Chinchilla Poo Cleaning

[JayAndTofu]

Since chinchilla poo is so dry, do I need to use wipes/spray to clean up after it? Or should i just use a napkin to pick it up and be done with it? Because i found a couple poos on my bed and I don't know if i should wash all my sheets

 

[tunes]

I just use a tissue.

 

[Jawramik]

Honestly, I usually just pick stray chin poo up with my bare hands. It's so dry and non-gross, it doesn't both me (though I do wash my hands afterwards). I don't bother to wipe down afterwards. I think so long as you wash/change your sheets every week or so, you don't need to wash them after every contact with chin poo. At least, I wouldn't. But I think a lot of it just depends on your comfort level. If the thought of the poo having been on the sheets bothers you, then wash/change them, but nothing bad will happen if you don't.

I find chin poo in all kinds of places throughout my house (I think it sometimes gets tracked around by the cats). I usually just pick it up, throw it away, wash my hands, and forget about it, haha. I've dealt with a lot of different animal poo in my day, and chin poo is by far the least gross.

 

[Binki]

At playtime I sneak out of the play area, which is chin-proofed, and after making sure to collect any discarded apple sticks (they break havoc if not) get poop, loose hay and residues of bath dust out of the cage with the vacuum cleaner in less than minute My boy has at the bottom of the cage a loo consisting of a stainless steel dog bowl with a stone in it. As it would be in their natural environment. he stands on the stone and the pee collects at the bottom. This not only prevents him from stepping on the pee but also from peeing all over the cage because he knows that there is a place for it.. The loo has to be cleaned every day but it means one needs going over the cage with sponge and brush only once a week.. Simplifies life without compromising on hygiene.

 

[ChinsForLife]

Same here, I just pick it up. It isn't harmful at all to my knowledge.

 

[Dee Henderson-Haefner]

Do they need to be encouraged to use the dog bowl loo or do they just recognise it as a good place to pee?

 

[ChinsForLife]

Do they need to be encouraged to use the dog bowl loo or do they just recognise it as a good place to pee?

From what I understand, you're asking if they should be encouraged to poo in their litter box as well as pee in it.(please correct me if I'm wrong) I wouldn't spend time trying to train them to poop in a litter box because it just isn't going to happen, lol. The only reason they pee in it is because, due to chins being naturally "clean" animals, (as opposed to say...dogs for example) they have a certain place where they *do their buisiness* and they try to avoid sleeping and eating at or near that place. But unfortunately that isn't the case for poop; they don't see it as gross so they dont bother and even if you were able to to kinda train them to poo in it, it would really be a pain for them because they poop SO MUCH...they would literally be there 95% of the night.(I saw a statistic once that said if you were to average out how many times a chin poops per day, it would be close to once a minute. Idk of it's true or not but it gives an idea, lol.) Besides, since it's dry and doesn't smell, to me it isn't that big of a deal to just sweep it up every morning when I refill hay racks and food dishes.

 

[Dee Henderson-Haefner]

Cheers for the info! I thought the fleece was down to help soak up the pee, but if they will use a dish with a stone in it, that would be easier to keep clean. I want to be a good chin mum when I finally get them.

 

[Amethyst]

Do they need to be encouraged to use the dog bowl loo or do they just recognise it as a good place to pee?

Not all chins will pee in a pan or dish. "Pee training" chins is really more a situation of putting a pan of shavings where they already pick to pee, most chins pick a corner, and they pee there because it happens to be in their pee spot. If they don't pick a spot sometimes you can get lucky if they are use to having shavings over the whole floor and you remove the shavings and just put down fleece with a bowl or pan of shavings they will pee in the shavings because that is the only place left with shavings and that is what they are use to peeing on. If they aren't use to peeing on shavings though and/or still don't pick a spot to pee you can try to encourage them to by cleaning up any pee outside the pan as soon as it happens (yes if you use fleece that means washing/changing the fleece every time they pee) and soaking some of the pee up with shavings to put in the pan so the only place that smells like pee is the litter pan. You can also add a rock large enough for the chin to sit on to the pan to help encourage them to pee there as well, that is what finally worked to get my guy to pee in a pan. If you are lucky they will eventually get the idea that that is where they are suppose to pee. However not all chins catch on to the idea and since it's more just putting a pan where they want to pee it's not uncommon for them to not use it 100% of the time or even just decide they don't feel like peeing in a pan anymore.

 

[Amethyst]

This is what I use as a litter pan it's a 8 x 11 inch (about 20 x 28 cm) glass baking pan, I would say you want something at least 8 x 8 inches (20 x 20 cm).

 

[ChinsForLife]

Not all chins will pee in a pan or dish. "Pee training" chins is really more a situation of putting a pan of shavings where they already pick to pee, most chins pick a corner, and they pee there because it happens to be in their pee spot. If they don't pick a spot sometimes you can get lucky if they are use to having shavings over the whole floor and you remove the shavings and just put down fleece with a bowl or pan of shavings they will pee in the shavings because that is the only place left with shavings and that is what they are use to peeing on. If they aren't use to peeing on shavings though and/or still don't pick a spot to pee you can try to encourage them to by cleaning up any pee outside the pan as soon as it happens (yes if you use fleece that means washing/changing the fleece every time they pee) and soaking some of the pee up with shavings to put in the pan so the only place that smells like pee is the litter pan. You can also add a rock large enough for the chin to sit on to the pan to help encourage them to pee there as well, that is what finally worked to get my guy to pee in a pan. If you are lucky they will eventually get the idea that that is where they are suppose to pee. However not all chins catch on to the idea and since it's more just putting a pan where they want to pee it's not uncommon for them to not use it 100% of the time or even just decide they don't feel like peeing in a pan anymore.

Yes, of course it does always depend on the chin. Some don't even have a certain place or will even switch places if you put shavings there. Thankfully, Chico caught on within a few days! Still planning on training my baby, I just haven't gotten a glass dish yet. She does use the back left corner though so I'm hoping she'll catch on pretty fast too.

Chicos litter pan is 8x8 and it's the perfect size for him.

 

[ChinsForLife]

@Dee Henderson-Haefner One other option would be to do tile floors. It might discourage peeing anywhere but the shavings.(and you don't have to deal with washing/changing out fleece liners.) If they can see the pee then some chins might be more inclined to use the litter pan so they dont risk stepping in it. (That's how Chico is) Another pro to tile is that it's basically a fraction of the price of a cooling tile for chinchillas, which ia great to have, and its literally the same thing. Cleaning is also SOO much easier as opposed to fleece since hay and poop sticks to the material.

That being said, there are also a few cons to tile. For one, poop scatters easier on tile since the chins kick it while jumping and it also isn't as "soft" per say as fleece would be if that is important to you. You also need to wipe up and accidents they DO have.(because even the trained ones pee outside of the pan sometimes) Tile does also need to be cut to fit your cage so that can be a pain for some, however to me its way worth it in the long run! And they will cut it at your local hardware store. What i did was i got 3 12"x24" tiles for about $6 and my dad cut them with his concrete sawblade. I have both and I like both. Really just depends on what benefits are most important to you.

PS: He didn't eat all of those oats. I was just trying to bribe him so i could get a picture, lol. He only ate 3-4. Also, I don't use that free feeder for pellets. I use it for hay sometimes because I'm short one rack.

 

[Dee Henderson-Haefner]

That's great! Thank you all!

 

[Binki]

Do they need to be encouraged to use the dog bowl loo or do they just recognise it as a good place to pee?

I read that their natural habitat is full of lose stones so I decided to do an experiment and put the bowl with the stone exactly in the corner he had chosen as a pee place. No need of training: he did it on his own.

I must add that that 75% the cage's floor is covered with tiles to protect the paws, leaving 25% of mesh for the loo and to brush through (to the tray below) any lose poops or hay that escapes the vacuuming or fall down when he decides to free his inner kangaroo.

 

[ChinsForLife]

I read that their natural habitat is full of lose stones so I decided to do an experiment and put the bowl with the stone exactly in the corner he had chosen as a pee place. No need of training: he did it on his own.

I must add that that 75% the cage's floor is covered with tiles to protect the paws, leaving 25% of mesh for the loo and to brush through (to the tray below) any lose poops or hay that escapes the vacuuming or fall down when he decides to free his inner kangaroo.

I would try to cover the mesh part of your cage with either fleece or tile. Mesh really isn't safe because it can cause bumblefoot in chins or at the least, is very uncomfortable.

 

[Binki]

I would try to cover the mesh part of your cage with either fleece or tile. Mesh really isn't safe because it can cause bumblefoot in chins or at the least, is very uncomfortable.

Yes, 75% of the mesh is covered with large tiles and the loo (the bowl with the stone )+ a ramp cover a most of the rest, so he never has to walk on the bare mesh. Also, he seems to believe he was a famous mountaineer or an alpine goat in a former life, so he is always to be found on the highest available surface, even at play time, when he looks down on all and sundry from the top of his cat tree.