No matter how clean your Chinchilla may be, your pets cage will start to get dirty and every few months it will need a really good 'Spring clean' in addition to the usual cage cleaning and maintenance. Bacteria, urine, dust etc.. can all accumulate on a cage, leaving it feeling tacky, sticky and perhaps even causing an odour. So time to get busy and get that cage sparkling clean, which will also help to keep out the smell and eliminate bacteria, that perhaps could cause your Chinchilla become ill.

Step One
Take out all the toys and items within your pets cage, such as nesting boxes, wooden shelves, chewstones etc.. so that the cage is completely empty.

Step Two
With a wire brush in hand, take the cage outside and thoroughly brush off any dust and loose dirt from both the outside and the inside of the cage. You usually find that with wire floor cages, a fair amount of dirt can gather here, so make sure you brush this area really well.

Step Three
You need to have bought a suitable product for cleaning the cage. Many different types of products can be found in petstores nowadays, all suitable for cleaning small animal homes, or for sterilising pet beds, litter trays etc.. However if you do not find one of these products, one from the local Vet that I personally recommend is a product called Vanodine. This is used for cleaning off horse bridle wear and tackle etc..So it removes dirt, odours and bacteria and is animal friendly, as obviously this is even used for the horses chew bit, which goes inside the animals mouth. Another product that is also very good is something like Savlon or Dettol disinfectant. These are household products that are suitable for use on areas used by small children, such as high chairs, playpens, baby beds etc.. So you can be sure they are also safe to use on cleaning your Chinchillas cage. Mix whichever cleaning solution you have bought with warm water, making a nice soapy mixture and liberally use with a wire brush to scrub the whole cage area inside and out.

Step Four
Rinse the cage well with fresh cold water and leave to dry thoroughly. If you are lucky enough to be cleaning the cage on a sunny day, it does not take long for the cage to be completely dry. If not, then if possible leave to dry over night to prevent your animal climbing back into a cold, wet cage.

Step Five
If you have a regular wire mesh cage then the next step is to either paint it or spray it with special non toxic paint, to bring it back to the nice shiny clean wire, like it was when you first bought or made it. In the past I have used a paint called 'Japlac', in the silver / aluminium colour. This paint is very tough going and not toxic or poisonous, so it will not harm your Chinchilla if they chew the bars of the cage. If going to buy paint to spray cages, please read all the information on them, as some paints in particular those usually suitable for car spraying are toxic and could make your Chinchilla ill, if they are able to peel the paint from the wire. The difference with the Japlac is that it acts like it is part of the original wire, so it is not like a seperate coat of paint that could peel off. Remember to apply just a single coat of paint very thinly, then you should ideally leave this to dry for several hours. Remember for safety sake, that when using spray paint, you should wear a mask and spray preferable outside or in a well ventilated area.

Step Six
Now that the cage is clean, painted and looking like new, make sure that you scrub items to be returned to the cage, such as the food bowl and water bottle. These can be washed in regular warm water with washing up liquid, but remember to rinse them well. If you find that you have a build up of algae or slime in areas of the water bottle, then you can  buy sterilising tablets, the sort suitable for sterilising a babys bottle. Simply leave the bottle to soak in some warm water with a sterilising tablet, then using a bottle cleaning brush scrub the inside of the bottle, then rinse thoroughly. You will find that the water bottle comes up looking like new.

Step Seven
Now it is time to furnish your Chinchillas cage. Pop down to your local D.I.Y store and buy a plank of untreated wood, how long is upto you, dependant on how big your cage is and how many wooden shelves you wish to have inside. Usually the untreated pine wood is the best, around 10 to 12 centimetres in width. Usually in these stores they will cut the wood to the specified size for you, so remember to take your cage measurements along with you. Then with some large screws you can screw the shelves into place from the outside, so that the the Chinchilla cannot get to the screw. Place them at various heights around the cage, so he can jump around and chew the wood and be a happy Chinny!

Step Eight
Now you have your wooden levels in place, why not treat him to a new chew stone or even a nice new wooden house to sleep in and you can return your Chinchilla to his cage and watch him explore his nice, clean, smart home! Then you can sit back and enjoy seeing a happy pet, knowing that the work you have done has been worthwhile.