Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => General Chat => Topic started by: Hoppinchins on August 27, 2009, 07:37:38 PM
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So During play time i'v started to knoticed that sometimes my chins will pee on the carpet. I don't know why or how to get them to stop. I always leave there cage open so they can run back in there, which they do. They go back and forth alot. I'v read on here that some people potty train there chins. How would I go about doing that?
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::silly:: You might try using a room that does not have carpet when letting them have their out-of-the-cage play time. :)
Lots of paper towels and a spray bottle with 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water ... this will eliminate any stains and/or smell. :::grins::
All the special things we do for those we love! :::grins::
::wave:: Jo Ann
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I've actually noticed that my chin has been doing the same thing. I can always tell, too, when he is about to do it because he gets this really relaxed look on his face and then there it is :-\. Thanks for the tips Jo Ann...I'll have to make some of that and use it to clean Crash's messes
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Thanks Jo Ann..
::silly:: lol. Yes all the things we do for them. And all the things that you can do with vinegar...
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Put some kind of pee pan on the floor and they should go to it.
I make sure they have been up/awake for a while before I let them out, or sure enough one or two will look for somewhere to pee.
I have has one use the metal dust pan on the floor as he could find a pee pan. ;D
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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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Debbie, thats pretty funny. ;D
Annick, since you use a litter box for them, do you still have bedding in there cage?
I will deff try a litter box.
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I just recently box trained my 5 yr old chin. I let him have free run of the entire house because he doesn't chew on anything, he's a really good boy. I will have to try putting his box out in a certain corner of the house whenever he runs and see if he chooses to use it. So far he's awesome about using it when in his cage.
As for the litter/bedding....
I use fleece blankets as bedding. I tuck the blanket around the pan/tray of the cage floor, then just shake it off into the trash & wash it in the laundry when I clean out cages. It's EASY and they can't "fling" it outside of the cage! ;)
For peepee litter I use the soft-sorbent. It controls odor really well.
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::think:: I can not find anywhere that it lists the different types of wood that is in the Soft Sorbet (by Kay-Tee?)
I did see where it said that it was wood that was not suitable for anything but "land fill". That makes me a bit uncomfortable.
I also saw that some of it is scented and some is not ... please, keep in mind, anything that is scented or has added 'odor controllers' can be dangerous for your chin. Many scents and odor controllers give off fumes that can cause your little one to get a respiratory infection.
The fleece blankets being used as bedding ... is this where the chin can be walking on it or is it in a pan kept away from them by a wire floor?
::silly:: Jo Ann
***For those who are new to chinchillas ... chins can be litter-trained for peepee, but they continue to drop their 'little presents' where ever they may go :D ... hand vacs are great for this clean up. ::nod::
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I am almost out of the soft-sorbent. I thought it was made of paper....? I can switch to an aspen litter.
The fleece is under their feet. No wire to walk on... (Isn't that unsafe?)
I've read/been told that fleece is *near* impossible for chins to chew, so you can safely use it in their cages. It's tucked around the floor pan so it's straight and tight, not like a wadded up mess. It makes clean-up a breeze because I can even vacuum out the little poops without removing the bedding. And it's (obviously) soft on their feet. Schroeder came from a bad situation before me, and one of the things the vet mentioned at his wellness visit when I first got him, was that his feet looked beat up from living on "rough" floors. His feet look much better now. :)
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What size litter box should i get? I small one or a big one? I think i may only have room for a small one. I like the flease idea alot. I'd much rather use that than the bedding chips. I could see how easy it would be to clean there cage.
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definitely a small one... you can even use a little pie/brownie pan if you want! I use a triangular (fits in the corner) rabbit litter box in Dewey's cage (but he doesn't chew plastic)....then I use a metal pie pan for him during free run. There are probably metal chinchilla pee pan's out there that are better suited for chins than the ferret/rabbit ones - (like I said, I wouldn't recommend them for most chins, it's just that my guy is NOT a chewer in the least. So picky about even what toys he'll chew).
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I am almost out of the soft-sorbent. I thought it was made of paper....? I can switch to an aspen litter.
Always check your ingredients on a package ... I got that straight off of the website selling it.
The fleece is under their feet. No wire to walk on... (Isn't that unsafe?)
I've read/been told that fleece is *near* impossible for chins to chew, so you can safely use it in their cages. It's tucked around the floor pan so it's straight and tight, not like a wadded up mess. It makes cleanup a breeze because I can even vacuum out the little poops without removing the bedding. And it's (obviously) soft on their feet. Schroeder came from a bad situation before me, and one of the things the vet mentioned at his wellness visit when I first got him, was that his feet looked beat up from living on "rough" floors. His feet look much better now. :)
Correct ... Chins that stay on wire constantly are subject to bumblefoot, which is very painful and can easily get infected. If you can imagine walking/jumping up and down on feet that are cracked, bleeding and often have blisters ... you can imagine what it would be like for a chinchilla that is use to bouncing off of walls. The upper floors, ramps, balconies and leaping ledges also need to be cleaned each week when you clean your little one's cage out. The urine buildup on them can also cause bumblefoot ... in addition to harboring bacteria. When I had only a few cages, I would clean them in the shower with the hand held shower head ... water scalding hot ... steam everywhere. Now, with a large number of cages, take them outside and use a heavy-duty steam cleaner my hubby bought for me to use with them. Works great! :::grins::
::wave:: Jo Ann
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Yes I love my Steam Shark Jo Ann, no chemicals required, but yes it's an out side job. ;)
My chins have fleece in their houses, and all my Moms go to the fleece to give birth. Even first timers like it better than on the shavings. ;) I do have a couple of males that like to drag the fleece blanket all over the cage, so I use the sleeves off old shirts and slip a piece of pine inside, I even add extra fleece inside for padding. Tuck it all in under and the males can't take it out. ;)
As soon as babies arrive dad comes out, ::nod::
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So its safe if but flease in there cage instead of bedding. And i litter box?
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Just make sure you get regular fleece and not the micro-plush. I made the mistake and using a micro-plush fleece once, and the urine would bead on top of it, rather than get absorbed.
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Ok. Thanks!
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::silly:: LindyLu, Thanks for the "heads up" on the micro-plush fleece ... I would not have thought to look for that. I almost bought some fleece yesterday ... for coats for my Danes. They had red with black paw prints on it and white with black paw prints ... I was going to buy the red for my Danes and the white for some of my chins, or to use as a backdrop for pictures of the chins. I'll have to double check and see if it is the micro or regular fleece.
My chins have fleece in their houses, and all my Moms go to the fleece to give birth. Even first timers like it better than on the shavings.
I believe I would preferr fleece to pine shavings, too. ::nod:: We often forget just how sensitive these little new born kits must feel ... leaving nice soft warm mommy and coming out in to the cold world, only to land on the pine chips, which feel nothing like momma. Maybe that's why they start running around almost immediately ... looking for a soft place sleep. :D
::wave:: Jo Ann
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Ohh!! You do photo-shoots with your chins?! How precious!! I hope you will share!! (I am really into photography!)
The micro-plush is usually much more fluffy/fuzzy than regular fleece. It's a pretty distinct difference.
I agree with the kits, the fleece has GOT to feel much better than wood shavings. ::nod::
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I put clean bedding in there cage every sunday. Today i took the old pine chips out and put flease in and this square dog bowl with pine chips in it. Snowie fell asleep on the flease right away. It was cute.
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So i put duct tape on the bottom of the litter box so they couldn't knock it over. I guess i put to much bedding in or i need to get a liner. Just after a little bit they have bedding out. Its not a whole lot, but its a decidnt amount. I'm afried if they get enough of it out, then they will just pee on the flease and not in the box. I'm not sure if the liner that pets mart has is safe. Its for a bunny and you put the bedding inside of it and i guess they just go on top of that and it gets absorbed.
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Jo-Ann, those are SO CUTE!!! I love them!!!
Hoppin - It's okay if the chins pee on the fleece. I have a few fleece blankets, and I just pull out the old peed on one every other day, and put a fresh one it. It's a lot easier, IMO, than dumping a bunch of wood shavings. Plus I don't have to worry about the shavings getting flung outside of the cage and making a mess everywhere.
Everybody has their preferences and what works best for them though. My cages are up stairs where there is no door to outside, so hauling a big tray pan downstairs is really unappealing. Plus my cages are over carpet, and I didn't like urinated-on bedding getting kicked out and sitting on the carpet *stinks!*
You can put something absorbent UNDER the fleece as long as it's tucked in well so the chins don't GET under. I like baby mattress protectors because they are absorbent on top, but don't soak through. I will sometimes put them under the fleece if it's a thin piece...then tuck the sides in well. I also use the chin-chillers on top the areas they like to pull at, so they can't get under the fleece.
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Thats a good idea. Next time i get flease i'm going to get a bigger piece so its thicker. They have already peed on it, mostly where some of the bedding was that the took out. I know it will be some time to get them trained...