Bedding? I'm desperate

[elithechinchilla]

I was wondering what everyone uses for bedding? My chinchilla is litter pan trained so he only urinates in his litter pan but the odor is pretty strong. I clean it every 2-3 days and it will smell after a day. I'm a college student and I don't have the time to clean it every day (yes I have time for him. He runs around my room for 45 min every day while I am doing homework in there) I currently use "healthy pets critter care" which I got from Walmart. I want something that is safe for him but also handles the odor a little better. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Amanda and Eli

 

[Amethyst]

My two aren't litter trained, but I just use fleece liners and change them out often, but I used to use pine or aspen shavings.
Looking up that bedding you are using it's not very safe, you need to be extra careful about making sure none is eaten. The paper bedding is designed to absorb liquids and expand, which is exactly what it will do inside the chin if swallowed, which will lead to a blockage if enough is eaten. A safe option would be aspen or kiln dried pine shavings, pine smells better. However, with a litter box unless it's huge you really need to clean out the soiled litter at least once a day, if not a couple times a day, changing the litter box every couple days. You might be able to get more days out of the litter if you add some odor absorber, like stall dry or PDZ, under the litter, both are horse stall deodorizers and are safe for use around chins. Also make sure you wash the litter pan with vinegar every time you change it to prevent lingering odors.

Another thing that can cause bad urine odor in the cage is if the chin pees on hay, make sure you clean out any hay that has been peed on everyday. I know you said he only pees in the litter pan, but I figured it was worth mentioning anyway.

 

[elithechinchilla]

Thank you so much!! I'm going to look into those things right now

 

[Cass C]

I like using kiln dried pine shavings. I am able to get them in huge bags from the local feed store for less than $20. I've used aspen and fleece, but I feel pine has more Oder control.