Are the bathe houses safe?

Laluvschins · Dec 20, 2012

Hello, I was recently in Pet Smart and was going to purchase the bath houses, I currently have a bath container for my boys but thought a bath house would be more confined on keeping the dust in. However the lady in the store had said that the bath houses have been known to give chins respiratory problems where the houses are more confined. Thought I would run this by you guys and if you had heard this or think it is harmful to chins?? Thanks!

becky12883 · Dec 20, 2012

I think you mean the plastic 5 sided bath houses? I think a lot of people use those. They should be fine as long as you limit the bath to 2-3 times a week and don't leave it in the cage with them all the time. They are pretty expensive, a cheaper option that we found is a candy jar from wal-mart or Target. They are $5-10 and are really easy to clean and keep the dust pretty well contained.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Anchor-Hocking-1-Gal-Penny-Candy-Jar/16486708

Lirana · Dec 20, 2012

If you're talking about this house, it is fine as long as you do like Becky says and don't leave it in their cage. I usually stick it in the cage, Mochi bathes herself (usually less than a minute, closer to 30s), and then I pull it out. By that time, she's "clean." She will go back in and bathe more cause it's fun if I leave it in longer.

Shooper · Dec 20, 2012

I leave mine in the cage for about 10 minutes when they bathe.

Cuddlebug · Dec 20, 2012

They are just fine as long as you only put it in the cage for 10 - 15 minutes and then remove it. If you leave it longer, they will urinate in the dust and chew on the plastic which can cause an impaction in the digestive tract.

Dreamlite · Dec 20, 2012

As long as you don't leaveit in the cage it doesn't cause any problems. I've been using those for 12 yr s with no issues. If you leave them in all the time it can cause uri cause of the urinne in the dust when people don't clean the dust houses. I've seen that in a few rescues but never in a caring pet home.

ticklechin · Dec 21, 2012

One thing that was not mentioned was that if it is left in the cage 24/7 and the surface of the floor is solid it can kill chins, there have been two cases that I know of personally that the chin knocked it over with the chin inside and the exit was cut off and the chin suffocated.

becky12883 · Dec 21, 2012

The ones I had had vent holes in them. My major issue with them was that they were hard to clean, for some reason the textured plastic never seemed clean enough to me.