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[Rachael29]

Hi Guys,

We are still getting our cage set up how we like it and whats best for them to make the best of their massive space and still have some bits and bobs to buy however we bought a chinchilla house from pets at home we put hay in for bedding/to eat i need to get a hay holder but don't know the best one to get, any suggestions?? anyway yesterday while cleaning i noticed a smell from the house ... i think they are using it to pee in. So my questions are

1st - how do we get the smell out the house and what will we use for bedding to make it sleepible (if they want to go in)

2ND - where to get a good safe hay holder keeping in mind I'm in the UK   

3rd - what could we use for a chinchilla litter? I've seen the little triangle things for the toilet which is good but what do you put in them? I've heard kitty litter is wrong but i don't want them picking up whatever we put in it thinking its food I'm so confused on what to get for chinchilla litter. 
again please remember I'm in the UK (i think the US has more choices and availability) 

any help is greatly appreciated 

[GrayRodent]

Using hay for bedding is not good. It will get damp and mold because it's nutritious for microbes as well as pets and this is very dangerous for your pets if they eat that. It can also account for a foul smell in your cage. You should be using white pine or aspen chips for bedding.
If the items themselves smell bad you may just want to replace the affected items in the cage because wood items cannot be cleaned.

As far as hay holders I can't comment on that because I just put hay on the floor of the cage and that seems to work. Perhaps someone else can comment. I've tried one that looked safe but it was instantly destroyed by my chinchilla. Of course anything plastic should not be used in a chinchilla cage and wire frames can easily become an entrapment hazard.

As far as bedding you should have access to kiln dried white pine or aspen which is what I use when I need bedding. My primary cage is designed to catch the droppings in a tray below the floor and does not use bedding. I advise against using paper or artificial beddings as they seem to cause skin problems in the long run and are potentially hazardous if ingested. Cedar chips are not acceptable. Do not use cat litter. Scented bedding can be quite deadly to chinchillas as their lungs are very sensitive.

[Rachael29]

So we can use the white pine or aspen for bedding and for litter as such in 2 separate containers as such?

[GrayRodent]

Yes you can put bedding in separate containers. Chances are the chins will use one for urine and the other should be stay clean once they have established a corner for themselves.

[Rachael29]

ive bought this one at Pets at home, it does have chinchillas ticked to say its suitable iv not put it in yet as their cleaning time is at night.

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/woodshavings/woodshavings-p385--1?pageSize=23

any advice?

[GrayRodent]

Looks okay to me. I'd prefer the product specifies kiln dried white pine or aspen chips. There are many other safe woods as well but those two are the most common. As far as having a picture of a chinchilla on it, unfortunately, marketing has become meaningless and there are plenty of unsafe products marketed towards chin owners. Cedar chips are usually green in appearance so it's probably not that. Based on the color of the chips I think it is white pine. If it is not kiln dried I wouldn't recommend it but I've never seen bedding that is not except for hamster bedding (which I don't recommend for hamster either). It would not hurt to send an email or call their customer service and ask. I do this with a lot of things and usually it's quite painless to do that.

[Rachael29]

they did have an 0800 number called it - they never knew what kind of wood it was  again they guessed it was pine aswell, can i try them with it and see how they go?