Cages and pans!!

Hello!

So I officially have my deposit down on my first chinchilla ever! I am very excited and have been doing a ton of research while I wait until he is old enough to come home!

My question: I am going to be getting either the ferret or critter nation double unit. I am going back and fourth on getting the bass pans or putting a wood "liner" in. I have seen some rescue sites using the wood to make deeper Pans with aspen/cedar shavings and was wondering if you all thought one was better than the other? If I go with the bass pans I will likely use fleece rather than shavings.

My second question is if I get the ferret nation, which seems to have bars that are sturdier than the critter version, I would need to line the cage so he can't squeeze through the bigger bars. How do people attach the hardware cloth? My initial thought was zip ties but I would like to avoid plastic if possible.

Thanks so much!!! This site has been so helpful in my learning of chinchilla care!

I'd go with the bass pans, easier to keep clean I would think, wood around the edges would get pee soaked over time and need replacing. You don't want to use cedar shavings, they are toxic, aspen or pine is fine though. With using fleece in the bass pans keep in mind that some chins do chew it, in which case fleece is no longer an option. Also even if they don't chew it it's very common for them to pull it up so you want to weigh down the corners.

With the FN yes you need to cover the inside of the cage in hardware cloth (so the chin cant get caught between the bars and wire mesh) until the chin is bigger and older, at least several months old. People have had success with zip ties, they are small (cut the "tails" off) so most chins don't notice them I'm guessing. You can probably also get metal cable ties, or use hay wire.

Ah I meant to say pine not cedar! I was thinking about how it is bad for their respiratory tract and must have wrote what I was thinking -_-

I have seen some people use metal binder clips to keep the fleece on their bass pans. Is this chin safe?

Thanks for the advice!

i would use bass pans. Less plastic in the cage.



Tho i do recommend getting a sheet of fleece to put between the metal bass pan and the cage bars it sits on. Other wise you have metal on metal and it can get loud when they jump on it. The fleece there will help dampen out that noise.

Fleece liners are good for them if the chin doesnt chew, ingest. destroy them. Each chin is different so youll just have to see. You can also use a litter pan along with the fleece as well.