My family is getting a chinchilla from a shelter in a few weeks and I have some questions about them. Can I use a 100% polyester fleece blanket for bedding instead of shaving or other bedding? If so, how often should it be washed? If I can use a blanket can I place a bowl in the area that the chinchilla uses to go to the bathroom to use as a litter box, like you can with rabbits? Will it chew on the blanket or anything? How often should it have a dust bath and for how long? How often do you need to buy chinchilla dust? After it has a dust bath can I reuse the dust that it left over or do I have to throw it away? Do they need hay or just chinchilla food? If they need hay, how much and how often? Do they need things to chew on and if so, what? Can they chew on wood or do they need specific things?
Can I use a blanket for chinchilla bedding?
- Thread starter BlueRoo
- Start date
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A lot of people use fleece for their cage liners with no problem. Whether the chin chews on it is another issue. Some of my chins don't bother them, some destroy them. It just depends on the chin. Washing it depends on the chin. If it pees on the liner, you will need to wash more frequently. They do not absorb like shavings do, so probably every couple days. Also depends on how dirty it gets with hay and poop. If your chin will use a litter box, that might help with the frequency issue, but again it will depend on how clean your chin keeps his/her cage.
You can reuse the dust until it gets dirty. You can buy a fine strainer, like for sifting sand through, and clean it out after each use. If you don't leave it in the cage for extended periods of time, it won't get horribly dirty anyway.
If you take the time to read through the new chin owner section, all of your questions should be answered there and you can take down notes. The chin diet and nutrition section is invaluable when preparing to bring home a new chin. It also discusses what types of wood are safe. Good luck!
You can reuse the dust until it gets dirty. You can buy a fine strainer, like for sifting sand through, and clean it out after each use. If you don't leave it in the cage for extended periods of time, it won't get horribly dirty anyway.
If you take the time to read through the new chin owner section, all of your questions should be answered there and you can take down notes. The chin diet and nutrition section is invaluable when preparing to bring home a new chin. It also discusses what types of wood are safe. Good luck!
Most of the answers you are looking for can be found in the following links...
Bringing home your new chinchilla
Things every chinchilla owner should know
Chinchilla basics
Those links and others can be found here
Chin FAQ MASTER LIST it's a great place to start.
As for the fleece blanket for bedding, there are a few thing to keep in mind. First it's best to use polar or no pill fleece. You can litter train them, but only for their pee, and for some it can take a lot time and patients. Some chins chew on fleece some don't, but if yours does, you have to remove it and use something else for bedding (pine, aspen, etc).
Bringing home your new chinchilla
Things every chinchilla owner should know
Chinchilla basics
Those links and others can be found here
Chin FAQ MASTER LIST it's a great place to start.
As for the fleece blanket for bedding, there are a few thing to keep in mind. First it's best to use polar or no pill fleece. You can litter train them, but only for their pee, and for some it can take a lot time and patients. Some chins chew on fleece some don't, but if yours does, you have to remove it and use something else for bedding (pine, aspen, etc).
breevass
Well-known member
Just an FYI about getting a chin from a shelter or an abused one from a pet store. They do require a lot more work/1 on 1 attention. And you never know what could set them off if they were previously abused. It's certainly a learning process and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and DO YOUR RESEARCH. 
