CareFresh/Shavings vs. Fleece Liners

[Eryn]

The Great Bedding Debate of 2012: CareFresh/Shavings vs. Fleece Liners!

I got my chinchilla, Gordy, from a girl who could no longer keep him, and she used pine shavings. I have always been a CareFresh gal myself, so I've started using that instead. Now all I hear about are using fleece liners, this concept is completely new to me. How does it work using fleece liners? What are the pros and cons for both of these types of bedding?

On a related note, when I got Gordy, he was fed Fiesta food by the previous owner. I've slowly transferred him onto Charlie Chinchilla. Oh my gosh. Now he can't get enough of the stuff and poops a lot, and I mean A LOT more than when I first got him. I'm assuming this means he's eating better which makes me very happy! I clean his cage every week, but with the new abundance of Gordy-pellets, should I be cleaning it more frequently? As of now, I've just been picking out the individual droppings, it's tedious, but jeez if I wait a whole week I feel like his bedding would look like its made of poop! Does anyone else do this?

 

[Stackie]

First I am going to address his diet. Charlie Chinchilla is in my opinion the absolute worst feed you can give a chinchilla. The reason he likes it so much is because it is full of unhealthy treats and not enough nutritional pellets. It is basically like handing a kid a plate of candy for supper. His increased pooping is due to the fact that he is ingesting food that his body can not use for nutrition, so it is being excreted as more waste. You want to stay away from any food with vegetables & fruits and definitely raisins- all of which Charlie Chin has. For a healthy chinchilla feed, you want to get something that is only pellets and no treats. Good brands of feed include Oxbow Chinchilla Deluxe (can be found in many pet stores now), Mazuri (can sometimes cause diarrhea, something to watch for), Tradition (vendors on here sell it, some feed stores as well), and some rabbit pellets such as Nutrena Naturewise and Manna Pro Sho.

Now, on to liners. You need to change them out several times a week. I shake them out and wash them in my washing machine. They will save you money in the long run, especially if you're using Carefresh- that stuff is expensive. The downside is you need to clean more often. You can attempt to potty train a chin, but they may not take to it or use the potty pan 100% of the time.

 

[Shooper]

I vacccum the poos off my liners every other day and usually wash the liners once a week. My boys all use a litter pan (thank goodness). I like the liners because it put an end to the shavings on the floor all around the cage.

 

[Eryn]

Thanks so much for the tips on his food!! I will definitely get that switched. I think I will try the Oxbow brand you suggested. I'm glad you addressed that. With the liners, I don't mind cleaning more at all. Are the liners just basically a sheet of non-pill fleece or is it an actual liner with an elastic edge? How do you assemble it in the cage? I've never seen one. I got him a litter pan a few weeks ago and he used it wonderfully (as long as I emptied it each night). However, since his food switched all **** has broken loose. Maybe after he gets moved to Oxbow he'll start using it more regularly again. That would be nice!

Thanks all!

 

[Stackie]

They are usually 2 layers of fleece sewed together, sometimes with an absorbant middle layer. It varies what people use. Some use towels, another layer of fleece, or quilted batting material. I have a tutorial on how I make my liners on my website: http://chinnation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=20

Chins can't really control their poop and you can't train them to poop in one spot. You can however occasionally get them to pee in one spot.

 

[Eryn]

This is great! Thanks for the link!!

 

[Godofgods]

I switched from carefresh to aspen shavings after hearing about the health problems that can come from carefresh litter. If nothing else, the Aspen shavings are significantly cheaper and you get a lot more of it then the carefresh.

The carefresh bags might last me 1 or 2 changes for my chins. And their like $20-30 a bag here. Where as the aspen is like 10-15 and can last a lot lot longer. (Also my ferrets can use it to which is a plus.)

Fleece liners would be great to use if your chin doesn't chew em up and you have a way to clean them as needed. I use metal corner litter pans with shavings, but i would love to have a liner underneath that covered the pans for the times they don't use em. Unfortunately i have no way to wash them as needed at this apt.

 

[Rockka]

I use carefresh. What kind of health problems? I have never heard anything health wise about it.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[greychins]

If a chin eats carefresh, they can become impacted from it. Because of that, people only use it if their chins don't want to eat it.

 

[Gumby and Elmo]

Personally, I have tried all 3, and I like KD pine the best.
I found the care fresh very very dusty, and Gumby started eating it, so then I switched to KD pine, i also tried aspen, but found it wasn't very absorbent.
Then I saw how neat fleece liners were, I ordered a couple to try out, but even if I switched them out every two days, they stank after the first day, so I went back to shavings, prolly be using that forever.

 

[Lillybabe]

If you try fleece liners my advice is three layers of fleece. If you make 3 sets you ought to be able to use them. You can easily wash them whenever you wash the rest of your clothing. Also you could always hand wash them and hang them if you're industrious. I stopped using bedding at all. It was so annoying to pick off the liners and my girls weren't using the pan very regularly. The pans were getting pulled up, etc. It was a hassle. I typically only change liners once a week and unless I put my nose near a pee spot... I don't smell any pee odor with three layers. Chins pee, but they don't pee like dogs or cats. Keep in mind that I have a double layer Ferret Nation though and just two 7 month old chins in it. They have a lot of area to pee in. With a smaller cage you'd need to change more regularly I would think.

 

[Riven]

I like the Pets Pick sludge free. Even thought they're more than the ones I can get at my farm supply store, they're softer and more absorbant, just nicer shavings. I have enough laundry to do without adding liners, so I'm a pine fan, plus it makes great mulch!

 

[Rockka]

Oh wow! I wish I knew this a month ago. Maybe that is what happen to my sweet Kendra. I will be switching asap. Thanks guys!

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I agree with pine. Cheaper than aspen and absorbs better - aspen is a hard wood so I don't think it absorbs as well. I would nix the carefresh.

 

[Rockka]

I use to use pine but the chins made such a mess with it so I switch to carefresh. Now i don't know what to use. :/ I have a critter nation with metal pans. Any suggestions for bedding other than pine? I would like something less messy. Ha ha ha! I feel silly asking this because chins love making messes!

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Riven]

Why not put up scatter guards? Easy to make out of fleece or wood.

 

[chinylover]

I vacccum the poos off my liners every other day and usually wash the liners once a week. My boys all use a litter pan (thank goodness). I like the liners because it put an end to the shavings on the floor all around the cage.

Do you use a regular vaccum (like the small shark ones) or a specail chin poop vacuum, and if you use a poop one where did you get it and where can i find a fairly priced one my chin loves to poop on his shelfs and ontop of anything he climbs onto

 

[Stackie]

Do you use a regular vaccum (like the small shark ones) or a specail chin poop vacuum, and if you use a poop one where did you get it and where can i find a fairly priced one my chin loves to poop on his shelfs and ontop of anything he climbs onto

I and many other people use Shop Vacs. I killed my Dyson a week after I bought it from vacuuming up after the chins...

 

[becky12883]

For the poops on the shelf and the daily liner vac, I use a Dirt Devil Scorpion hand vac. It works great. I have it hanging on the wall next to the cage on the charger and just vac once or twice a day. The boys stay in the cage and don't really mind it at all.