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General Chat / Re: There's Poo EVERYWHERE!!!
« on: November 30, 2009, 05:54:42 PM »
Yeah I know what you mean! They do really enjoy it, they bounce off of it, they chew it. The poops get stuck in between the logs sometimes though. 
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General Chat / Re: There's Poo EVERYWHERE!!!
« on: November 27, 2009, 11:15:14 PM »
Hi there Crimson_Ham,
The wood bridge I have in my chin cage was actually put together by me. I bought two of these things http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/images/prod/10039828_lg.jpg and i bought some wire from the local hardware store and took the little log huts a part with a pair of pliers. Then I cut the wire I bought and weaved in the logs. That's how I got the bridge!! Hope it helped!
The wood bridge I have in my chin cage was actually put together by me. I bought two of these things http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/images/prod/10039828_lg.jpg and i bought some wire from the local hardware store and took the little log huts a part with a pair of pliers. Then I cut the wire I bought and weaved in the logs. That's how I got the bridge!! Hope it helped!
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General Chat / Re: Chinchillas peeing on carpet
« on: September 01, 2009, 11:06:00 AM »
Yes chins can be potty trained. They aren't perfect at it but will get pretty good at it after a while. I let them out on the linoleum floor so it doesn't really matter if they pee but we used to have a little door matt where they would pee on. I now take their triangular litter box out of their cage and put it in a corner in their play area and my tan chin will use it 100% of the time out of the cage while my violet chin will use it 90% of the time. But I can always tell when he's about to go in a corner of the room so i'm quick to shoo him back into his litter pan and he'll go there. After a couple of times shooing him he's learnt to go in his litter pan outside of the cage. 
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Q & A / Re: weird thing?
« on: August 31, 2009, 02:53:39 PM »Quote
squish a raison and see how much they can lick
My boyfriend ripped a raison once and our chin bit him so hard it bled. Ever since then I've been too afraid to touch them after handling food. My chins don't lick but they do nibble on my knuckles. Is this grooming too?
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Q & A / Re: Bedding types?
« on: August 27, 2009, 01:30:29 PM »
Personally I don't think that should be a problem if you wipe the bottom up and leave no bedding. But I would suggest to get a litter pan and put some bedding in that so they can have somewhere to pee. My friend did that with her rabbit it basically forced him to only pee in the litter pan. I kinda do that now I have no bedding but a fleece blanket at the bottom, save the peepee pans. Though they acutally might end up sleeping in the litter pan if thats' the only place with soft bedding, unless they like to sleep on the shelves. My chins have never peed on the shelves, but I know some people who have that problem. You can always try it and see how it works. Good Luck!
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Q & A / Re: Bedding types?
« on: August 21, 2009, 11:25:36 PM »
HI there!!
When I first got my chins I had the same questions about bedding and stuff.
I still buy random bedding sometimes just to try it but I think I've come down to a good set up that works for me. I've used all types of wood shavings for bedding before for my guinea pig and I decided when I got my chins I wouldn't use wood shavings cause I find it very messy and light and can be scattered everywhere. I started out with Carefreash but I absolutely hated it. My chins seemed to like it and revelled in it as it was quite dusty and they rolled in it like a sandbox. I hated it cause of the smell and the dust and how it made me itchy when I touched it. So I quit on Carefresh within a couple of days. I changed their bedding to a crimply type paper called Eco-Bedding. Which I thought was FANTASTIC!! They didn't eat it and it didn't have an odd smell, it wasn't dusty and it allowed the pee and poop to fall to the bottom of it as it was paper it absorbed from the bottom up keeping the top dry. But I wanted to potty train my chins to urinate mostly in a corner pan. So I bought 3 plastic corner pans put the Eco Bedding around the pans and in the pans I used wood pellets. Which they didn't eat either so everything was good. But then after a whlie they weren't really using the pans so I got a suggestion from a nice lady who told me about fleece bedding. Fleece is a high maintenance bedding. You always have to maintain it but I find it worth it in the end. You have to buy some good fleece wash it and dry it 3+ times to make it capable of 'wicking' urine through to a more absorbant material under the fleece. I use two layers of towels on the bottom. You do save $$$ on bedding but the cons are you have to always sweep the poops. I sweep the poops 2 times a day almost. I'm very picky about how clean their cage is. I kept the wood pellets in the litter pans as they were heavy and couldn't kick them around. Was working great and now both my chins are potty trained. They aren't perfect but they will go in the pans. It's rare that I see them urinating on the fleece. And the fleece is always dry cause the pee wicks through it. You do have to wash the fleece and towels once a week. I was happy with this set up for quite a while until I started to get annoyed at the wood pellets cause when they were wet they would seperate and turn to sawdust and they would track the wood dust everywhere. So I found this other pellet bedding called ECO Straw by oxbow which is great. Doesn't really break apart into little pieces just kinda fluffs up and its' heavy enough to stay in the pans they can also eat it as its' 100% made from wheat. It does have a slight funny smell. Like Beer when dry or granola bar like wet. But it's not so bad. I have tried using Yesterday's News and they just gorged themselves on it so that didn't last long. So now my set up is Fleece and Eco Straw in pans. Works for me! Hope it helps you!
When I first got my chins I had the same questions about bedding and stuff.
I still buy random bedding sometimes just to try it but I think I've come down to a good set up that works for me. I've used all types of wood shavings for bedding before for my guinea pig and I decided when I got my chins I wouldn't use wood shavings cause I find it very messy and light and can be scattered everywhere. I started out with Carefreash but I absolutely hated it. My chins seemed to like it and revelled in it as it was quite dusty and they rolled in it like a sandbox. I hated it cause of the smell and the dust and how it made me itchy when I touched it. So I quit on Carefresh within a couple of days. I changed their bedding to a crimply type paper called Eco-Bedding. Which I thought was FANTASTIC!! They didn't eat it and it didn't have an odd smell, it wasn't dusty and it allowed the pee and poop to fall to the bottom of it as it was paper it absorbed from the bottom up keeping the top dry. But I wanted to potty train my chins to urinate mostly in a corner pan. So I bought 3 plastic corner pans put the Eco Bedding around the pans and in the pans I used wood pellets. Which they didn't eat either so everything was good. But then after a whlie they weren't really using the pans so I got a suggestion from a nice lady who told me about fleece bedding. Fleece is a high maintenance bedding. You always have to maintain it but I find it worth it in the end. You have to buy some good fleece wash it and dry it 3+ times to make it capable of 'wicking' urine through to a more absorbant material under the fleece. I use two layers of towels on the bottom. You do save $$$ on bedding but the cons are you have to always sweep the poops. I sweep the poops 2 times a day almost. I'm very picky about how clean their cage is. I kept the wood pellets in the litter pans as they were heavy and couldn't kick them around. Was working great and now both my chins are potty trained. They aren't perfect but they will go in the pans. It's rare that I see them urinating on the fleece. And the fleece is always dry cause the pee wicks through it. You do have to wash the fleece and towels once a week. I was happy with this set up for quite a while until I started to get annoyed at the wood pellets cause when they were wet they would seperate and turn to sawdust and they would track the wood dust everywhere. So I found this other pellet bedding called ECO Straw by oxbow which is great. Doesn't really break apart into little pieces just kinda fluffs up and its' heavy enough to stay in the pans they can also eat it as its' 100% made from wheat. It does have a slight funny smell. Like Beer when dry or granola bar like wet. But it's not so bad. I have tried using Yesterday's News and they just gorged themselves on it so that didn't last long. So now my set up is Fleece and Eco Straw in pans. Works for me! Hope it helps you!
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Q & A / Re: Eco Straw Anyone?
« on: August 18, 2009, 07:55:07 AM »
Yeah thanks for the heads up Jo Ann, that's another reason also why I'd like to change their bedding just in case. The wheat bedding seems kinda cool. It said on the box that it would seperate when wet "so it's easy to scoop," which kinda made me skeptical, like"mmm seperate... like the wood pellets seperate?" But it doesn't really seperate like that at all. Kinda just turns into a mushy paddy. Which is alright they can't seem to kick it around and it is easier to spot the wet spots in their litter pans to scoop away. Today is the second day on this Eco Straw and so far i'm pretty impressed. It kinda smells like honey or some sort of granola bar when its' wet.
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Q & A / Eco Straw Anyone?
« on: August 18, 2009, 01:20:53 AM »
Hi there,
I went to the local small petshop here and noticed they just recieved a new type of bedding for small animals called Eco Straw by Oxbow. It's in pellet form and says it's made from 100% wheat. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried it. I bought a bag was a lot pricier then my wood pellets that I use. But I would like to switch their bedding as when the wood pellets get wet they fall apart and they end up carrying it everywhere on their hammocks on their shelves. I always have to sweep up the sawdust. However they never showed any interest in eating their wood pellet bedding. I have tried yesterday's news but they appear to gorge themselves on it. I'm now trying out this wheat bedding and so far so good. Has an odd smell I can't really explain it but it's not horrible. They do however eat it. I'm sure it's only because its' brand new in their cage and they'll probably be bored of chewing on it. On the bag it does say that if they eat it, its' safe cause its' wheat and it can help them digest their foods. I was wondering what any of you think? Or if you've tried this type of bedding before?
I went to the local small petshop here and noticed they just recieved a new type of bedding for small animals called Eco Straw by Oxbow. It's in pellet form and says it's made from 100% wheat. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried it. I bought a bag was a lot pricier then my wood pellets that I use. But I would like to switch their bedding as when the wood pellets get wet they fall apart and they end up carrying it everywhere on their hammocks on their shelves. I always have to sweep up the sawdust. However they never showed any interest in eating their wood pellet bedding. I have tried yesterday's news but they appear to gorge themselves on it. I'm now trying out this wheat bedding and so far so good. Has an odd smell I can't really explain it but it's not horrible. They do however eat it. I'm sure it's only because its' brand new in their cage and they'll probably be bored of chewing on it. On the bag it does say that if they eat it, its' safe cause its' wheat and it can help them digest their foods. I was wondering what any of you think? Or if you've tried this type of bedding before?
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General Chat / There's Poo EVERYWHERE!!!
« on: July 28, 2009, 04:44:42 PM »
Hahah so I left the chins for a weekend, left on Friday night and came back Sunday. My boyfriend and I are real anal about cleanliness so we are constantly vaccuming and cleaning the chin cage. Usually I hire a woman to come by and play with them while we're away but she wasn't available that weekend so we left them with lots of toys and food and so forth. I just have to laugh cause when we came back... nothing would have prepared us for the crazy amount of poo all over the place! There was poo EVERYWHERE!! ::scaredspeachless::HAHA I thought the picture would be amusing to some... maybe horrifying also. I think next time I get shelves made I'll put a gard on the edges.
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Q & A / Re: my poor baby :(
« on: July 27, 2009, 05:45:46 PM »
Hey!
Mmm Wow that must have been quite the ordeal. But from what you say that he was eating fine and stuff that sounds like he's alright. I don't think he's mad at you. He might have panicked at the moment but if he's eating and stuff and you were able to get his head out he might just be tired from struggling to get out. My small chinchilla was able to get his head then his whole body through those cube shelves. By no means is that his cage but I used them to put up a fence in their play area. Now I covered the holes with a cardboard. But its quite impressive how they can squish themselves to fit in small places.
Mmm Wow that must have been quite the ordeal. But from what you say that he was eating fine and stuff that sounds like he's alright. I don't think he's mad at you. He might have panicked at the moment but if he's eating and stuff and you were able to get his head out he might just be tired from struggling to get out. My small chinchilla was able to get his head then his whole body through those cube shelves. By no means is that his cage but I used them to put up a fence in their play area. Now I covered the holes with a cardboard. But its quite impressive how they can squish themselves to fit in small places.
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Q & A / Chin Poop as Compost?
« on: July 22, 2009, 08:08:03 PM »
I was thinking since my chins poop so much 
and I use fleece bedding which I sweep everyday and even the poop on the shelves i am constantly sweeping with a paintbrush I was thinking instead of tossing the poop in the garbage would it be safe to use in the garden? As compost? I mean there is just soo much of it. What do you guys think? I have a flower garden and a vegetable garden. Would it be safe for either? Or neither?
and I use fleece bedding which I sweep everyday and even the poop on the shelves i am constantly sweeping with a paintbrush I was thinking instead of tossing the poop in the garbage would it be safe to use in the garden? As compost? I mean there is just soo much of it. What do you guys think? I have a flower garden and a vegetable garden. Would it be safe for either? Or neither?
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Health / Re: Sleeping in Urine
« on: July 22, 2009, 10:43:10 AM »
Hi thanks for the response, I do have a wire bottom but since its' a ferret cage I've flipped the wire bottom and put the metal bottom on top. I'm afraid they hurt themselves on the wire floor. The spacing on the grate for some reason is really big. But so far everytime they've peed on the cozy bed I've removed it and washed it and they dont' get it for a while until its' washed. I've now hooked it on a high shelf and they've used it and for two days now no peepee... so I've got my fingers crossed! I hope it continues to stay that way!
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Q & A / Re: New Chins!
« on: July 21, 2009, 07:13:42 PM »
Hi AliePie,
Have you tried maybe completely washing all the pee off the shelves? Maybe if you wash the scent off they might think twice before doing it. Also maybe try putting some pee soiled bedding on where you want them to go instead like in the bottom of the cage. I have no clue if this will work... but its' kinda what I'm doing to try to litter train my chins.
Have you tried maybe completely washing all the pee off the shelves? Maybe if you wash the scent off they might think twice before doing it. Also maybe try putting some pee soiled bedding on where you want them to go instead like in the bottom of the cage. I have no clue if this will work... but its' kinda what I'm doing to try to litter train my chins.
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Health / Sleeping in Urine
« on: July 20, 2009, 11:12:03 AM »
Hello!
My chinchillas are still young 2 and 3 months old. I'm trying to litter box train them, but some days are better then others.
I've heard that chinchillas are clean critters and will usually go urinate in a corner, but is it normal for them to sleep in the corner they also urinate in. 
I have three litter pans and they go in all three. i was going to remove them one by one the better they get at urinating in the litter pans. The forth corner has their food bowl. Which they don't urinate in but will urinate around it. But I understand they won't be perfect at it. They aren't dogs. But I read that its' nto good for them to sleep in their urine cause it might ruin their fur. I tried putting their bed on a shelf instead of the floor pan and they still urinate up there and I don't want to try again in case they learn to urinate on the shelves which thank goodness they haven't. But how can I stop them from sleeping in their urine? Any suggestions might help! Will they start sleeping on the shelves as they get older? I also have a hammock but they only sit in it for a while and then move on to another shelf.
Thanks,
Annick
My chinchillas are still young 2 and 3 months old. I'm trying to litter box train them, but some days are better then others.
I've heard that chinchillas are clean critters and will usually go urinate in a corner, but is it normal for them to sleep in the corner they also urinate in. I have three litter pans and they go in all three. i was going to remove them one by one the better they get at urinating in the litter pans. The forth corner has their food bowl. Which they don't urinate in but will urinate around it. But I understand they won't be perfect at it. They aren't dogs. But I read that its' nto good for them to sleep in their urine cause it might ruin their fur. I tried putting their bed on a shelf instead of the floor pan and they still urinate up there and I don't want to try again in case they learn to urinate on the shelves which thank goodness they haven't. But how can I stop them from sleeping in their urine? Any suggestions might help! Will they start sleeping on the shelves as they get older? I also have a hammock but they only sit in it for a while and then move on to another shelf.Thanks,
Annick
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Q & A / Re: New Chins!
« on: July 18, 2009, 05:27:18 PM »
Yes AliePie003 I'd like to know a way to stop that too. My chins don't pee on the shelves. I'm trying to litter train. But they pee in the corner where they sleep and then the sleep in it. Most of the time they will get up and go pee in the corner but sometimes they'll pee there and sleep. I thought it was because I had a cozy bed for them and they were confusing it with a litter tray but even when i remove the cozy bed they'll sleep in that corner and pee sometimes. Is this because they are still too young? Like wetting the bed?
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