Fluff bedding or Fleece LIner

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ktschopp

Active member
Joined
Mar 12, 2019
Messages
40
Hi, so I am hoping to get a pet Chinchilla soon, but I want to have the cage super prepared first. I've seen these wooden ledges and steps sold on Amazon and thought they looked like a great addition to the cage. I've also seen some people cover the wood with fleece liners. Also, I've noticed how some don't use any bedding at all and instead just use fleece liners (I assume that requires more frequent cleaning however). I was just wondering if fleece liners are recommended for the chinchilla's comfort. I also wondered if anyone knew of vendors who sold these liners? They seem easy enough to make but I (unfortunately) don't know how to sew.
 
I personally prefer wood shavings for bedding, but that's because I have so many cages to fill. Some people use Carefresh Ultra, but have had issues with chins eating it. Others use fleece because they think it's easier. It's all a matter of choice. With fleece, you do need to change them quite frequently, which for me isn't possible. I've not really seen anyone covering wood with fleece before, but people do cover wire with it so toes don't get caught.

As far as people who make them, a lot of people make their own but there are some people who make them for others. Hopefully one of them will pop up here to help you out. I don't keep a list of them because I don't use them.
 
Great thanks! I already bought fluff bedding so I think I will use that and see how it goes and maybe move to fleece.
 
We love the fleece liners. We don't cover the wood in the cage with it, but we cover the plastic shelves (we have a critter nation) and the wire ramps. We are in the process of litter training him, which means we have a small metal litter box full of wood shavings in one corner and the rest is fleece. He is doing pretty well peeing in the box 90% of the time which is good. We brought the fleece online, serveral people sell them, but they make them cage specific, so you need to know what cage your buying them for first. I would also get several sets, we have three, so we have one in the cage, one in the wash and one spare at all times.

As far as cleaning, I feel it is easier than wood shavings, but I am also doing one cage. When we had our rabbit years ago we had wood shavings as her bedding and it needed to be cleaned less often, but it was more difficult IMO to clean, and the bedding would get everywhere and make a mess. The fleece, every day we sweep the poop from the cage, takes a few mins, and at this point twice a week I am swapping out the fleece, once a week I am cleaning shelves with vinegar and water mixture. I am hoping once he is fully litter box trained I will only be swapping out the fleece once a week. Changing out the fleece alone takes a few mins, then I shake it out and throw it in the wash, and the full clean take longer, but I would be doing that regardless of fleece or shavings.

I also figured fleece would be cheaper in the long run, wood shavings, while not super expensive, is not cheap, and depending on the size of the cage you can go through quite a bit. Even with just a small litter box we clean out every day we go through a big bag every month. We would go through probably three times that if we did his whole cage. The fleece wasn't cheap, but I have heard that it should last about a year.
 
Hi, so I am hoping to get a pet Chinchilla soon, but I want to have the cage super prepared first. I've seen these wooden ledges and steps sold on Amazon and thought they looked like a great addition to the cage. I've also seen some people cover the wood with fleece liners. Also, I've noticed how some don't use any bedding at all and instead just use fleece liners (I assume that requires more frequent cleaning however). I was just wondering if fleece liners are recommended for the chinchilla's comfort. I also wondered if anyone knew of vendors who sold these liners? They seem easy enough to make but I (unfortunately) don't know how to sew.

People don't normally cover wood ledges, maybe what you are seeing is people covering plastic or mesh? Wood ledges are best left uncovered so the chin can chew on them, but you don't want chins chewing plastic ledges/shelves so putting fleece over them prevents that (assuming they don't chew the fleece). Chinchillas don't burrow or nest so actual bedding is not needed, they just something to absorb pee. I make my own liners, but you could try Esty for vendors, there are several there.

I already bought fluff bedding so I think I will use that and see how it goes and maybe move to fleece.

I hope when you say "fluff bedding" you mean kiln dried pine or aspen wood shavings. If you got something like Carefresh make sure the chin doesn't eat it (a lot of chins do). It's designed to swell and absorb liquids, which is exactly what it does in the chin's gut, and can create a blockage requiring emergency surgery to remove.
 
Yeah my bad I mean shavings not fluff. I read about how carefresh can be dangerous with some chins and I just wouldn’t want to take that chance. Also shavings are way cheaper lol
 
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