question

[xSarah49]

i leave the dust bath in the cage all the time.. she goes to the bathroom in it but i clean it all the time.. is it bad that i leave it in there? should i just give it to her once a day?

 

[tunes]

Unless you are in a very humid area, you only need to dust bathe 2-3 times per week. Every day can dry out the skin and cause flakes and itching.

 

[Riven]

Even if you get the clumps out there are still remainders of urine and feces in there. I'm going to guess you wouldn't just scoop some poop out of a full tub then take a bath in it, I wouldn't expect a pet to do the same.

 

[Idgie]

I only give Idgie a bath a few times a week. It only takes her about 15 minutes and then I just take the bath out of her cage. Keeps it clean and doesn't dry out her skin.

 

[Jenn]

I've been told not to leave dust in the cage full time. I live in a very humid area, the humidity in my house is around 50%, so I give her a bath every other day. Then, after a few uses, you replace old dust with new dust.

 

[ann1]

I only give a bath once a week unless they look dirty then they get another.

 

[SunshineChins]

I leave the dust house in for mabye 10 minutes and then take it out. I am also pretty OCD about them using it as a bathroom so I usually dump the dust and put in new dust every time ours takes a bath.

 

[Chinmama]

I only give baths once or twice a week too.

 

[starleomach]

same here once or twice a week in the dry winter, 2-3 times in summer. for 10-15 minutes at a time

 

[Sandi]

I live an hour away from Kristy and do the same, our winters are VERY dry.

 

[heymom32000]

I only give mine a dust bath once a week during the winter and twice a week during the summer. I never leave the dust bath in the cage for very long. If they dust too much they get dry skin.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I give dust baths about once a week. I have a small cage that I use for transportation and holding chins while I clean their cages. I just put the dust bath in there and let them bathe while I clean.

 

[corneliuschins]

I go by the 2-3 times a week schedule, more often when they are being held more often. You can see how oily they are after being held, so I'll usually give them a good bath after things like hair ring checks, or a general look over to feel for cuts/bumps, whatever. I do notice that they like to hang out in the dust baths which they poop in and pee in too. I keep it in the cage for 10 mins or so and take it back out. If they've pooped in it a ton, it gets thrown out, if they've just done a couple I just pick them out with my hands, and add more dust in to give them enough to really spin in. They need enough dust to dig and flip around on, so don't skimp. The more fine the granules of dust, the poofier and cleaner they get. - Jessica

 

[ann1]

They can also get eye infection from constantly laying in the dust not to mention the dry skin already mentioned. Plus it is a hoot to watch them in the bath.