Pet Store Horror....

[rem]

Unless you have bare cage as the bottom, I would simply stop using that immediately. It's better to have to clean up a bit than to have sick (or worse) chins.

The only place I use the bedding now is in my potty dishes (found two large Pyrex Pie dishes at Target for 5$). I change them every day, in fact I was going to ask if it would be okay to only change them every other day, but for the price of new bedding, I'm find with doing it every day.

The bottoms of the cage get fleece (or soon will have fleece =D) and then I have lots of different wood shelves and a hammock for them to cuddle in.

 

[SarahKay]

Re: the original topic. I went into a pet store this weekend where the chin didn't even have hay in his cage. I had to leave because I thought I might try to fight management otherwise.

 

[ChinnyMom]

Sarah, i would have spoken with the management and calmly told them the basic requirements for chins. push the conversation in the direction of 'if your chins are healthier you'll get a better interest in them from your customers', or something like that.

 

[SarahKay]

I thought about but I don't know that I would have been able to stay calm and they had none of the things chins are supposed to have. They had one brand of food that had treats in it and that was about it for chinchillas. My sister knows I get a bit upset about these things and just kind of got me out of there.

I did, however, send a very nice calm message to somebody on CL the other day who just wanted a buddy for his chin about them potentially not getting along well and the requirements of quarantine and how introductions must be done so I am taking baby steps. I could relate easily to him because I kind of did the same thing and my chinchillas hate each other.

 

[xoxoimhis]

Unless you have bare cage as the bottom, I would simply stop using that immediately. It's better to have to clean up a bit than to have sick (or worse) chins.

The only place I use the bedding now is in my potty dishes (found two large Pyrex Pie dishes at Target for 5$). I change them every day, in fact I was going to ask if it would be okay to only change them every other day, but for the price of new bedding, I'm find with doing it every day.

The bottoms of the cage get fleece (or soon will have fleece =D) and then I have lots of different wood shelves and a hammock for them to cuddle in.

ya the type of bottom our cage is, is bars with the bedding tray under the bars. so they dont come into contact with the bedding.... just their pee and poops.

 

[ChinnyMom]

a wire bottom grate on the cage can be dangerous if the spacing isn't small enough. i personally would take the wire floor out if you can, and have them either right on bedding (but not your current bedding due to the spruce), or put down a fleece liner on the bottom of the pan. if the wire floor can't be removed, then put the fleece liner on the wire floor.

 

[AZChins]

Just as long as it is 1/2"x 1/2" and no larger the wire floor is safe for chinchillas. My cages all have wire bottoms and it makes it easier to clean and keep things clean.

 

[xoxoimhis]

here is a photo in comparison to my hand.... are these bad?? i know their paws aren't in the photo but their feet are fatter than the width of the bars.

let me know if the photo doesn't work.... i have been having trouble with tinypic.com lately.

 

[ChinnyMom]

that bar spacing is definitely larger than half inch by half inch. i could easily see your chins getting a foot through there and hurting themselves. time for a fleece liner if there's no way to remove the bottom grate.

 

[xoxoimhis]

that bar spacing is definitely larger than half inch by half inch. i could easily see your chins getting a foot through there and hurting themselves. time for a fleece liner if there's no way to remove the bottom grate.

ok i'm glad i'm finding out now just in case!! we have had them for a little over a year and never had a problem, but i don't want to keep them at any risk just because it hasn't happened yet. would you be able to send me a photo of a fleece liner and exactly how to use them?? it seems like with a fleece liner it would be pointless to even have bedding because their urine and poops can't penetrate the fleece.... and would we change the fleece every day?? are they reusable and washing machine safe?? or do they come in a pack and one time use??

sorry if these questions sound obvious, lol, but fleece liners are totally new to me so i am unsure how they work.

 

[xoxoimhis]

oh i have another question to add to my last.... i was browsing fleece liners on google and read that to make things less yucky they actually got their chin to pee in a litter box.... does anybody have any input on that?? is that even possible??!! lol

 

[Sandi]

oh i have another question to add to my last.... i was browsing fleece liners on google and read that to make things less yucky they actually got their chin to pee in a litter box.... does anybody have any input on that?? is that even possible??!! lol

Yes. There are a lot of members here that use fleece liners with litter boxes/pans and a lot of chins do you use the litter pans to pee in. I used to have litter pans but more than half my boys wouldn't use them and some would. You can use a metal cake pan that at most places like Target and Wal-Mart sell them for very cheap as well as the pyrex glass pans. The dollar stores also sell them. To start off, put a little of their soiled bedding on top of some fresh bedding in the litter pan.

 

[xoxoimhis]

Yes. There are a lot of members here that use fleece liners with litter boxes/pans and a lot of chins do you use the litter pans to pee in. I used to have litter pans but more than half my boys wouldn't use them and some would. You can use a metal cake pan that at most places like Target and Wal-Mart sell them for very cheap as well as the pyrex glass pans. The dollar stores also sell them. To start off, put a little of their soiled bedding on top of some fresh bedding in the litter pan.

oh great!! i will definitely be try this. as well as fleece liners but i still had some questions about those. wasn't sure if anyone saw them because they are on the last page lol.

i can't wait to get their cage looking great!!

 

[ChinnyMom]

fleece liners are just polar fleece or blizzard fleece (from the fabric store). you can sew them with a terrycloth towel in the middle layer for more absorbency, but to be honest, just a piece of fleece folded over to make two layers in the cage bottom works just as well. if you do sew them, make sure all seams are hidden so that chins can't get to the threads. AnnieO on here makes wonderful liners, and other fleece stuff.

i wash Rhino's liners in with my clothes, but do presoak liners first for a while in a bucket of hot water with a bit of laundry soap (scent/dye free) and a touch of Borax to get the pee stains out. they go through the washer and dryer just fine, and although many members say not to use fabric softener or dryer sheets, i have to use dryer sheets with liners or else they will be full of static and Rhino would get shocked every time he walks on them!

 

[xoxoimhis]

LOTS OF INFO!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
we will definitely be looking into this!! if our chins don't become potty trained for pee though, should i expect it to be a big pee mess?? i also am worried about them walking in puddles of pee and getting it all over them.

 

[ChinnyMom]

that's why fabric softener or dryer sheets shouldn't be used with fleece liners, as it causes the fleece to not absorb the pee. sometimes you need to pre-wash the fleece a few times before it becomes absorbent. i have no issue with pee sitting on top of the fleece here at all, even with using dryer sheets.

if your chins pee on the fleece a lot, be prepared to change it out daily. that's why i just use the folded fleece, much cheaper than buying a bunch of pre-made liners and easier to have a few extras on hand to switch out when needed. Rhino has a litter bowl in the corner of his cage, but does have the odd pee spot on his fleece.

 

[SarahKay]

I make my own liners and I legitimately just go to the remnants bin at the fabric store (WAY cheaper!) and buy fleece that I trim to size and sew together (I like to do two layers). And I have a glass pan for the bedding. The chins are pretty good about knowing that they have to pee where the bedding is, but the liners do suffer a bit occasionally. If you wash them with a bit of vinegar though, the smell washes out. I have a solid bottom to my cage but I use fleece liners and the litter pan system anyways and I've found it's a lot nicer to clean.

Oh! And I got my pyrex pans from the Christmas Tree Shops so they were pretty reasonable. I think the glass is nice because I feel like the metal might erode from the chin pee.