how to clean the cage?

[timandben]

once a week i dump out the shavings (carefresh) in Timothy and Benjamins cage, take down the shelves (2 wooden, 2 plastic, but thats gonna change soon) and wash the plastic shelves and base with water, put new bedding and the shelves back in and spruce up the cage by adding a toy or two and changing things up a bit. i havent used soap so far because i didnt know what to use, and my mom said i shouldn't wash the wire on the cage because they might rust. i am switching to an FN 142, fleece liners, a litter pan (if my chinnies will use it ), and all wooden shelves in the next two weeks, so any advice on cage cleaning for those as well would be much appreciated thanks

 

[ChinnyMom]

i use dish soap to wash all of Rhino's things (food dish, hay container, water bottle, etc) and rinse, rinse, and rinse some more. all of his shelves and his cage bottom are wood, so i usually just sweep them and if i see any dirty areas i sand them down.

i personally wouldn't use carefresh. chins may eat pieces of it and it expands when wet, so expansion in the digestive system is a hazard. i use kiln dried pine shavings. much cheaper than carefresh too!

as for washing the cage wires, unless your chins are peeing on them and making them all yucky i wouldn't worry about washing the wires every week.

vinegar works great for taking off pee stains, and is not toxic at all. just be sure to rinse good after.

when i got Rhino's new bigger cage i put the whole wire part in the bathtub and washed it with a soapy rag and then rinsed it really well and let it dry completely (i toweled it and then let it sit for a day outside). i didn't see any rust form at all.

 

[Stackie]

I wipe my litter pans and metal trays down with Nature's Miracle. After that I use a wet cloth and wipe it down again.

For my shelves, if they have pee stains, I spray on hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for a couple minutes, scrub with a brush, then wipe off with a damp cloth. Otherwise I just sweep them off.

 

[Gumby and Elmo]

I dun have a base pan in my cage, the stainless steel bottom is attached to the cage itself, how do I use the vinegar to get rid of the pee stains? Does it have to be diluted? Any type of vinegar will do? Do I just leave the vinegar to soak the pee stain for awhile, then wipe it off? The pee stains are about 4-5 yrs old, never knew how to get the off.

 

[timandben]

i personally wouldn't use carefresh. chins may eat pieces of it and it expands when wet, so expansion in the digestive system is a hazard. i use kiln dried pine shavings. much cheaper than carefresh too!

so where would i find KD pine shavings? i havent seen them anywhere

 

[partygirlha]

white vinegar - just pour it on and let it sit for a few minutes - then wipe it out and use a wet cloth to rinse the area. If that doesn't work try hydrogen peroxide.
Since you can't remove the pan, you'll have to move the chins to another place for play time while you do all this.

 

[StevieP]

so where would i find KD pine shavings? i havent seen them anywhere

Most pet stores have it. Aspen and pine are fine, cedar is not. If you live near a feed store or horse supply store they usually have much better deals on pine shavings.