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[Herbert]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if they can fix it somehow.  My two chins are peeing all over their hay, the container it's kept in and all over the wooden shelf that it is kept on.

Thanks!

[GrayRodent]

That is abnormal. Is there anything that has changed in their cage that can account for that? Peeing on hay is not as uncommon but peeing on shelving may indicate a urinary tract infection and you may want to have that checked out.
How is your cage set up in the way of litter?

[Herbert]

I do not know how to make my pictures smaller and can never upload them on this site.. they have litter on the bottom and use that as well.  They never did this when they were separate but now that they live together it's become a common occurrence.

[Herbert]

This is when we put the first one in the cage for the first time to see how he made out with the jumps. Their hay is kept on the shelf on the bottom right hand corner where the water bottle is, and I have their litter on the very bottom

[GrayRodent]

That sounds like a good setup. My recommendation is a vet exam to rule any physical problems. If none are found let me know and we can explore some behavior things but typically in a case like this is going to be a urinary tract infection.

[Herbert]

Okay, any idea how they would get that? 

[Herbert]

Also if one or both of them had a UTI wouldn't they be peeing all over the cage not just where the hay is? I'm honestly thinking it may be a territorial thing? But I don't really know too much about chins...

[GrayRodent]

Yes. I misunderstood and thought it was all over. Not uti. Maybe increase amount of bedding, clean area where hay is thouroughly, and replace hay each morning. This will minimize the scent that orompts them to urinate.

[Herbert]

I have done all of this, I even bought a new container to put the hay in, I have also put down rubber over the pee covered shelf and then put new wood overtop of that and they still do it.  Do you happen to know of anything that can get the sent out of the shelf that is not harmful to chins?

[GrayRodent]

You can try dish soap an water. Also let the urine build up in one corner in the bedding a little, see if that may attract them more.

[Herbert]

Okay, because I normally change out the pee bedding daily, I'll keep it there for a bit after I try and wash the wood shelf.

Thank you

[BLS Chins]

Chins pee where they want to. Its not uncommon. If its small frequent amounts or has a blood tinge then there is a reason to worry. Most chins will pee on their hay when they are done eating unless you have it in a container. I put the chins hay in a ceramic bowl which seems to help keep them out of it.

[GrayRodent]

In my experience if a chinchilla that normally does not pee all over the cage, without apparent cause, suddenly starts to pee on the shelves and hard surfaces it is unusually the sign of a UTI.

Chinchillas usually do not like to urinate on hard surfaces because they don't like getting splashed back so normally a chinchilla will confine its urine to a soft surface like hay or bedding, or, a grated floor. This is the theory behind my grated floor panel setup which works quite well. Typically chinchillas prefer to urinate in a specific place in the cage and if you can concentrate the scent in that one place they'll keep coming back to it. If the scent is strong they don't seem to care if it is a hard surface or not. I've seen success in using a small pan containing pine chips that is kept in one place in a cage to promote the establishment of this corner for them. You do have to keep some soiled bedding in that place you want them to go. Typically they will urinate where the scent is strongest.

Of course chinchillas don't care where they leave their poo so it's good to clean that out every morning. Just leave some soiled bedding in the corner at all times and let it build for about 3 days.

I recommend removing rubber padding from the cage. It was a good way to experiment for a couple of days but moisture trapped underneath can lead to mold and mold can be extremely hazardous to your pets. You are better off replacing the shelf or sanding it if that remains a problem area for you.