New Chin Supplies

[slodden]

Okay so I'm getting my new boy in a couple weeks and its been several years since I've had chins. I'm trying to make sure I'm not missing anything. I am going to list what I've ordered, and what I intend to order. I welcome any comments and suggestions that people have.

What I have ordered....
Critter Nation 162 cage
5lb Alfalfa cubes
5lb Timothy Hay cubes
5lb Timothy Hay
5lb Oxbow Chinchilla Deluxe Alfalfa
12 Lava Blox
3lb Blue Cloud Bath Dust
1lb Rose Hips


Things I'm planning to get, but have not decided on specifics....
Wheel (Chin Spin vs Flying Saucer)
Water Bottle - glass? lixit?
Chinchilla Bath
Hay Rack
Fleece liners for shelves - Who makes these for the Critter Nation? I see lots of photos and I'm jealous, I want them too!!
Hiding hut - no plastic!! wood? woven grass? fleece? what are your opinions?

 

[Vyxxin]

I always prefer glass bottles, check with anyone who does fleece for the shelf covers (they aren't too hard to make so most of the fleece suppliers should do them) and I'm not sure who's in hiding for the summer but twilight makes the BEST huts...and everything else wood related I would go with wood!

Otherwise, your list is pretty thorough. Welcome (back) to the world of chin ownership!

 

[greychins]

In case you don't already have it, food dish isn't on the list.

I prefer chin spins. I have several of both types of wheels and many more chins are able to figure out the chin spin vs. flying saucers. Some chins just never get them.

I would go with a glass water bottle. We started with plastic, got a lot chewed up, and switched to glass and now we're good. I personally use the glass ryerson water bottles, but for the average person, the glass lixits work awesome.

For the chin bath -- you mean like a container? Some people use the plastic chin dust houses, others use glass cookie containers... I use steel brownie pans. Work awesome. Get dust everywhere, of course, but no chins inside that won't come out.

Sorry, don't know who makes the fleece liners for the shelves.

For hidey houses... I like both the fleece houses and the wood houses. I like mine to last awhile and the ones that are made out of the woven grass get chewed fast and destroyed. Which is fine, the chins like them... but I usually will have a fleece or wood hidey house (or both!) in the cage so that there's something that will stay solid in there for them.

 

[slodden]

Thanks so much for your responses and suggestions. I dont think I'm going to spend the extra money on Twilight's houses immediately, but I think they are awesome and I definitely see some in his home in the near future, So CUTE!!

I did forget the food dish, so I will be adding to my shopping list. crock? side mounted stainless steel?

I had my chins before people were using fleece with their chins, through my research it seems that this has really been a great chewing deterrent... and I love fleece anyway because it cleans up so well. I'm anxious to use it to beautify my chin home and make it so much safer for him.

I appreciate the input thus far and always welcome additional comments and suggestions. I've got a month to get this ready for him, so trying to be the best mommy I can be.

 

[Daina91880]

I'm not sure if every chinchilla loves fleece hammocks, but my girls sleep in theirs all day. They also love their fleece lined tubes.

 

[becky12883]

Don't forget some wood to chew on. My boys' favorite is apple twigs. Another thing, if you are going with fleece liner, you'll probably want a litter pan. I use a glass baking dish with bedding in it.

 

[greychins]

I did forget the food dish, so I will be adding to my shopping list. crock? side mounted stainless steel? .

I prefer the ceramic crocks. I have a few of the coop cups (the mounted stainless steel). Some of the chins have gotten really good at getting those things out of their holders and dumping the bowls. Not that they can't dump the crocks, but they're a bit heavier and less likely to be yanked out of place.

 

[Spoof]

I did forget the food dish, so I will be adding to my shopping list. crock? side mounted stainless steel? .

I get the big glass stars and hearts from the dollar store. They're $1 each and impossible to tip. For some reason nobody poops in the star ones and I haven't had any drug around or pushed off shelves.

Granted these cages are only used by weanlings with the occasional adult babysitter and moms and babies about to be weaned. I'm sure a bored adult could easily redecorate with them.

 

[slodden]

I'll check out those dollar store dishes, although we only have one dollar store around here, and I dont frequent it so I have no idea if they have anything like that. I'm assuming they are somewhere around their candles or potpourri.

Other than that, I think heavy crock is the way to go!!

Wood is on my list... LOTS of wood. Looking for a place to get cheap wood houses that can be doubled for snack, and wood ledges for same purpose.

Very happy that things are coming together though, I go on vacation in a week and would like to have everything set up so all I need to do when I get home is go pick up my boy!!

 

[slodden]

Don't forget some wood to chew on. My boys' favorite is apple twigs. Another thing, if you are going with fleece liner, you'll probably want a litter pan. I use a glass baking dish with bedding in it.

What kind of bedding do you use?

 

[becky12883]

In the litter pan I use Carefresh Natural. You can also use kiln dried pine or aspen bedding. If you go with the Carefresh you have to watch to make sure it's not getting eaten, it can expand in the stomach and cause a blockage.

 

[slodden]

Has anyone tried using Feline Pine, its a compressed pine pellet. I have it on hand already because that is what I use with my cat.

 

[becky12883]

I think the Feline Pine is a no. It may not be kiln dried and as you said it's compressed. If they try to eat it, it can expand in their stomach and/or intestines and cause a blockage. I think a chin would be more apt to munch on anything made of wood.

 

[Daina91880]

One of my girls ate the carefresh. I had only gotten it for their first, temporary cage and had to quickly find an alternative.

 

[slodden]

We will refrain from feline pine then. I guess I'll just do pine bedding for a litter pan. I did order the Bass Pan's for the cage as the more research I did, it just really seems to be the best for my little guy. I also decided to buy the triple layer fleece liners from Ridge Chinchillas along with their 5 piece cage set. I also found a great website to make my own wood products. Wood is untreated, rounded corners, and reasonably priced... www.walnuthollow.com, I haven't purchased anything here yet, but plan to when I get back from vacation. I have an email to them to verify the wood has been kiln dried, just waiting to hear back from them.

 

[slodden]

Kiln Dried Feline Pine

I think the Feline Pine is a no. It may not be kiln dried and as you said it's compressed. If they try to eat it, it can expand in their stomach and/or intestines and cause a blockage. I think a chin would be more apt to munch on anything made of wood.

Quoted from Feline Pine....
" Feline Pine kitty litter is soft to your cat's touch and has been specially formulated to stay within the litter box and not track. This special pine litter is kiln-dried before processing and compressed into clean, sterile pellets that are 100% pure and natural, making it safe for cats and kittens of all breeds."

With it being kiln dried, will it then be safe?

 

[DoGooder]

Slodden, I think it's great that you're preparing several weeks before you get a chinchilla. I depended on the woman who sold me a chinchilla to get adequate supplies. However, when the stuff arrived about half of it was plastic and the chinchilla had chewed on every plastic piece-big chunks chewed off. I threw out all the plastic, added metal floor plates, metal trays, a rabbit nest box and some stone pieces to make shelves, caves, and rock toys.

I just got a hand vacuum today so cage cleaning is much easier. It takes 1 minute to make her cage spotless so I highly recommend getting a hand vacuum. Also, I started using kiln-dried aspen wood chips for bedding, but I saw my chinchilla chewing on it all the time and I read on a veterinarian web site that chinches can't digest aspen and I had to wear rose gloves to prevent splinters when scooping aspen, so I'm transitioning my chinchilla to Oxbow Eco-Straw which is 100% wheat and dust-free. It's more expensive than aspen but most of my chinchilla's cage is metal or stone flat surface, so I only need a few trays of it and it works so well it lasts a week.

DoGooder

 

[slodden]

The cage is almost done!! I was able to find someone who makes AWESOME pan liners and fleece accessories. I did purchase the metal pans from Bass. I ordered a rabbit breeding box and filled it with fresh hay so there is plenty available at all times. My chinspin is ordered and will be here Monday. I've got two chin chillers, and two ceramic chin baths. Lava bloxs, pumice stones, alfalfa & timothy hay blocks. I also picked up a great water bottle, and a wood hiding hut.

One thing that I did in addition was to clip fleece fabric to the back and sides of the cage with a pocket at the bottom to collect any stray poops or flying urine. This also gives the chins a bit more privacy, yet offers for fresh air and protect from drafts.

I get my boy on Monday, I think I'm ready for him!! By the way, I decided to name him Echo.

 

[greychins]

With it being kiln dried, will it then be safe?

I would think so, with it being kiln dried, all the hamful phenols (sp?) should be gone.

Congrats (soon) on your new boy! You'll have to post pics.

 

[Lillybabe]

The cage is almost done!! I was able to find someone who makes AWESOME pan liners and fleece accessories. I did purchase the metal pans from Bass. I ordered a rabbit breeding box and filled it with fresh hay so there is plenty available at all times. My chinspin is ordered and will be here Monday. I've got two chin chillers, and two ceramic chin baths. Lava bloxs, pumice stones, alfalfa & timothy hay blocks. I also picked up a great water bottle, and a wood hiding hut.

One thing that I did in addition was to clip fleece fabric to the back and sides of the cage with a pocket at the bottom to collect any stray poops or flying urine. This also gives the chins a bit more privacy, yet offers for fresh air and protect from drafts.

I get my boy on Monday, I think I'm ready for him!! By the way, I decided to name him Echo.

When you said you clipped the fleece to the back and sides of the cage, do you mean... covering the bars? I've heard of people covering the back but I'd be wary if you've got all but the front and top of the cage covered. That might not allow for enough cross ventilation and it might get warm.

Also, how old is your new chin? Most people don't offer wheels before 6 months so you might consider waiting to put it in if he's young.

As for bedding pans... I actually found litter pans to be a nuisance and recently nixed them. My fleece liners are three layers of fleece and they absorb quite well. The girls weren't great with going only in the litter pans anyway. The little pans were getting moved around (even the glass one) and bedding was ending up on the floor and stuck to the fleece. When filling the pans I always got bedding on the floor. And the worst thing. The cage stunk after only a day with the litter pans. They had to be dumped everyday. With the fleece I can easily go 4-7 days without much odor. This is with two liners (one top, one bottom) and two 7 month old chinchillas.

I honestly think just fleece is plenty. If you get odor just wash it twice a week or even every other day. If you get several liners this is so much easier to do then to fuss with a litter pan everyday. These were my findings anyway. I also was a bit allergic to the bedding. Everything I've read though has said aspen is a safe chewable wood for chins. So I'm not sure I'd be concerned if they eat the bedding. I always just figured it wore down their teeth when my girls did it. I don't think they typically swallow it otherwise all of their chews would be dangerous. Wood in general isn't really digestible.