Rolling in Shavings

[Bethany2386]

Ok, so I recently (within the last month) got FNs for my boys. I am using fleece liners, so I put shavings in a pan in their cages. I have been noticing that the boys roll in them... even after they are peed on... What do I need to do? Are they giving me a sign that they need another bath? I mean, one night I gave all the boys a "bath" and after, they went and rolled in the shavings like it was dust. I am getting frustrated with this because they are starting to smell like pee. Anyone have an idea what I can do?

And how do I make them stop smelling like their pee?

 

[Diamond Dreams]

I have a few chins that love to roll in the shavings. I don't have fleece liners so its not a issue.

Maybe using carefresh instead of shavings? Or maybe spot cleaning the pan twice a day would help.

 

[Bethany2386]

I don't want to spend that much money on Carefresh since I change it out so frequently. I dump their pans everyother night and clean them once a week. But in between the big cleans, the pee makes the shavings stick to the bottom of the pan and they still get in their and roll. It's sick!

 

[Bethany2386]

Does anyone know how to get them to stop or to atleast stop smelling like urine?

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Maybe change it every day. Or change when you change the bedding.

Like if you change it of a morning, change it about noonish or when they become active. If you change it at night, change it of a morning. and so on.

 

[Chub_Chub]

Does anyone know how to get them to stop or to atleast stop smelling like urine?

I have boys who roll in the bedding too like its dust... No help for making them stop, but I wanted to mention Cornstarch for the urine smell. AZChins uses it in the dustbath for her chins and recommended it to me.... I was amazed at how white my boys tummys and bottoms got afterwards!!! It took the yellow right out of the fur, so I think it would work well for removing the source of the smell :thumbsup:

 

[Brittany]

I wanted to mention Cornstarch for the urine smell. AZChins uses it in the dustbath for her chins and recommended it to me....:

What ratio of dust to cornstarch do you use?

As far as rolling in their pans- I've never tried this, but what if you got a smaller pan that they could still pee in, but wasn't big enough for them to roll?

 

[Mystic]

This may seem like a long shot, but have you tried moving their pans to a different location in the cage?

 

[Laurie]

Bethany my chins do this when they want a bath! It's like their way of saying, look lady I'm rolling around but I want to be rolling around in dust not shavings!

Try giving them a bath and see if it helps!

 

[Essentia]

If they are doing it soon after they are dusted it could be that the dust is getting on the shavings which is causing them to roll in it. You may want to dust them outside the cage (if you are dusting them inside currently) and let them run around for a bit before putting them back inside the cage. This should cut down on the amount of dust getting on the shavings.

 

[Laurie]

And yes they will do this if dust gets on their shavings! I've seen mine do it! Actually a couple of times the dust bath was left in Bobo and GiGi's cage and they dug all the dust out into their cage! So they rolled around quite a bit in those shavings the stinkers!

 

[Bethany2386]

I do not dust inside the cage. I do it in the bathroom during their playtime. I give them their dust about 2x a week right now. But the roll in their shavings everyday. I will move their pans. They are the 8 X 8 metal baking pans that I use in their cages. They still roll. I just don't know what else I can do to get them to stop doing that. And they are mostly going in the pans, so I don't want to take them out. Thanks for everyones suggestions. I make sure that they have done their normal shake after dusting a few times. I try to get as much off of them as I can before they go back into the cages.

 

[Chub_Chub]

What ratio of dust to cornstarch do you use?

As far as rolling in their pans- I've never tried this, but what if you got a smaller pan that they could still pee in, but wasn't big enough for them to roll?

I used half and half ratio ONCE and Ziggy wouldn't stop sneezing for a day. So now we use around 2 tablespoons cornstarch to about a cup of dust. It's pretty much whatever you want to useand are comfortable with. I think it helps make their fur even softer, if you can believe it. And if you give them a lot of cornstarch their fur looks really funny all whited out!