Fleece vs woodchips

[ultimicea]

I was wondering, I saw a cage setup here that had an ingenious idea to use a fleece blanket in place of woodchips. I think that's a great idea as it cuts down on messes. Has anyone tried this and recommends it over woodchips. I've hadrodents for about 20 years and never thought of this before. It'd be nothing to throw it in the wash and good as new!

 

[Carol~Anne]

How many chinchillas do you have? I think if I had just one or two I'd consider the fleece liners but having seven, I prefer to use pine shavings. I do use quite a bit of fleece in their cages: tubes, hammocks, pillows as well as folded fleece in their hidey houses. They seem to really enjoy the softness to sleep or rest on but I don't use fleece at the bottom where they pee b/c I'd have to have quite a few of them to change every few days. To me, pine shavings is just easier.

There are a lot of people who love the fleece liners though and won't go back to shavings. There's also some who use the liners with a litter pan of shavings which I haven't tried but sounds like a good idea. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I haven't tried the fleece liners b/c I don't have any but going by what others say, you have to change them every few days or they start to smell. If you have no problem with that then they might just work great for you.

 

[Jill of Beans]

When I had my 4 boys I used fleece - and I LOVE it hands down!! Lots less mess and more convenient for me.

 

[Sierra]

I recently changed to fleece liners when I bought my FN cage and I love them. Since I only have two chins, it seems quicker to change the liners every two days instead of having to deal with shavings once a week. It probably only takes me about 10-15 minutes to change both top and bottom. I use my upright vacuum and get as much of the poop and hay as I possibly can then I clean and replace everything. I have one liter pan that I usually have in Phoenix's cage and she doesn't use it all the time but sometimes depending on how she feels. I just put it in Sedona's cage so I'm going to see if she uses it more in the next couple of weeks.

 

[shubbles]

Fleece hands down. so easy to clean up, pretty cheap, unless you don't have a washer or dryer than i'd go with wood chips.

 

[ultimicea]

I only have one chin so this might be a good idea. Definatley would cut down on the mess. I'd imagine it'd be softer on her feet as well. This is great to know. Might give it a go and see what she thinks. Now all I have is a fleece throw I can cut up to make 2 liners. That should be ok for her I assume?

I don't have a washer but it wold be nothing to hand wash it. If i cut 2, I'll have a backup

 

[Jill of Beans]

you will probably want to double it up - so it's at least 2 layers and hand washing/drying is fine - keeps it from shrinking.

 

[shubbles]

The way most people, including me, is taking a big piece of fleece and making, i guess a burrito around a quilt. heres the thread, i got all my materials at Joan Fabrics. http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907&highlight=make+fleece+liners its a good way to show it, you just need a sewing machine.

 

[Essentia]

I use fleece liners for every cage I have, counting the rescues. It's costly in the beginning, but it has saved me so much over the years. It's also a lot less mess for me to clean up.

Some people say that have an issue with smell, but i never have. The liners I use have a towel in the center. I shake off the poop every day, and wash them once a week. I wash with a bit of unscented detergent, a bit of bleach (it does not bleach the color of the liners if it isn't put directly on them, but in the water instead) and then rinse twice.

Out of the 7 cages I have right now, only two use a litter pan. The others just use the fleece itself to pee on.

 

[ultimicea]

I put in a standard fleece blanket in there lastnight. Doubled it up just to see how she will react. I think she likes it. She was hopping around her cage and isn't gnawing the bars as much. I'll probably invest in those liners once I find where to get them. Unfortunatly I dont' have a sewing machine at the moment so I can't make them..

I'd liek to litter train mine. Be even less mess.

 

[saphire]

Personally I have tried both. If I had 1-5 cages I definitely would go for the fleece.

 

[ultimicea]

Awesome. The fleece seems to be the way to go

 

[Jenn]

I use fleece, and would definitely recommend it for your one chin. It is soooooo much cleaner and easy to clean in the washing machine. No more plugged up vacuum cleaner!

 

[shubbles]

Ultimicea, a bunch of people sell liners on here. Just look in the classifieds.

 

[saphire]

Ultimicea the undermentionned link is in Ontario and believe she also does liners.

http://www.tanchinstore.com

 

[ultimicea]

That's wonderful! Thank you guys for the links and I didn't know there was a classified section (blush).

I'm going to take a browse thru the classifieds right now and check out that link!

 

[Stackie]

If you wanted to try to make your own liners, it's pretty easy. I'm not very crafty at all but even I somehow managed to do it.. )

I have an article published on my website detailing how to make them. It's best if you have a sewing machine- it will save you lots of time!

Here is the article: http://www.chinnation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=20

Feel free to PM me if you decide to make your own and have any questions.

 

[ultimicea]

Thanks Stackie! I need to get my sewing machine up and running. Its missing the foot petal. It'd be so much easier to make my own. In the mean time ,I'll check out the classifides.