Chinchilla cage help?

Question

I recently bought two chinchillas. I have them in a cage that has a rather shallow pan, so if I have bedding in it they constantly kick it out and it is basically a huge mess all over the floor. I was using the carefresh bedding, which just seemed to be a soggy mess after they'd urinated in it. A friend told me that chinchillas don't necessarily need bedding, so I decided to try that out. It fixes the bedding mess problem, but now it just seems like their cage is a discusting mess of poo and urine. I'm constantly spraying vinegar water to get rid of smells and messes.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

they make cage things that go around the cage to keep the litter from getting out. chinchillas do need litter though, and it should be changed often. you should try getting a small litter pan specially designed for small animals like chinchillas, that fit nicely in a corner of the cage. although it would involve some training, it would help clean up the mess.

Answer 2

No they need bedding. If you can try purchasing a custom made pan I think they make sides up to 5". You can order from Bass Pans. some chinchillas will chew carefresh which can cause a blockage so watch out for that. Other beddings you can use is aspen shavings or kiln dried pine shavings. Stay away from cedar as the phenol oils can cause respiratory problems. Or you can buy fleece liners which would solve both problems. www.wunderchins.com sells them and they're very reliable sellers. Plus its a one time only buy,so no more constantly buying bedding. Other than that there isn't much to do except clean it up frequently. Chinchillas do that kind of thing unfortunately.

Answer 3

We use a large plastic box that's big enough that they can't reach it to chew to keep the mess in. As for bedding, I'd suggest Yesterday's News, which is made of recycled paper that's been pressed into pellets. I've also found that their urine gets all over the walls, so we placed a blanket on the back of the cage that we wash every week.