Peeing on Shelves

[Olallie]

Ok so both my Ebs Pee on their shelves. I have some poo gaurds on them and I thought that's why they peed there, they are covered like a bath room. BUt i removed one, and they peed on that one the most! UGH!

So every once in a while i take the shelves out and sand them, but they keep peeing on the shelves. I've resorted to wiping with baby wipes when i see a wet spot.

But is there any way you guys have found to get them to stop peeing constantly on the shelves? I mean they pee in their bedding too. But it just smells bad once the shelves get too soaked. It irritates me.

 

[chinchildren]

would love to learn a way to keep them from doing that. some will always go down to pee and others just cannot be bothered... ugh.

 

[Sasha]

I havent heard of how to stop the pee but I recently heard that you can use hydrogen peroxide to wash it off and it works real well. Just let the shelves sit out in the sun for a bit so all the H2O2 is converted to water.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Yeah, there is really no way to stop them. They will pee wherever their little hearts desire. I sand them and then let them sit in the sun to bake out the germs. Or just replace them often! You can try velcro-ing chin chillers to the shelves and see if that helps.

 

[Olallie]

Oh yea, velcro I hadn't thought of that.... I have some marble slabs i can cut up and put there. That might be easier than trying to takeout the shelves. >.<

 

[Brandon]

I heard industrial velcro works great, you need a spatula to get the chin-chiller off.

 

[amsue0222]

I heard industrial velcro works great, you need a spatula to get the chin-chiller off.

This is such a great idea!! I was always so worried about it mysteriously falling off of the shelf...DUH ME!!

 

[Carol~Anne]

I don't know how to get your chinchillas to stop peeing on the wooden shelves but I too find hydrogen peroxide in the 3% solution works wonders! I put some in a small dark (light affects it) spray bottle, spray it on the wood stains, let sit for five minutes and rinse thoroughly with water. On the tough stains I use a little brush.

Just to clarify something: *I never have my chinchillas in the cage when I spray hydrogen peroxide.*

Here's a link to a site that has all kinds of uses for hydrogen peroxide.

http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/hydrogen_peroxide.html

 

[Olallie]

Oh that might be something I will use in the future, I've used diluted vinegar on the wood before with a brush then sanding the ledges. But never Hydroperoxide... hmmm

 

[y2jasmine]

I personally just use full-strength vinegar on my shelves and a little pot scrubber. Then I rinse and dry with some paper towel. They get pretty clean

 

[RichInGB]

I wash them with just water and take the hand sander to the shelves my critters pee on. Seems to do the job.

 

[sight]

I have found that if Tika pees on the ledges (which is really rare, she uses her shavings box well) a good scrub with vinegar and then a rinse and dry works well to remove the pee sent so they will not be encouraged to pee there again.

also... i tried velcro when i first put her in her cage with marble tile, when she was still peeing on ledges, and becuase of the velcro under the marble the pee would seep right under. sometimes hiding the stain untill i went looking for the smell.

 

[Stackie]

I used the hydrogen peroxide on my shelves- some of them were pretty stained- and now they look like new. I also have some granite slabs velcroed to shelves in one of my cages for the chronic shelf pee-ers.

 

[Luciole]

Is replacing the wooden shelves with ones made of melamine a viable option for you? (Remember that if you do use melamine, you need to cover the edges with long strips of metal corner guard to prevent chewing and ingestion of the melamine.) It won't stop them from peeing, but is so much easier to clean and sanitize.

 

[heymom32000]

I have used vinegar on my shelves to help get the pee stains off. Once a month I use sand paper on them as well. My girls don't seem to pee on their shelves but my males do.

 

[Olallie]

luciole- No I can't use melamine shelves, their whole cage is wire so they'd be able to get to them and chew them >.<

I think I might just go with the marble thing, I have some extra slabs. Right now My cage is in a spot that is so difficult to remove the shelves, so i think covering them is my best option for now.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[jfleenor2]

My Picchu pees on the Chin Chiller too! --and all over the shelves!

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I took out the shelves some of my guest chins peed on, kept them out for about 2 weeks, put them back in (slightly in a different spot than they were) and they had gotten used to peeing elsewhere so they did not pee on them again.

 

[Olallie]

Oh, Parker that seems like a good idea, though I'd be sad not to see them sitting on the top shelf in a chinny pile. HAHA. I'm moving soon so Maybe I'll do that then... Thanks~