Potty Training?

[Apollo24]

So I've seen a few posters say they have potty trained their chin(s) to pee in a litter box, how exactly did you all accomplish this? It seems to me that my chin sort of does whatever he wants lol...

 

[Filia]

Before fleece i used white paper bedding which made it easy to note their wetting patterns. My chins would mostly wet the cornor opposite from their house where they sleep. I put their litter pan in that corner and they just caught on. As for their other business...They're just going to do that everywhere...
(As a side note: I wouldn't suggest using paper bedding; my chins kept chewing it which is why I switched to fleece. Not sure how visable their wet stains are in other beddings, though.)

 

[jbcstratton]

If there is a spot he generally pees in, or a few, put a dish there with your preferred litter(aspen, pine or whatever you use) It is easier to change out and decreases cleaning intervals. If you want one litter pan and your chin uses multiple spots, put in a few and after he starts using them decrease the litter pans little by little.

 

[Jordanelizabeth91]

Do you just use regular pine bedding as litter?

 

[Apollo24]

Sorry for the delay, been sick with the flu... and no its the care fresh pet bedding...

 

[Godofgods]

carefresh can be seriously hazardous if a chin ingests it. You might want to consider moving to aspen shavings.

My chins actually litter trained themselves. (And sadly untrained themselves it seems as of late.) I used to have a layer of bedding across the tray. Then they started sticking to certain corners. So i started only placing litter in those corners and not the whole tray. I was eventually able to move them into corner litter pans. Saved me a lot of litter. But unfortunately the last year or so they have gotten half out of that habit. :/

 

[deliamaj]

I wanted to litter train my babies but they go anywhere, I tried putting soiled bedding in their litter pan but I think Elena only goes there because I put the pan in the spot she sits in to eat hay. Otherwise they kind of go wherever they feel like. Also someone told me that they wouldn't pee outside the cage during playtime and this is apparently not entirely true. They are 10 and I am wondering if maybe they are just too old to learn new tricks? I don't mind so much about in the cage but on my dresser or bed is another thing. Any suggestions? Also on a related note, I have wood shelves, how would I clean those? Thanks,
Dani

 

[Cuddlebug]

They may be too set in their ways to learn now. Yes, if they are out of their cage and need to pee, they will do it where they like, which most likely be anywhere you don't want them to pee. This is why most people do playtime in the bathroom. It is sooo much easier to clean tile than it is to clean bedding and carpet.

To clean wood shelves, you can use either a vinegar and water solution or peroxide. Both are perfectly safe for use around chinchillas.

 

[Chefscott]

Yeah this is weird, and I guess I was lucky with gus even though I bought him at petsmart, the first day we brought him home I had put a small container for a liter box type set-up cause I had read about that in a cage setup article and he used it the first day, maybe he was trained at the pet store or the farm he came from i dont know but he uses it and only it, he is such a good boy

 

[e.murphy518]

At their previous home my chins were not given litter boxes but I decided I wanted to give it a shot to keep the fleece cleaner. I bought Pyrex dishes and put aspen bedding in them. My chins kinda caught on by themselves eventually, now they pee in the litter boxes and poop wherever they want haha

 

[penguinATTACKx]

I use to have fleece lining in her cage but she was peeing all over it then I tried just Carefresh bedding in the bottom of her cage. After she got use to that I used the bedding in only one side of the bottom of the cage. I went and got a glass cooking pan and I put the bedding in that. She never pees anywhere else now but still poops all over lol. Only bad thing about this kind of bedding is she likes to pick it up and run around with it...but make sure if you try a potty box its not a plastic one from a pet store,just go buy a glass pan(much easier to clean too)

 

[Zoaea]

My older chin is potty trained and i used to be able to use just some paper bedding in the corner (she never ate it, but i always gave fresh hay at cage cleanings too.) But my newer chin not only pees were ever, including out side the bars.... but would eat the paper. Now i have aspen on the whole bottom. Grrr. He even peed in his hay!! >_<

Also a long time ago I heard my girl actually cry out when she pee'd on the bare metal and it got on her foot. she wouldnt stop fussing till i gave her a dust bath, so I think it's personalty that affects pottie "training" too.