Cage Upgrades

[Proteus]

So, a lot of stuff I have for Ruffle was either a gift from my parents or bought by myself when we didn't know as much about chinchillas. As such, I'm looking to give Ruffle's cage and accessories an upgrade so that she's more content and hopefully a happier chinchilla.

Right now, her water bottle seems to not want to stop leaking (which most likely isn't helped by the fact that her flying saucer shakes the cage when she runs on it). I currently can't find the kind of water bottle I have for her, but it's a plastic one that hangs outside of the cage. I've tried replacing it with this water bottle, but the one I bought still leaks. Is there a better option, or is it more luck of the draw?

Her hay feeder is this one. I don't seem to have run into any major issues with it, but the fact that its plastic makes me nervous. I've been thinking of switching to some kind of wall-mounted ceramic dish and wooden hay rack. Am I just being paranoid, or does this need to change?

I'm using this cage. I've been trying to potty train her so I can lay down some fleece for her feet. Is there a good way to cover the grate (maybe making a fleece cover that wraps around the bottom grate rather than just laying it over top), or am I better off just getting a different cage?

Lastly, I have this bath house for her. I tend to leave it out during playtime on days she gets a dust bath, and I've caught her chewing it at least once (I don't see any pieces missing from it though), so I was thinking of getting her one of these, but my only concern is that it's a bit small and she might outgrow it. Do any of you own the ceramic bath and can vouch for it? She's only just 7 months old, so I don't wager she'll grow *much* more, but from what I understand, she's got another five months of growing left in her.

 

[Amethyst]

The water bottle, they seem to be luck of the draw unfortunately, but I know I had a kaytee one and it worked ok for awhile but now just leaks all the water out. The super pet glass one is ok if you do all the little tricks, put room temp water in, make sure to fill to the very top, make sure the rubber gasket is fully in place, etc . Some people have had luck with the lixits brand glass bottles though.

With the food and hay feeder, I'd change it, even if the chin doesn't chew it now some decide over night that plastic is fun to chew.

I can't help with the cage I've never used that one.

The ceramic bath houses are too small for a chin to really get a good roll inside them unless your chin is tiny. A cheap option for chewproof is a glass candy jar,obviously minus the lid.

 

[sarahspins]

Agreed, the ceramic bath you linked is very small, it's really not much bigger than your fist - I have one and I actually use it as a cute hay container. Some people liked the bigger (now discontinued) chinchilla sized ones just to use as a house/hide - because the ceramic stays cool, but they're too small for a bath.

I use a 1 gallon penny candy jar (exactly as linked above) as my dust bath - it's glass, so no risk of chewing, and the opening is higher than just laying a 1 gallon glass jar on it's side, so less dust gets pushed out by the chin as they are rolling around (plenty of airborn dust still escapes, but that's unavoidable).

Water bottles seem to be the luck of the draw, honestly. I've had zero luck with the kaytee ones, they either leak so bad that they won't even hold water for a full day, or they won't dispense any water at all beyond a few drops. Petsmart does have another glass option in the bird section, I've had better luck with those, but I would suggest having at least 2 available even just for a single chin, that way if one fails in some way you still have a backup. They are a pain to take off and clean every day, but I prefer knowing that clean water is always available, rather than risking that it's not.