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[nemue]

Please Help!  this will probably be a lengthy message, but I need help!  I want to move my girls to the living room.  When I first got them, I read they needed to be in a quiet part of the house, so I put them in my office.  I now think they should be where the action is, so they get lots of company and get to know us better.  The problem is, now that we know how messy they are, my husband doesnt' beleive that they can be in the living room and it won't be a mess, and they won't eat everything. 

 So, here's the advice I need so that I can plead my case: 

1.  I am willing to buy a new cage with poop catchers.  I know I've asked before, but please help me again.  I was asking a bit differently before. 

2.  Any suggestions whatso ever on how you keep the area clean?  He doesn't believe that I will vaccuum daily, which is probably true.   

3.  I also agree with him that they shouldn't have play time in the living room, because Kira has started to chew on the window sill and get into everything.  I can only pick up M'noke (and only if I"m sneaky), and I don't believe Kira will ever like it.  So, is there a way I can train them to maybe jump into a pet carrier and take them somewhere else safer for them?  I know some people take them elsewhere.  I don't think a play pen will work, just because of Kira, she's jumpy and an escape artist.  But, suggestions on that will help too.

4.  Also should I give them the new cage first, or move them first?

Don't get me wrong, it's not that my husband doens't love them, he just doesn't want a zoo (even though we have one!).  I think once they're in the living room, he will love it, he has a big heart, but I have to plead my case and look prepared first!  We have to stop thinking about poop and start thinking about looooove! 

THANK YOU!  I appreciate any help.

[JandSchins]

sounds like a lot i went through when getting me 2nd chin...

first of all I would highly suggest getting a new cage with a tray in the bottom, from experience it makes cleaning a ton easier. also, my chins have this habit of 'flicking' their poop outside the cage. i know sounds nasty, but what we did was to put plexy glass around the bottom of the cage, not too high so that the air still circulates and it doesnt get too hot. maybe about 2 inches high.  this prevents the dialy vacumming that would need to be done.

to keep the area clean i put down a clear mat that can easily be wipped off and picked up as needed. i only vaccuum after my five chins about once, twice a week with all the other precautions, and they all live in our bedroom actually (and i am a neat freak!!!!) so if that fits with your schedule its not bad at all.

for me and my chins playtime in the living room, or any other room is difficult. i live in a very open house with a lot if things to get in trouble with. the only place my chins are allowed to run is the bathroom, which is stilll romey enough to get them the proper exercise, bouncing off the walls and all. just be sure the floor and tub are dry and all is off the floor. and watch them, the toliet seems to be a perfect height for them to jump on and get hurt!! and yes, a small pet carrier shouldnt be too hard to getyour girls into.

i would, if decided to move, first get the new cage and wait about a week, then move them to the living room. just to make the change less stressful on your babies.

hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to ask!!!

-sarah
(sorry its SOOOOOOO long!)

[Jenova]

Get the cage first.

Also you can buy mini vaccum cleaners, handheld ones. I have one of these sitting by may cage and when I sit by my cage to see the chinnies I give it a quick vacuum afterwards. I actually only hoover about one a week. It gets most things up apart from the dust which is, obviously, very fine and sometimes the hay gets stuck in the nozzle and it needs cleaning out but overal it is very useful.

[nemue]

Thanks guys.  I'm a total neat freak.  I have metal guards like the plastic ones around the cage (why doesnt' someone make a cage like this, really, who wouldn't want it?).  I have a really bad dustbuster that even poop gets into.  What one is yours Jenova?  I don't mind them using the room they're in to run aournd in, but I want them to be near us.  I don't use my office a whole lot, and once the chins are out of there it will become a guest room.  I think I'll start working on getting them in a carrier and taking them to different fun places so they think it's exctiting.  They might catch on too quickly though, they're way too smart. 

Thanks again, I appreciate it!  I'm actively looking for a cage, and will hopefully find one in the next week.   

[nemue]

Ok, here's the update.  My husband was happy with the compromise, and today we bought a new cage.  EVERYBODY loves it. 

This is it:  http://exoticpets.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=exoticpets&cdn=homegarden&tm=8&gps=198_628_1436_720&f=11&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=3&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.ferretdepot.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc%3FScreen%3DPROD%26Product_Code%3D485%26Category_Code%3D3PrevueHomes%26Product_Count%3D0

It's a ferret cage, but perfect.  There is mesh on it, but we just took the metal levels from the old cage, and put them on the floor so my little bumble butts don't get bumble feet.    I had a lot of trouble getting Kira in the cage, took about an hour.  She finally found the raisin in the pet carrier, and we shut the door and got her into the cage, where M'noke had already been living it up!  They are soooooooooo happy in there, it's twice the size of the old cage, with much more to do in it (like slipping through the holes on the levels face first into the food). 

Next week we're going to move them to the living room.  Kira will be the biggest challenge.  I love my chins.   

And yes, I spent my Friday night doing all this.  Couldn't have thought of anything better to do.   

[Missy8964]

My favorite tool for keeping my living room tidy is the Shark Sweeper.  I think it costs about $50 but it is sooooo worth it.  It picks up poop and hay better than any other vacuum cleaner I've ever owned.  It also doesn't get clogged from the hay.    I highly recommend it.  Cage guards can only do so much.

[nemue]

Thought you might like an update:  The girls have been in the living room for a week.  They love their new cage, and they have a play pen to hang out in.  It's quite large, adn circles around a corner of the room so they have a wall to jump on.  I think they're a little nervous, as they have been mostly hiding in the corner.  I"m hoping they will start running around like they used to soon 

They have a flying saucer wheel as well, but they haven't figured it out yet.  M'noke sits on it and eats the oats I put on it, but that's the most action it gets. 

My husband is bonding with them more.  I think because they like the same TV he does! 

[Jenova]

Good luck with them. I'm sure it won't take them too long to settle down, but it's a big change so it seems normal enough. I bet it takes them a couple of month to figure out the wheel. Most people say it does. That's one thing I really want for my two but my cage is tall with lots of levels and none of the levels are big enough for one.

[nemue]

Oh, what I night we just had!  My lovely escape artist Kira figured out how to get out of the play pen!  It only took her less than two weeks!  The bars aren't exactly spaced (there's a difference of a couple millimeters).  She tests all of them until she finds one big enough and squeezes herself through!  ACK!     I took some wire and wound it through the bars thinking that would stop her, but no, she was still able to get through.  We're not sure if we can keep the play pen now.  A calmer chin like M'noke would probably never have figured it out, but Kira is persistent.

The worst part, was slightly traumatic for everyone.  When she got out we just blocked it off so she could only go up the stairs, and all the doors were closed, so there was just the hallway to hang out in.  She came running down the stairs adn went face first into the metal playpen.  Then she turned around and did it again.  We're not sure why this happened, maybe she was excited with her running and didn't see it?  She slipped some fur on her face, but we let her out twenty minutes after and she seems to be fine.  Phew, what a night.   

[nemue]

I caught her escape on video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZNiRXolYiQ