How to reduce urine smell?

[Thetuckerfarm]

I have two 4 month old females in a double critter nation.

After about 2 days their cage smells like urine just when I walk by. It is currently fleece lined and I have a litter box with newspaper pellets I think. I know they don't use the litterbox religiously but they do pee in it sometimes.

I have ordered bass pans for the cage. Would switching to pine shavings cut down the smell?

I was hoping to just clean the cage once a week, vs every two days. Is it normal for the fleece to smell this fast?

Thanks!

 

[Smidgeyy]

If they pee on the fleece, it starts to smell rather quickly. All you can do to stop that is to change it more often. Using shavings would definitely cut down on the smell.

Both of mine are litter trained so it's not that big of an issue for me.

 

[Thetuckerfarm]

I do hope to be able to litter train them. I'd much rather change the litter box everyday vs wash this fleece.

Shavings seems so messy ....

 

[Saffron]

I use Planet Petco Aspen Wood shavings from Petco, it absorbs well and I think it controls the urine smell better than pine shavings do.
The Alphapet brand aspen shavings from Walmart also works well for us.
I don't like the Great Choice brand of aspen shavings that Petsmart carries. The pieces were thick and rough and didn't absorb the urine very well.

If you decide to use pine look for kiln dried pine shavings.

 

[Amethyst]

As said, yes fleece can start smelling quickly if peed on, that's why it's commonly recommended to change fleece a couple times a week.
Also the newspaper pellets are dangerous to use for chins, if eaten they expand and absorb water causing a blockage. Pine will cut down on smell, but also as said I preferred using aspen when I used litter.

Another thought is I to use stall dry, which is a horse stall deodorizer which I used when I had a guinea pig, and currently use it in my cat litter, I'm not 100% sure if it's safe for chins (it's a mix of diatomaceous earth and ash clay so I would think it is), but you could put it on the pan under the fleece to help with smell when they pee on the fleece.