Best litter to control odor?

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L

llough

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Jul 25, 2009
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Phoenix
Hi everyone,

I've had my new baby chinchilla, Isabella, for about two weeks and am absolutely in love with her - sooo cute and fluffy. The trouble is that her cage is making my apartment smell. I clean out the litter pan and spray down the cage once every two days, and I'm using a thin layer of Care Fresh with a thicker layer of non-dyed paper shreds on top (I wanted to make sure she couldn't get to the Care Fresh and ingest it). There is a mesh bottom over the litter pan so she's not sitting in her litter. What is the best type of litter to use to control odor? I've heard kiln dried pine shavings are good, but I wanted to get all of you opinions.

Thanks for your help!
 
I use Kiln Dried Pine, or Aspen if I can't get the pine. I didn't have have great luck with carefresh, and it is crazy expensive. I still had smells, so I switched. I now use a fleece liner and a litter box with pine shavings in it. I know you said you had a floor over the shavings, so the fleece isn't ideal for you, but I would definitely switch over to pine for the bottom. Also, you may want to check the shelves. My one chin pees on them and it can cause a urine smell if I don't clean it quickly enough.

Also, thinking about it, it's probably the paper on the top that is smelling.
 
Essentia is correct. It probably is the paper causing the smell. It does absolutely nothing except soak up the pee and keep it wet.

I used to use the Carefresh, too, and found it to be too expensive. I use aspen shavings and have no problem with smell.
 
I've used Carefresh & Aspen.
I find that Carefresh is the best in odor-control, but it's too expensive for me.
So what I do is I mix Carefresh with Aspen (so I won't waste on too much Carefresh), & I put Carefresh in the spots that I know where my chins pee (they normally pee in the same places).
 
I think that the only thing that anyone can do to really control odor is to clean the cage when any odor at all starts. I use pine here, but that's because it's relatively cheap and newspaper doesn't compost as well in the yard. :) I clean the cages twice a week to keep the odor down, that normally does the trick. Then again, if there is any odor, I am probably unable to smell it due to the fact that I am around chins all day every day - I may have lost my smell sensitivity to chinnie odor.
 
I like Soft Sorbent if you have deep pans in the cage but it's kind of expensive. I also like the scented yesterday's news And lately I've been using equine pine (pelleted pine) which works great. If you don't need a huge bag or don't live near a feed store I've seen smaller bags of feline pine.

I have found the key is to find something that mixes so the wet stuff goes to the bottom instead of packing down and staying wet on top which is what happens with carefresh and sometimes the wood shavings I've tried.
 
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I agree its probably the paper. A single chin should not be making your place smell.

I use pine and I've got about 20 chins and two degus here (and 2 dogs and a cat). People that come over to see chins prior to buying one tell me that all they smell is the pine, not urine or even the cat box.

Ventilation could also be part of the problem. Do you have your place sealed up all the time? Try opening a window for a couple hours to let the place air out (preferably after it cools down at night or in the morning before you leave). Also, when you clean the cage, where are you throwing away the soiled material? It should go straight outside.
 
I used carefresh in the beginning and I hated the smell of it. I had to clean ZZ's cage like 5 times a day. We switched to Green Supreme Aspen Pellet Litter and I love it. It is more expensive, but well worth it in the odor and absorbency areas.

If she can't get to the bedding, you can also get equine fresh pellet litter at Tractor Supply for around $5 for a 50 lb. bag (I think it's 50 lbs.)
 
This product is my favorite. Kiln dried pine. I've tried Petsmart and our local Ag store pine shavings. I drive a half hour to pick this up. I get about 3 at a time which is a huge amount. It's always soft, fresh and absorbs very well. I called the company and told them it was the best bedding I've every used. If any of you want to buy it, give them a call and they will tell you where it can be bought. It's used for horse bedding.
** Note: Petsmart large bags are expensive.The Ag store brand is about $5 however its been very rough with too many large wood chunks. Drynest is about $7 and expands to 10 cubic feet. I can clean 10 cages and use about a 1/4 bag.

http://www.drynest.com/
 
Most of my chins are litter trained, so they go in a certain spot. I use fleece liners and switch them out every 3 days or so in case they happen to get peed upon. Most of the boys go in a dish that I have aspen shavings in. I dump it every few days before it starts smelling and replace it with fresh shavings.
 
In my cage I have fleece liners & a litter box with pine shavings.
While all 3 do use the litter box, they also pee elsewhere in the cage, usually on other areas with fleece.
My handfed chin urinates A LOT. so on top of his fleece I fold up some paper towels that way the fleece does not get soaked. I change the paper towels at least 2 times a day.
I change the fleece several times a week.
I also use hydrogen peroxide on the wooden shelves to help with the smell.
So far my new rescue has exlusively used his litter box with the exception of one time!

If you are going to switch to litter box with pine, get some of the urine soaked shavings and put them in the box so they know it is not a food box put a place to pee.
 
We use aspen + CareFresh. CareFresh is pretty good in absorbing odor, but too expensive. I personally think aspen is better than pine in controlling the smell, but it is also more expensive. I agree with the others that it is probably the paper that is causing the smell. Try to get some pine or aspen shavings instead.
 
Ok, thank you so much for the advice. I will get some kiln dried pine from a nearby PetSmart and try that first, cleaning it twice a week, and if that doesn't work I will try kiln dried Aspen. My apartment is fairly small and airtight (a one bedroom, one bathroom, with a living room, laundry room, and kitchen), and I can't open the windows right now because it is so hot outside. Could I try an air purifier with activated carbon to remove odor and/or dust and circulate air, if the aspen and pine don't work? Thank you again!
 
You can always run an air purifier. Especially with you being in a relatively small area, I would run it just so the air would be cleaner from the dustings.
 
Aspen does not need to be Kiln dried.

Do you have AC? What is the temp in the room? Please be aware that chins can overheat easily.
 
Oh ok, then I will not bother with the kiln dried part of the aspen if the pine does not work. I do have AC, I keep the temperature at about 70 degrees - never more than 72 - which seems to be a happy medium for me and my chinchilla. She also has a chinchiller to sit on if she gets warm, and I have ordered another one so that I can swap them in and out of the fridge. It's just too hot outside to open the windows and let the AC escape - so I thought maybe an air purifier would be a good second option?
 
I use fleece liners and litter boxes with kd pine shaving in it. I put extra marble tiles on top of fleece liners so when they pee onside the litter boxes(from time to time) I just wipe it off with vinegar/water, that way I don't have to change liners that often(it usually hold for about a week or a bit longer). I "spot change" their litter boxes once a day and put more fresh shaving in them, then I dump the whole thing once a week replace with fresh shaving. On top of all that, I use air purifier near their FN. It works pretty good for me. =^_^=
 
I've noticed the only time the cage stinks is when there is an actual wet spot, especially if it sits for awhile. So if you just remove the wet area of litter, put it in a bag and toss it in the trash outside, you won't have to worry about the stench. And maybe the urine is collecting on the bottom tray or the shelves? That could also make it stinky. Once a week I clean with vinegar, then rinse with water in order to remove the vinegar smell.
 
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