. The only difference I see here is the installation of hammocks and wheels. She already agreed that she can take the wheels off. What else seems to be the problem?

I think she started out meaning to say by number of chins per cage, it's a little crowded.

That being said, again I do not see how she can have a problem with ventilation or air flow. Her cages are ALL wire. If those cages do not get enough air flow, then runs sure as heck get horrible air flow and my chinchillas should be dead right now. The cages are mismatched, but the mismatched cages being less pleasing to the eye in no way makes this set up a disaster waiting to happen. When I started with chins, I probably had a different cage for every chinchilla. I also don't see how an illness is more of a problem with this set up than with any other set up. I have runs and other cages and if an illness hits...my solution is always the same. Treat the WHOLE herd because that is all you can do. Anyone with multiple chinchillas takes the risk of illness spreading quickly.

As far as number of chinchillas per cage, it could be spread out a bit more. Also, Kathiva...a thing to keep in mind is that most breeders will keep open cages at all times and cages outside of the chinchilla room/barn. I have a separate area completely away from my chinchilla room with a few cages. This is in case of any illness or new chinchillas that I don't trust the source they came from. I can quarantine if need be and I can do it immediately without scrambling around to set up cages. You also need extra cages IN the room for babies that get weaned or in case of any fights between cage mates.

The biggest thing you need to take care of is hygiene. With the cages how they are and the number of chinchillas in each of your cages, you should clean once a week or sooner if you smell ammonia. If you smell ammonia, the chins are smelling it 10 times worse and it can cause health problems. That is the only thing I see to be concerned about...and that concern goes with ANY set up.

 

[ETC]

Tab it is so nice to hear constructive criticism....people learn from that, and don't take it personally. So many people on here seem to "attack" people who are learning, which can sometimes shy them away from seeking help or advice. It also could make them defensive, thus resulting in a "bashing" thread.
Being a teacher, I really like the way your advice is formatted, with a new topic per paragraph so each point is clearly stated....

 

[kathiva]

I also use a dehumidifier, I know it helps with the humidity, but does it help with the air flow in the room? just wondering

As to the wheels, I don't know if you thought I had the wheels that had white bars where chins can have their feet stuck in there, I actually wanted to show the kind of wheel that I have, so you see, I know it should be better than those ones that you mention, but would these ones still be bad? let me know please

this is my sapphire girl Antonella, that I got from the Ryersons at the Ohio show this past October

As to the 2 red hammocks, I am not so sure what material it is, but it is not fleece that I know, the thing is that I do have all my hammocks made out of fleece except for these two, which I bought them in the meantime, until I am able to place an order with fuzzie's kingdom, which I bought a few sets from there, and my chins really love those hammocks and tubes, but you are right, I will remove those ones too, and leave the chins without hammocks until I get new ones.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Those are wire wheels. They are on the "no" list. Chinchillas have caught their legs in the spokes of the wheel and also gotten toes caught in the mesh wiring that is the running surface of the wheel. It's resulted in death many times for many people so those wheels should all be removed immediately and you can sell them or trash them. If you sell them, please do not sell them to other chinchilla owners, for obvious reasons.

 

[kathiva]

I think she started out meaning to say by number of chins per cage, it's a little crowded.

That being said, again I do not see how she can have a problem with ventilation or air flow. Her cages are ALL wire. If those cages do not get enough air flow, then runs sure as heck get horrible air flow and my chinchillas should be dead right now. The cages are mismatched, but the mismatched cages being less pleasing to the eye in no way makes this set up a disaster waiting to happen. When I started with chins, I probably had a different cage for every chinchilla. I also don't see how an illness is more of a problem with this set up than with any other set up. I have runs and other cages and if an illness hits...my solution is always the same. Treat the WHOLE herd because that is all you can do. Anyone with multiple chinchillas takes the risk of illness spreading quickly.

As far as number of chinchillas per cage, it could be spread out a bit more. Also, Kathiva...a thing to keep in mind is that most breeders will keep open cages at all times and cages outside of the chinchilla room/barn. I have a separate area completely away from my chinchilla room with a few cages. This is in case of any illness or new chinchillas that I don't trust the source they came from. I can quarantine if need be and I can do it immediately without scrambling around to set up cages. You also need extra cages IN the room for babies that get weaned or in case of any fights between cage mates.

The biggest thing you need to take care of is hygiene. With the cages how they are and the number of chinchillas in each of your cages, you should clean once a week or sooner if you smell ammonia. If you smell ammonia, the chins are smelling it 10 times worse and it can cause health problems. That is the only thing I see to be concerned about...and that concern goes with ANY set up.

Oh, yes, I do have a separate area right beside the chin room, which I have if I need to do quarintine, etc. luckily my tenant lets me use it too!

Oh, and yes, I do clean them once a week for sure, and desinfect their cages everytime I clean them, I once read in a chinchilla book that you could clean their cages every week, use newspaper as a liner, but that you could do a thorough clean up, and desinfect every 3 months? Now I understand that you must clean these little guys very good to avoid any diseases.

I also wanted to say that I appreciate your advise, thank you

 

[tunes]

Kristy - Your chin room is pretty cramped too and some of your cages are solid sided aren't they? I can't remember every cage, but I know you have runs, colony cages, wire cages, etc, off the top of my head. Is air flow an issue for you? I would think with Kathiva's cages being like they are, all wire, regardless of how close together they are, you can't help but have air flow because of them being open.

IMO it would be pretty hard to have poor ventilation in a set up like that. It's all on 1 wall, all the cages are wire, and it looks like a decent sized room judging by the wall behind the cages. I still see absolutely nothing wrong with the ventilation issue. Kathiva - If ventilation truly is an issue, try blowing a fan aimed at the floor to to get air flow going. Also, if the room has a window, crack it a bit. Even half an inch will bring in fresh air and help with air flow. I keep a window open almost all year around, even in the coldest winter temps, just to have some fresh air coming in.

As far as different cage, so what? Not everybody has every single cage uniform. Again Kristy, I will bring up your chin room where the cages don't match. There's nothing wrong with that. I still have different size and types of cages even now. Frankly, I use what I can fit where I can fit it.

I'm not seeing where cleaning the cages is a huge issue. Did I miss that somewhere as I skimmed the thread? I don't get all my cages done in a day. Pffft, I would have to own a chiropractor of my very own if I tried to do ALL my cages in a day by myself. The boys and I together (alternating 1 boy and me, never 2 boys together <shudders>) can get all the cages done in about 6 hours, but that's 150+ cages and 3 of us. We work those puppies like an assembly line.

 

[kathiva]

Those are wire wheels. They are on the "no" list. Chinchillas have caught their legs in the spokes of the wheel and also gotten toes caught in the mesh wiring that is the running surface of the wheel. It's resulted in death many times for many people so those wheels should all be removed immediately and you can sell them or trash them. If you sell them, please do not sell them to other chinchilla owners, for obvious reasons.

Ok, will do so, I just wasn't sure if you guys thought that I either had these ones or the ones that had bars, which I know for sure they are extremely dangerous for chins for getting a foot stuck and break, I thought that these ones could be better because it didn't have too much spacing, therefore the chins foot would not get stuck, but I didn't think about the spokes, thanks for letting me know