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[IkiKolohe]

Aloha!

I'm wondering if anyone has tried towels instead of fleece for their cage liners??  They would be just as easy to wash and would be a bit more absorbent I would think!

Mahalo for any feedback!

[GrayRodent]

I wouldn't recommend towels. Fleece has a unique texture that chinchillas in general will not chew and shred. Towels tend to have a looped terry-cloth type of fabric they can get their teeth under and pull out into threads. Swallowing threads causes beazors (balls of junk that form in the stomach and grow). There's also an additional risk of getting nails caught in them. And believe me this can lead to bout of panic and severe muscles tears in the caught limb. Always be very careful with chins and fabric.

If you pet is found to damage cloth and chew it, and sometimes chins will do this to fleece, then it needs to be removed. If your chin damages fleece then fleece will not work for that pet and you need to go to a different system.

[IkiKolohe]

I wouldn't recommend towels. Fleece has a unique texture that chinchillas in general will not chew and shred. Towels tend to have a looped terry-cloth type of fabric they can get their teeth under and pull out into threads. Swallowing threads causes beazors (balls of junk that form in the stomach and grow). There's also an additional risk of getting nails caught in them. And believe me this can lead to bout of panic and severe muscles tears in the caught limb. Always be very careful with chins and fabric.

If you pet is found to damage cloth and chew it, and sometimes chins will do this to fleece, then it needs to be removed. If your chin damages fleece then fleece will not work for that pet and you need to go to a different system.

Mahalo!!

[prince_medion]

I have opted for the fleece covers myself after fiding out its benefits. Like you I have been wondering about something more absorbent. I first thought of cat wood pellets which would go under the fleece, but my wife is not keen on having to bin and replace loose bedding so often and thought it might make the floor a bit wobbly and uneven and that the chins might not like it (although they are mountainous creatures but never mind). So the other option we opted for is buy cheap towels and terry cloth, cut them to size and place them under the fleece covers. We got 3x sets of fleece covers, terry cloth and towels so that we can change, clean and rotate them weekly. I haven't tested yet as I do not own the chins for a couple of months yet.

Hope that helps.

[GrayRodent]

Sounds like an interesting experiment. Please let us know how it works. It may solve some of the problems other have been having with irritation.

[prince_medion]

Seems to work so far, fleece feels dry to the touch but terry cloth is badly soiled. We change them weekly and seems to do the trick so far.