Litter Boxes

[sarah999]

My chinchilla has been peeing in one specific place in her cage and I was thinking about putting a litter pan there in the corner. I found a few at Petco but they were made of plastic...is that okay? Also, how do you train a chinchilla to pee in the litter box only? Any tips? Finally...my chins poop has been falling in mounds, collecting around her cage. I have already clogged three vacuums trying to maintain it that way, and I find that using my slide out pan helps a lot ( I have a Martins cage) yet how can I collect the poop around her cage??? I was thinking of putting a larger litter pan under her cage...will this help??? All help is greatly appreciated.....thanks!!!!!:wink2:

 

[Essentia]

I use a pyrex dish and it works just the same.

 

[proudmom25]

I use a glass dish as well. I never had to train my chinchilla to use the litterpan. I just placed it in the corner she peed all the time and that was it.

 

[Laurie]

I use a pyrex glass dish in all my chin cages. I use a craftsman wet/dry vac daily to clean the floor and the cages to get the poops!

 

[Jenn]

I tried a plastic litter pan and for awhile it worked ok for my chin, but once she started nibbling on it I took it out and replaced it with a metal pan. I put her some soiled bedding in along with litter and also conveniently placed toys and other items in the other corners to discourage her from going elsewhere. She caught on right away.

 

[addictedtochins]

You can get a glass pan cheap at a thrift store. Put some soiled litter in the new box to encourage using it

 

[mishellyshel]

i use the cheap metal cake pans from the dollar store. once they get nasty from the urine i just toss them.

i will be on the lookout for glass ones at thrift shops or garage sales as they would likely last much longer and not get as nasty.

most of my chins now use the litter pan much more regularly than they did in the beginning. it is just a matter of being consistant and changing the litter often so it doesnt smell.

 

[Spooky]

What do you guys use to fill the litter pans with? (If at all)

 

[Essentia]

I use fleece in the whole of my cage,and then in the litter pan I use Aspen or Pine shavings, depending on which I am able to get cheaper.

 

[Pleiades]

Yes to the pyrex dish- it is an awesome litterbox.

As to the poops outside the cage....if you have tile or low-pile carpet a sweeper vac (not technically a vacuum) works surprisingly well. I have a little shark sweeper, and for what it is it works wonders. It even gets some hay up. And the shark sweepers are not as expensive as a regular vac or a shop-vac, which is a bonus!

 

[Sendra]

I get storage anchor hocking pans from Biglots. You can see them in the corners of this.
And they show some different sizes here.
The glass is nice and thick, easy to clean, and has no handles on it so I can scoot it right up against the corners of the cage. They may not be at your local Biglots, but you can sure check. Biglots usually has a great selection of different glass baking dishes for cheap.
[Biglots is the place items go when stores order too much of something]

 

[3CsMommy]

Anchor hocking dish (8x8), kiln dried pine shavings from Walmart (of all places!). About a double handful lasts 2 days for my 1 chin.

 

[Jenn]

I use a bit of litter that I think is for ferrets, and mix that in with bedding. A little soiled bedding helps them aquaint the pan for pottying in.

 

[mk94]

We always used a ceramic bowl with litter in it. My girl came litter trained though and she taught my boy how to use it, so I don't have any training tips. I just know chins will pee consistently in a litter box, but they will poo everywhere. Haha!

 

[mishellyshel]

i love big lots! thanks for the tip sendra.

i use the regular kiln dried shavings for my litter boxes. for the boys who use it daily and exclusively, i change it every night. for the others who dig thru it and occassionally pee on the fleece i get 2 days out of it. sometimes i will just top it off with a handful.

 

[sarah999]

Thank you so much everyone! This has been incredibly eye-opening...I'm going to find a cheap little pyrex dish some where...and maybe get som ledges with the lips on them to contain the poop! Yay! Thanks again!:thumbsup: