Bedding Options

[kaytlinnn]

Hello! So I posted a while ago in the new chin owner forum with about 500 questions about housing/keeping chins. As of yet I don't have any, and I won't be getting any until at least October, but more likely not until December (which is really killing me. Now that I know I'm going to get them, I want them now! lol). The reason for this is that I'm going to college in August and I made a deal with my parents: if I wait until christmas break to get the chins, they will help pay for it. My mom wants me to actually experience living in a dorm first before making a decision to get a pet. And before you ask, yes I'm allowed to have chins in a dorm room, and yes I have already run it by my roommate and she's 100 percent cool with it.

In my head I've already thought of the system I'm going to use. I plan on getting a FN and using the single unit while I'm in the dorm. At my parents house I'll use whatever cage I get the chins in (since my parents are paying, I will most likely be getting CL chins. I don't mind, I actually feel like I could give them a better home. I cringe when people advertise them and include their exercise balls or talk about all the fruits and veggies they get). I'm going to redo the cage the best I can, but they would only live in it for the weekends/week long breaks. For summer and the long breaks, I would be taking the FN with me and adding the second level to it.

So the point of this whole post is about the bedding. I've seen several options that seem awesome! I know pine bedding/shavings are out for me. They make too much of a mess and its hard to dispose of them in a dorm room. I'm strongly considering fleece, in addition to potty training them (if I can) so that hopefully I can do laundry once a week rather than every three days. I have to use a communal laundromat which is thankfully only one flight of stairs away, but I have to pay about 2 dollars every time I want to wash something. 4 dollars a week just for chin stuff, not including my own clothes, is going to add up fast. Plus, I feel a little weird washing stuff with pee and hay bits on it. I don't want the other residents to judge me/be upset about it. Also, I've heard that fleece can start to smell after a few days. Is this only if they pee on it? If they're peeing in their litter box, would that significantly cut down on the smell? A dorm room isn't large and so cutting down smell is a must. On that same train of thought, are things like febreeze or those plug in air freshener things toxic to chins? I'm not planning on febreezing their cage or anything lol, but I was wondering if having that stuff in the same room would bother them.

Another option for bedding is tiling. Is this method very hard? We have a discount hardware store near us that would sell the tiles pretty cheap. My thoughts on this is that the daily clean up would be much easier, just sweep up the poop every day, no laundry at all. Weekly wipe downs with vinegar and water. Hopefully I can litter train them! But what if the chins don't litter train? Do I have to use fleece bedding over it? Would tiles be hard to remove and bring with me to a dorm? will the chins be uncomfortable on the hard surface? I will still have some fleece hammocks and tubes and such, but I would feel bad seeing them sleep on a hard surface. How is the smell with tile? Do you notice that pee gets caught and makes it stink? Or is it much more odorless?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Cass C]

In the topic of fleece I know a lot of people why use laundry bags or pillow cases that are tied at the end to wash the fleece to stop hay from getting in the washer. I use marble tiles on the upper layer of my cage and they are super easy to clean I just wipe down the tiles once a week with a wet cloth and dry them completely. If you have somewhere else to put the chinchillas while you clean you can even get a cheap shop vac and just vacuum out the poop, a lot of other vacuums don't have enough suction to vaccum up hay and poop. You can also use a broom but that leaves dust in the cage more than a vaccum would.

 

[kaytlinnn]

Thank you! I didn't even think about getting one of those laundry bags! The only thing is that I would rather wait and do laundry once a week rather than every three days. Maybe I could put the used fleece in an airtight container like a plastic shopping bag and wash them at the end of the week? But the laundry bag idea is great. I would feel so much better about washing stuff if I knew that I wasn't doing damage to the communal washers. Plus, people won't know whats in the bag lol.

I'm still definitely considering tiles though because I think its such an easier cleanup and less laundry! Since I would be getting the chins over christmas break it would give me a month to experiment with different options before I go back to school. It also gives me time to determine if the chins would be potty trained or not, because if they aren't then I will obviously be using fleece!

 

[Smidgeyy]

I wash my fleece every few weeks.

My liners are changed weekly but I put the dirty ones in a bag. Once there is enough liners to make a load, I wash them. I haven't had an issue with smell yet. :]

I also shake mine outside before washing them... That gets most of the bits off of it.

 

[kaytlinnn]

So the dirty liners don't start to smell after a few weeks? If they don't, then thats awesome! Dorms are small so like I said in my original post, I'm very worried about smell. I personally don't really have a problem with a slight smell to the room, but I know that most people DO care, like my roommate and anyone who wants to visit the room. I'm not working during college, so I'm saving up my money now. I have to make it stretch the whole semester until I can come back and work during breaks. Doing less laundry means I can spend money on other things, or save it.

 

[Smidgeyy]

I haven't noticed any smell... The bag I use is a scented garbage bag and I tie it shut.

My chins are also litter trained(one is, the other misses the box but at least he makes an effort) so that cuts back on the smell. I usually wash every 2-3 weeks.

 

[Amethyst]

One thing not mentioned about in this thread yet about fleece, if the chin chews it you can't use it in the cage at all. Fleece is the only chin safe fabric, but only if they don't eat it, it can still cause a blockage if enough is swallowed. Most chins don't chew fleece but some do.

 

[kaytlinnn]

Thank you for the tips! It's awesome to know that the liners can be kept for longer and washed all at once and it won't be as disgusting as it sounds! lol. You must have a ton of liners if you wash them every 2-3 weeks!

As far as the whole chewing thing goes. I'm going to have poo guards so if it comes down to it, I can easily make the switch to bedding. Or tile, if they're potty trained.