Why do my girls throw poop at me?

[ReneeM]

My girls are brats. Their cage is about two feet from the end of my bed (only place it will fit). Every morning and every night before bed I find two or three droppings on my bed.

It's never when I'm awake in my room though, only when Im sleeping or not in there.

I have a feeling they are doing it on purpose. Ive never seen a chin with projectile poop before. At least not my boys.

I'm wondering if I can cover to front of their cage with fleece at night to prevent poop from getting on my bed?

 

[SeeleyAnne]

I don't think they throw it. My chins have about a 2 ft perimeter around their cage that I have to vaccuum every day because poop just gets shoved out of their cage. I think it's because when they poop on their shelves, it just gets pushed out of the cage bars, since my shelves don't have any little "ledges" around the sides to keep poop in. So maybe that's it? Do they have shelves that don't have a "lip" on them?

 

[EMSChins]

They also poop as they jump so chances are that it is flying as they are flying so to speak. Chances are that you find it at the times that you do because those are the times that most chins are active and doing much of their jumping. Anyone that finds chin poop in places they don't expect hasn't owned chinchillas long enough!

 

[kellylynnmarie]

I agree with the "poop flies" theory. There's at least a 2 foot radius around my 2 cages that I'm constantly cleaning up. And if they are playing and running and jumping or get startled and bolt across the cage, then I really see the poop fly everywhere.

 

[chechinchillas]

One thing you can try is to put fleece around the entire perimeter of the cage on the bottom sides that is about 8" high and secure it in the front. They love to hide behind it and it helps to keep the shavings and poo in. Any shelves or other levels would need to have something behind them also. Bass Equipment will make sheet metal urine guards in custom heights and widths.

 

[Srlampron]

One of my chins kicks it around when she's playing. It flies a good 5-6 feet from her cage. She's just rambunctious. I don't think she would throw it. She enjoys eating it too much.

 

[obcsed]

One of mine props himself between the top of the wheel and the cage door. He then proceeds to shoot poop out the door. It is a regular pastime for him. There is always a pile of poop just outside the cage every morning. :facepalm:

 

[Maggie:-)]

I've never added a picture on here before so I hope I did it right.
Maggie also gets in between her chinspin and cage and poops on the floor. I hang a piece of fleece so she can't shoot the poop out all over the floor

 

[Maggie:-)]

Another picture. I don't know why the pictures are showing up sideways.

 

[Srlampron]

I've never added a picture on here before so I hope I did it right.
Maggie also gets in between her chinspin and cage and poops on the floor. I hang a piece of fleece so she can't shoot the poop out all over the floor

Acrobatic little thing isn't she? My girls haven't realized that if you try to stand on the top of the wheel, you are going for a ride. And it is not going to end well. Mostly Dori, the younger one. She's a little wild and perhaps a bit soft in the head, but adorable and so much fun to watch! We call her Spider-Chin because she climbs the sides and top of her cage. She's a riot! Lilly is more laid back, so its fun to see a wild one, too.

I need to make a scatter guard for Lilly's corner shelf. She spends a lot of time there so it gets poo'd on regularly. She is not normally a poo-chucker so I would like to make my morning poo vacuuming a little less if possible. Dori makes enough mess for both of them anyway. Any material suggestions? I'm afraid she will lose too much surface area if I use wood. THANKS!!

 

[Maggie:-)]

The pictures I put were old. Now there is plexi glass on the back and halfway up the sides of her cage. She has never tried to chew it and I don't think she could reach it anyways but it helps a lot with keep the poop in the cage. The only place it gets shot out now is the front but I didn't want to put anything on the front because I didn't want to limit her airflow.

 

[Chinchilla63]

My girls haven't realized that if you try to stand on the top of the wheel, you are going for a ride. And it is not going to end well.

ROTFL!!! I have a girl who does this, and looks surprised every time she falls off!

 

[ChinChild]

My chin jettisons his poop through the bars every night while we're sleeping. He zips around his shelves, kicking out the poop several feet in every direction. It's not deliberate.

 

[sheri7]

That picture of Maggie. Sitting up like that is adorable!