The new challenges of multiple chins in a cage

[Anfsurfer]

I purchased Shadowfax back in June??? He lived alone in a QC Chin Mansion. Over the last few weeks I added two new buddies to his cage and everyone gets along great, and they're all wonderful pets.

However, I've noticed some obstacles and wanted to check with other multiple chin owners who house them together, to see if you experience(d) the same things and maybe have any solutions.

BATHING
I use a cracker jar for bathing. I place it in the cage and one goes in and baths, and the others start rolling around outside in the wood shavings. When the first one comes out, the others go in but then they don't bath...they just sit in it. Should I buy multiple containers and put them in at the same time? Do I buy one huge communal bath and place it in?

KEEPING THE CAGE CLEAN
When I had only Shadowfax, it was very simple to brush the dried poops off the shelves into a paper towel in the morning and toss them. Simple. But with three, there's so much poop coming out, and chins running in it while it's still soft...the shelves are a mess! You can't just brush it all off. it's smashed into the shelves. I tried getting a warm wet paper towel and wiping it off, but it's not that easy? How do you guys deal with this? I'm feeling like maybe I should be doing a full cage cleaning everyday now, instead of once a week like I am. Plus Shadowfax always has a poop or two stuck in his fur every morning that I have to gently pull out. lol

Am I not doing enough...or is this par for the course of housing multiple chins together in a cage???

 

[ChinnyMom]

if the poop is smooshing and smearing i would be looking at the cause of that, as soft poop can be a sign all is not right in the digestive system. i've squished my boys' poops when they are fresh an they don't 'smash' or smear at all, they just have some give to them.

i would do shelf cleaning daily, as well as dump and refill their litter pan or clean out the soiled litter areas of their cage floor daily. this is what i do for both my boys, and they are housed singly for now, until it's time for Guss's quarantine to end and intros to begin.

as for the dust bath, i've seen people use a large container so that all the chins could get in at the same time if they wanted, and have also seen where each chin has their own container. one thing i would do though, is put their dust bath down somewhere outside the cage during playtime, so that the dust doesn't get all over their food and hay in the cage. you could easily do three dust containers in your playtime area.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Soft poops are not always a sign that something is wrong. Poops are soft when they're fresh and if you have chins jumping on them they get smooshed or smeared. When I had my colonies together, the poop was just ridiculous to manage. I would get a taping knife and use that to scrape the squished poo off the shelves. You may also want to look into offering more places for them to go to, maybe more fleece items where they can't smoosh the poos in. It would help with keeping the cage clean and keep you from having so much squished poo to clean up.

Each chin does not need their own dust bath. My colonies of 5-7 chinchillas would get one or maybe two baths. They will take turns in the bath and some will just roll around in the dust that falls outside of the bath. Rolling around in the shavings and excess dust gets them clean just fine. Sitting in the bath and not rolling is just each taking their turn being king of the bath.

 

[Brittany]

In addition to Tab's suggestion I vacuum my shelves. The vacuum nozel acts like a scraper, and combined with the suction it does a decent job. I don't have any colonies, but I've had to deal with poop getting smashed before.

 

[Carleigh]

When my 5 chinchillas were together, cleaning cages was torture!! Now, like Brittany, I have a 1 gallon shop vac that I use to vacuum and fleece that I wash regularly. I also have two litter pans that they seem to use faithfully, so I have to clean those out all the time. As for the shelves having poop smashed in them--if they're wooden, pour some hydrogen peroxide on the shelves and let it set/bubble for a few minutes, then take a scouring sponge and it will come right off. Rinse with water and let dry! )

 

[Anfsurfer]

Thank you all for your posts! It's so good to know I'm not alone. I never would have guessed the cleaning would increase as much as it did from 1 to 3 chins. You would think "oh it's 3 times more mess", but it's not. With 3 in a cage, you have new messes that come into play that were never there before. The cage perimeter garbage went from just around the cage to 6 feet around the cage. lol Plus with one...when you're doing your morning cleaning, it's easy to work around him/her in the cage. With three...it's practically impossible! You have the ones that follow your hand wherever it goes. Then there's the ones cramming their heads through the door opening to say "HI". As the thread title says...it's definitely been a new challenge.

I think I'm going to invest in Quality Cages Powdercoated shelves. It will make cleaning the shelves quicker and easier than dealing with the wood ones. The wood shelves were fine with 1-2 Chins. But with 3...It's just too difficult and time consuming on a day to day basis, which is what's now required.

Once again...thank you all for sharing your experiences and giving me hope. I really need to get this daily cage cleaning ritual down. Even after getting the powdercoated shelves, there will still be small wood leaping ledges in the cage. So I'm going to try the Hydrogen Peroxide on those.

I hope this thread will help others who do a sudden increase in the number of chins in a cage too. :thumbsup:

 

[dcfluegel]

@anfsurfer - I saw a suggestion in another thread about 'how much do chins spray' suggesting a vinegar/ water wipedown for pee-spots on ledges also - just a heads up