Cage Cleaning- It has to be easier!

[Morganpanda]

I love Sigma. I love everything about Sigma. Even when he makes a total mess in his cage and decides that Hay is a better bedding than the fleece as he drags it ALL over the cage (and sometimes out).

However, the cage that I have is really quite a production to clean it.

I have the Martin's Chinchilla Skyscraper. I love the setup and Sigma loves to dash from the bottom to the top and back down- but cleaning this is at least a two hour production.

**I am saving up for a FN cage as I've heard they're easier. I think the main problem I have with this cage are the doors that it comes with- you really can't reach various areas easily, nor can you fit things gracefully in through the doors**

I just want some advice, maybe, from other Martin's Cage owners? It's not a "bad" cage, it's actually very nice and I don't fully regret buying it- I just now am looking into having a FN with the wide-opening doors. The small doors make it so that I have to lift the cage everytime, and pine, hay, and poos go everywhere.

I guess I'm just really frustrated with cleaning this cage.


My vacuum doesn't pick up the hay, either. It's a Dirt Devil large one that we bought a couple years ago. I feel like I'm killing it with the hay. And we have carpet all through our house (NOT my choice... *evil glair at hubby*).

Please? Any advice? It's quite the headache for me and Sigma.

 

[NiftyKat]

I don't really have any advice about the cage, as I do have a FN and I love it. I don't have an issue cleaning it at all. I think you'll love it once you get one.

I've noticed most people have shop vacs for their chinchilla vacuuming needs. I would really like one, but live in an apartment and don't have much space for one. I literally clog my Bissell all the time with hay and I've had to have my dad fix it once cause I loosened a tube.

Sorry, that's all the advice I have. /

 

[becky12883]

I love my shop vac for cage cleaning. I have large bird cages for my chins, and they have fairly small doors. I use the hose of the shop vac right in the cage and suck up the loose hay and poop and chewed sticks. I stick on an attachment and do the floor and shelves below and around the cages. Before we got the shop vac, we would sweep everything onto the fleece and then pull the fleece out and shake it into a garbage bag and then take it out side and shake it again. I was constantly clogging my regular vacuum with hay and sticks too. We can get both cages completely cleaned in about 45 minutes now, and it used to take well over 2 hours. Oh, yeah, we also don't use the pull out trays on the bottom of the cages. There's some newspaper in them in case pee seeps through the fleece, but they're usually clean. If you can't get an FN right away then, my advice is to get a shop vac. Not one of the quiet ones, and one that has a 2 inch hose. I have this one, I got it from amazon.com during one of their black friday sales for much cheaper, like $70 or $80.

 

[Morganpanda]

Oh wow! Thanks for the Shop Vac suggestion! It looks pretty industrial and able to tolerate the hay that I need to get up. I'm kind of over picking up hay pieces one by one off of the carpet. I will put that on the list of things I need to get!

And yes, two hours seems to be about the time it takes to clean up the cage, then clean up the mess that I make from cleaning the cage. I have moved his hay rack to the very bottom where the pine shavings are so that it'll be a little less messy up on the fleece.

The FN might have to wait because I would like to get it new- but might be looking at second hand. It all depends. We haven't gotten that far yet.

But that vacuum might just save myself from going crazy with the hay pieces!
Thank you!

 

[Sovay]

Some more vacuum advice....

I bought a Bissell Powerforce compact from Walmart for (I think) $30. It's bagless, pretty powerfull, and sucks up hay no problem. And it's a reg vacuum so I use the hose to suck up poop, hay and fur from hard to reach places, and then vacuum the carpet.

I have the FN and the full accessibility is really nice. I scoop up the bedding, vacuum the left over dust and poop, wash the bottom, and wipe down the ledges, and refill the bedding. Takes me about 15 min.

 

[Caroline]

I have already ruined one vacuum with the dust and am now using a shopvac for most of the mess and then go over the carpet after with my regular vacuum to make it look better. Even then my hose always ends up getting clogged with shavings etc and is such a pain.

 

[Riven]

To help with floor area clean up why not get some of those chair/desk mats, or even just put a section of laminate flooring together and set it up under the cage on top of the carpet? That would help with some cleaning around the cage as you talked about carpet being a concern.

 

[Morganpanda]

That is a very smart idea! I like the idea of getting one of those chair matts- but if I let Sigma out of the cage, will he chew on it? If he does, is that going to be an issue? I know those things are pretty thick. But I really would like to have that under there. This whole area is just a complete mess, and it's driving me crazy.

I will look into that Walmart vacuum, definitely! Though, my husband is extremely excited about the Shop Vac. Apparently that "inspires" him to do more yard work... so it might be a win-win! Haha.

Oh, and I made the mistake of trying to vacuum up the dust after a dust bath... dust EVERYWHERE. Ugh. Now I just put the dust bath ontop of an old fleece blanket and then just wrap it up at the end of playtime and shake it all off outside for next time. Seems to do well for now.

Also, anyone able to store their hay in a plastic storage bin? Our hay bag has a hole in it and I don't want to keep it in a trash bag for fear of us accidently mistaking it as actual trash and tossing it, but we have plastic bins galore from our previous storage unit that we've emptied.

 

[becky12883]

I keep my hay in a plastic storage bin, but we put air holes in it. The hay needs to breath. We cut some slits in the lid and drilled a few holes in the bin itself. Works great. Another option is to just store it in a cardboard box left open but not in the sun at all.

 

[Dreamlite]

I have laminate flooring under my cages. I live in a apt so I can't do anything permanent and just have it rolled out on top of the carpet. A shop vac is a must! Idk how people get by without them. I have a bunch of martins cages. With the larger ones I always use the slide out trays. Lifting and moving cages is too much of a pain. They are easy to convert.

 

[Bansheefaerie]

I use a shop vac as well. Best thing ever.

 

[akane]

I would really like one, but live in an apartment and don't have much space for one

Shop vacs come in all sizes. We have one that is only about 3 gallons. Probably this one http://www.vacuum-home.com/shopvac-5860210 . I was using it originally to suck up spider webs and spiders on the ceiling of an old stone basement until we moved. I'm quite allergic to spider bites and there were a lot of spiders down there right under our bedroom. With the hose coiled and everything for storage it takes up the space of a 5 gallon bucket and is light enough to throw up on a shelf.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I agree -- Shop Vac is the way to go!!! I was warned to get one with the 2 inch minimum hose or it would get clogged.

I thought I'd give the small one a try, because I, too, live in a small condo. Problems: hose not long enough to reach inside entire cage and constant clogging from hay and bedding. It's fabulous, but unfortunately I have to store it right by the cage, which is right in my living room. However, cleaning is a breeze!!! Go for the large hose!!!

 

[chinsNdobermans]

Shop Vacs are very helpful. And if you live in a small space, they make compact ones. Mine is a large one, and it makes cleaning my Ferret Nations a breeze. Plus, it's nice for daily cleanup if you can't sweep the area with a broom.

I do have some issues with clogging when I give loose hay but I try to scoop out the biggest pieces before I vac and it seems to be good!

 

[becky12883]

I agree about the 2 inch hose. I suck up hay and sticks with no problems with the bigger hose. Whatever you do, don't get the "quiet" ones, you sacrifice sucking power for it to be slightly less loud.