Dawn
Well-known member
Sorry about the HUGE photos, apparently I improperly downsized them or it reverted back to the original size.
*shakes head*
*shakes head*
The Ferret Nation Club
- Thread starter mistywaterwoman
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Sandi
non-stop poop sweeper
It shouldn't but the bearings are known to wear down in time and you will have to replace them. I also had to put a piece of fleeece in between the bass pan and the cage so that when they do go on the wheel the pan doesn't hit the sides of the cage and rattle. You can also try a silver surfer wheel that chinchillas.com sells.
Mookie
Well-known member
For those of you with litter boxes in your cages with kiln dried pine, do your chins spill the bedding all of the cage (and still pee in the box) mine do, and I'm unsure what to do. Also I have haybags for my chinnies but I always seem to have hay ALL OVER the cage. What can I do about this? thank you 
ChinnyMom
slave to Rhino and Guss
try a heavier litter pan Mookie, one that they can't tip over.
as for hay all over the cage...... indubitably and undeniably gonna happen if you own a chin or chins, lol!
as for hay all over the cage...... indubitably and undeniably gonna happen if you own a chin or chins, lol!
sorry here is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Chinchilla-Wheel-/260829032059?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cba9f2e7b
http://cgi.ebay.com/Chinchilla-Wheel-/260829032059?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cba9f2e7b
i just keep posting dont i? :crazy:
so im assuming that you dont have to clean the cage when you first get it new right? then again you never know...
but also i wanted to know what people would do for a weekly cleaning. i'm going to have fleece in bass pans with litter boxes, in and FN of course. so how would you clean this? also, are there things like monthly cleaning and christmas and spring cleaning in the chinchilla world? like, a total scrub down? and how would you go about doing that?? thanks so much. also, sigh i know just one more question, stay with me here :rofl:, i have been getting different answers about how you should wash fleece, some people say cold water, others hot water, detergent, drying or no drying, vinegar, i dont know what to beleive. i will not be having actual liners, just fleece folded up in the pans. thanks so much for being patient with a first time owner like me!! :banghead:
so im assuming that you dont have to clean the cage when you first get it new right? then again you never know...
but also i wanted to know what people would do for a weekly cleaning. i'm going to have fleece in bass pans with litter boxes, in and FN of course. so how would you clean this? also, are there things like monthly cleaning and christmas and spring cleaning in the chinchilla world? like, a total scrub down? and how would you go about doing that?? thanks so much. also, sigh i know just one more question, stay with me here :rofl:, i have been getting different answers about how you should wash fleece, some people say cold water, others hot water, detergent, drying or no drying, vinegar, i dont know what to beleive. i will not be having actual liners, just fleece folded up in the pans. thanks so much for being patient with a first time owner like me!! :banghead:
fbodgrl
Zoo Keeper
I took the divider out so my cage is all one level. I only have 1 litter pan.
As far as cleaning.... I clean every day. I vacuum poops/hay out. Fill hay, food, water, etc. I dump and fill the litter pan every couple days . Once a week I totally wash it out. Every 2 or 3 days I switch out liners.
I washed and dried my fleece to pre shrink it before I sewed my liners. I wash in cold with "free" detergent and dry in the dryer.
Can't answer your question about the wheels. I have a flying saucer and as far as I know my chin hasn't used it yet.
As far as cleaning.... I clean every day. I vacuum poops/hay out. Fill hay, food, water, etc. I dump and fill the litter pan every couple days . Once a week I totally wash it out. Every 2 or 3 days I switch out liners.
I washed and dried my fleece to pre shrink it before I sewed my liners. I wash in cold with "free" detergent and dry in the dryer.
Can't answer your question about the wheels. I have a flying saucer and as far as I know my chin hasn't used it yet.
yeah every day i clean up poops/hay and take out dirty litter. what do you mean by wash down? do you take every thing out of the cage and hose it off, or just take out pans and wash hammocks and stuff, by the way, do hammocks even need to be washed?? sorry i'm new to the fleece world .
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fbodgrl
Zoo Keeper
I mean just wash out and dry the litter pan. I have had my chin since May and haven't really washed out the cage at all (as far as with anything wet. My girl always uses her litter bow and I wipe out the bottom when I replace the liners.
I have 2 hammocks and I vacuum them out. I wash them periodically, but not every time I do the liners. I have 5 liners and multiple hammocks right now. Since she doesn't pee on the liners they could go longer between switches, but it just gives it a cleaner look, because you can't always get all the stray hay or bedding vacuumed up. I could just shake it off, but I figure if I am taking it out I may as well just put a fresh one in.
I have 2 hammocks and I vacuum them out. I wash them periodically, but not every time I do the liners. I have 5 liners and multiple hammocks right now. Since she doesn't pee on the liners they could go longer between switches, but it just gives it a cleaner look, because you can't always get all the stray hay or bedding vacuumed up. I could just shake it off, but I figure if I am taking it out I may as well just put a fresh one in.
ok, has this ever happened to anyone? the four long poles that are the front and back for the shelf underneath the cage are supposed to have 4 holes in them, well two of mine have only one hole. but the directions say there are only 4 poles, not six, and i only took 4 out of the box.
partygirlha
Well-known member
Mookie - For trying to control hay I use custom hay boxes – I got mine from http://www.etsy.com/listing/50910359/saveabunnys-hay-saver-double-hole
I ordered single hole ones that they made for me with smaller holes. They do a good job of keeping the hay contained but it’s not like there’s not still hay on the fleece.
Tim and Ben: if you keep the middle floor in the FN142, you can cover the hole between levels with a chin chiller or other tile during cleaning and keep the chins on one level while you clean the other. I find this really helps – I don’t need to watch “the crazy boys” while trying to clean.
Fleece – personally I use HOT water. I use a detergent and either vinegar or some baking soda. I ALWAYS add an extra rinse to make sure all the detergent is out. Then I use the dryer – no fabric softener sheets.
I pull the fleece out and shake into a trash bin, the seep up any poo and hay left in the cage. Then a fast vacuum to deal with dust. Then I the pans and sometimes the wheel and shelves get sprayed down with vinegar or sometimes peroxide or Nature’s Miracle and left for a few minutes. While everything “soaks” I clean the water bottles and dishes, and take the laundry down to get it started. After a while 30 sec to 5 minutes) I wipe down the pan and shelves/wheel. Then wipe again with a damp cloth to get up any cleaning residue. I use mirco fiber cleaning cloths – they work well and cleaning and drying and because I can toss them in the wash it’s more environmental than paper towels (but anything will do). Then I replace everything and let “the crazy boys” back into that level so they can mess it up again. I do one cage level a day, most but not all days. So they get cleaned 1-2 times a week.
While I have the vacuum out I’ll try my best to get the outside of the bars of the cage (below the pan line seems to be the area that really gets gross. And if I notice that it needs more then from time to time (a few times a year) I’ll take the pans out during cleaning so I can really clean inside and outside well. A vacuum goes a long way to get everything clean – then a damp cleaning cloth takes care of most of the rest.
We don’t use litter pans. My boys just played in them when I tried them.
I ordered single hole ones that they made for me with smaller holes. They do a good job of keeping the hay contained but it’s not like there’s not still hay on the fleece.
Tim and Ben: if you keep the middle floor in the FN142, you can cover the hole between levels with a chin chiller or other tile during cleaning and keep the chins on one level while you clean the other. I find this really helps – I don’t need to watch “the crazy boys” while trying to clean.
Fleece – personally I use HOT water. I use a detergent and either vinegar or some baking soda. I ALWAYS add an extra rinse to make sure all the detergent is out. Then I use the dryer – no fabric softener sheets.
I pull the fleece out and shake into a trash bin, the seep up any poo and hay left in the cage. Then a fast vacuum to deal with dust. Then I the pans and sometimes the wheel and shelves get sprayed down with vinegar or sometimes peroxide or Nature’s Miracle and left for a few minutes. While everything “soaks” I clean the water bottles and dishes, and take the laundry down to get it started. After a while 30 sec to 5 minutes) I wipe down the pan and shelves/wheel. Then wipe again with a damp cloth to get up any cleaning residue. I use mirco fiber cleaning cloths – they work well and cleaning and drying and because I can toss them in the wash it’s more environmental than paper towels (but anything will do). Then I replace everything and let “the crazy boys” back into that level so they can mess it up again. I do one cage level a day, most but not all days. So they get cleaned 1-2 times a week.
While I have the vacuum out I’ll try my best to get the outside of the bars of the cage (below the pan line seems to be the area that really gets gross. And if I notice that it needs more then from time to time (a few times a year) I’ll take the pans out during cleaning so I can really clean inside and outside well. A vacuum goes a long way to get everything clean – then a damp cleaning cloth takes care of most of the rest.
We don’t use litter pans. My boys just played in them when I tried them.
3CsMommy
My babies Rock!
Anyone have an Ed Wheel in their FN?
Am I going to have to worry about the pressure torquing the bars out of shape/breaking them?
I've got one on hold from a member here for Nova and YouBe; now I have to figure out how to get it in there! My plan is to put it on the right side of the top section since Crash's Flying Saucer is on the left side of the bottom, but judging by the bending/warping I saw when I installed the shelves, I'm concerned that I'll have to modify the mounting hardware, or jerry-rig another set up like I had in the first cage for Cervantes and Crash's big vertical wheel. (Which was a pain in the neck, but sturdy as heck.)
Pics are awesome if you have them.
Am I going to have to worry about the pressure torquing the bars out of shape/breaking them?
I've got one on hold from a member here for Nova and YouBe; now I have to figure out how to get it in there! My plan is to put it on the right side of the top section since Crash's Flying Saucer is on the left side of the bottom, but judging by the bending/warping I saw when I installed the shelves, I'm concerned that I'll have to modify the mounting hardware, or jerry-rig another set up like I had in the first cage for Cervantes and Crash's big vertical wheel. (Which was a pain in the neck, but sturdy as heck.)
Pics are awesome if you have them.
Angelyco
Fur Flavored
None of my friends care about what I do for the cage, so I wanted to share with people who might actually be interested. I made the girls new shelf liners today, it was time for a change of scenery )
I also made another change that -I- thought was brilliant, I bought them a new bath house (the plastic house-shaped one) and cleaned out the ceramic one to give them somewhere cool to sleep in, since they seem to want to sleep in it when they took baths. Of course, now I never see them in it... :duh:
)I also made another change that -I- thought was brilliant, I bought them a new bath house (the plastic house-shaped one) and cleaned out the ceramic one to give them somewhere cool to sleep in, since they seem to want to sleep in it when they took baths. Of course, now I never see them in it... :duh:
