Switching To Fleece

[CodysChinchillas]

I planned on switching to fleece in the near future,(I'm currently using CareFresh Natural) but I have a few things that I'm a little concerned about.

1.) Won't the fleece smell when the chins pee on it?
2.) Will the chins chew up the corners of the fleece, and swallow the fabric?
3.) Will they get used to peeing on the fleece, so if they were to go on my bed, the would pee everywhere because it's soft like the fleece?
4.) Will I have to make my own cage liners all the time?

Hopefully someone can answer my questions! Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[chilethechin23]

Change the liners every 3-5 days and wash them in the laundry for reuse. Just buy a couple so you can rotate them out. Try putting a small glass bowl with some bedding in it and see if ur chin will use that to go pee in. If not just make sure you are constantly changin them and washing them. My chins don't eat the fleece and it's a chin safe material so there ya go : )

 

[CodysChinchillas]

What about peeing on things like my bed, couch, chairs? Will they get used to the material and think its okay to pee on it?

 

[Moolelo]

IF you read some of the other threads about switching to fleece you will see that often people place a litter box of sorts with shavings to help potty train them. I had switched to fleece from shavings and noticed that my potty trained boys (always shishi in one corner) had begun to pee everywhere. To stop this I changed the floor plan of my cage (custom built so it was easier than most) and added a section of the floor as shavings tray and the other 2/3 or so is still fleece, this keeps them peeing only in shavings. So most of the time it just smells like aspen.

 

[becky12883]

Put a glass dish filled with the Carefresh in the corner that they usually pee in. You can use it like a litter box and hopefully you can potty train them. My boys caught on really quick when we switched over. Others have suggested to grab some of the already peed on litter to put in the dish to start out. I use a small rectangle Pyrex baking dish and dump it out every other day and change fleece about every 4 days. You could probably go longer on the fleece if there's no accidents next to the potty dish. My cage never smells like pee as far as I can tell. Good luck with changing over!
Oh yeah, for the chewing, try to weigh down the corners of the fleece so they don't try to dig. I have Their house, food bowl, chiller, a brick and their potty dish all around the edges to hold down the fleece. Luckily we've had no chewing, but a bit of pulling up the edges to use as a blanket.

 

[CodysChinchillas]

Thanks Becky! We'll be switching over very soon. I just need to either make, or order cage liners. I'll probably order them. I don't have the patience to build my own things! Lol.

 

[becky12883]

I just use a single layer of fleece in my cage. I just cut it to size (pre-wash to avoid shrinkage) and lay it on the bottom. No sewing required. There is a wire floor under the fleece and a tray under that, the tray has newspaper in it and I change that about once a month. I keep intending to sew some double layer liners, but I'm am an amazing procrastinator

 

[CodysChinchillas]

What websites do other fleece liner users use to purchase your liners?!

 

[Stackie]

Most people go to a local crafts store. JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby have fleece if you have them near you. JoAnn's often run sales on their fleece.

 

[Andrea]

Get a glass Pyrex dish and put already soiled (peed on) litter in it with some clean litter. This helped to get my girls going in the dish and not on the fleece. They get lazy sometimes and still pee on the fleece but I only have to switch their liner once per day. I switch their litter every other day. I buy my liners from Annie...her username is Annieo. She's the best and she will make you liners using custom fleece!

 

[CodysChinchillas]

Thank you, Stackie. And I'll be sure to message Annie, and see what she can do for me. Thank you everyone!

 

[Eryn]

Does it matter what laundry detergent you use when you wash the liners?

 

[CodysChinchillas]

I doubt it...

 

[partygirlha]

I’ve always used fleece and my chins don’t seem to pee outside of the cage unless they are out for a long time. My lines have lasted for years. I make my own and after trial and error, I make them extra big and just deal with the extra around the edges. My boys have never chewed the liners (they have chewed fleece off of tubes and other things, so keep an eye on the liners). As for washing I like to use a “clear” or “free” detergent, and I always give them an extra rinse (my machine has one button for a programmable cycle and I‘ve programmed that for HOT water for all parts of the wash cycle and an extra rinse at the end). If they got a little extra gross I’ll soak them with white vinegar before washing. Don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets as this will decrease the absorbency of the fleece and you might see pee puddles.