Announcing Ultimate Poop Throwers vs. Poop cleaner aka Me

[Stitch-n-Roo]

Okay I know this has a silly tag line but seriously I have two ultimate poop and hay throwers. I find poop in far off places that shouldn't be and mostly just a massive pelleting on my living room floor, and I'm not even going to get started talking about the inside of their cage :wacko:. I have a 142 ferret nation by the way.

Has anyone effectively prevented poop from flying out of the cage everyday? I know the poop inside is expected but how about the outside. I swear I handvac poop outside the cage at least twice a day :hair:. Help I'd like the poop to stay in. I will be getting bass pans but for some reason think that I'll still have the problem of stray poop. Has anyone tried putting like a fleece border around the bottoms of the cage about 5 inches high or so. I'd really to contain it as much as possible.

So the score is:
ultimate poop throwers: 10
Poop cleaner aka Me: 0
:hilarious:

 

[Dewdrop]

I just got my bass pan last week, and it's cut down on the flying poop considerably!..

 

[tiffyskaar]

Wow I was JUST going to create a thread about this, kinda! I'm trying to decide between building a melamine cage with 3 walls and the front has the wire doors OR getting a FN142, and I was going to ask everyone what they do about that, Cardboard around the three sides except for the front?

 

[greychins]

I feel like I have seen someone that somehow did put some sort of fleece barrier around the cage... can't say I thought it looked all that attractive, but I know someone did it cause I remember the picture.

The way I see it.... you put an animal in a cage that's x feet off the ground... there is going to be poop and shavings and *insert-everything-else-movable-in-the-cage* within x feet of the cage. I even have a homemade melamine cage, and while I like it.... and while poops only come out of the front of the cage instead of all four sides... there is still ample poop around the cage daily. I do think they throw it though - I'm with you, I find poos so far from the cages... I have a set of runs where the quarantine/rescue chins are, and they have gotten poo up to 5' away from the cage (I've measured).

 

[tiffyskaar]

Haha! Poo throwers unite! I had a melamine one once and I really loved it. Can't find the dang cage plans but I think I will be happier with a melamine one vs. a FN

 

[starleomach]

My cages have solid backs. solid bottoms and walls that come hafway from the back to the sides....I still find poop and shavings behind the solid cages when I pull them out....there is no way to keep the poops contained. I swear you could but a chinchilla in a glass box with no holes and you would still find poop outside the cage....

 

[caiti]

I have a cage with a melamine back and an 8" high base, but what I've noticed helps a lot are shelf guards. I mean edges or lips on the shelves. I just bought some poplar edging, I bought it 2" wide but I would definitely recommend wider (which would end up being the height of it if you turned it sideways to be used as edging) and glue it with wood glue onto the edge of your shelves (if they're made out of wood). I screwed mine on but Chloe ate on of the lips (and several more since then) one night and I found the screw in her cage, still with a chunk of wood around it so I would suggest you try the glue first for safety reasons. They will most likely get eaten but they are easy enough to replace cheaply and quickly. I know some places sell metal shelf guards if you don't have wooden shelves.

Also some people have sloped shelves, so anything that's on the shelf falls to the cage ground. I've never had them so I don't know how easy they are to make or anything.

 

[Stitch-n-Roo]

Yea my shelves have poop guards built on them and thank goodness, so far they aren't big shelf chewers but something that could help the ground poop would be nice. I guess I'll just forever be Ms. Poop Cleaner, sigh

 

[addictedtochins]

Chins must rock at Skee Ball!

 

[Louisechurchill]

Mine Throw it everywhere TOO!, I just hand my daughter the broom and say its your job!.. Too funny. We have five chinnies, 3 boys and 2 girls. We have 3 fn cages, and it is a big job keeping the floor clean. I have also noticed that the females, if put to close to the wall will pee on the wall, haven't figured this one out yet. I have tried the guards on the cages, but the little boogers chew on them and destroy them.

 

[Essentia]

I keep fleece on the back of the cage for the peeing on the wall issue. Works like a charm (and ironically they never pee on the fleece).

 

[rabit_115]

I can't say it contains everything, but I made some special tables for my cages. They have a trough about 5 inches wide that runs the length of the table to catch stray poop and shavings. While it doesn't contain everything it seriously reduces the amount of sweeping I have to do. I just vacuum out the trough when I clean cages and it's ready again.