I'm gettin a chinchilla soon and was hoping that someone could tell me the pros and cons of a wire bottom cage (openings 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch) versus a solid bottom cage. Thank you to anyone and everyone who helps me decide which will be best for my little chin!
Wire bottom vs solid
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Godofgods
Well-known member
im not a fan of wire bottoms myself. They cant be very comfortable. Depending on the size, some chins could get a foot caught in the openings.
Chinups
Active member
There are A LOT of stories here about why wire bottom cages could be harmful to chins. Have you tried searching the forums?
I'm another who doesn't like wire bottom cages. In addition to being a safety/health hazard (foot/toes caught & injured, wires causing sores on footpads) they are harder to keep clean. Scrubbing dried urine off wire mesh, no matter the size of openings, is a pain.
Okay thank you everyone, it's good to know the common thought about them for chins. If I put something like anti pill fleece over the mesh would it be okay then? I'm just trying to come up with ideas since the cage I'm looking at has 2 full size levels along with 2 platforms and the second level is wire-bottomed.
Dreamlite
Well-known member
I prefer wire bottom cages. It's more hygienic for the chin and less mess for you. Wire can cause for problems if the mesh is to large. 1/4 inch is perfectly fine. It's a common misconception is that wire causes bumble foot, it's actually caused by unsanitary conditions rather than the wire. The wire also helps maintain their natural calluses on their feet. If their feet get too soft it can make them more prone to getting issues.
I'm actually the opposite of Dreamlite. I would never use wire bottom cages - I think they are nasty. The chins pee on them and smash poop and food onto the wire and you have to constantly scrub and clean them. I also think that I would hate living on wire if it was me, with nowhere soft to step or sleep. I will always and have always used solid bottoms.
ticklechin
Well-known member
Wire bottoms are a PIA to keep clean and frankly most people are too lazy to keep them clean enough to be healthy. I use tile shelves and bottoms.
Chinups
Active member
If you're going to use fleece over the wire, you might consider using several layers at a time to soften it. Maybe adding a tile or two over the fleece might help keep it down and give the chins an optional solid surface too. Otherwise, you might consider surfing the net to see if there are any replacement floors for your specific cage that are solid metal.
Godofgods
Well-known member
what kind of cage are you looking at? Do you have a pic or link to it so we can see? Might be able to help better if we can.
I was looking at a Prevue Hendryx Feisty Ferret Home, but the cage that I'm getting now is about the same size, solid bottom, and has already been made chinchilla safe.
gsbuickman
Resident Hooligan on holi
Hhhhhhmmmmmm, wire bottom or solid bottom with pine bedding ?. That is a good question with a lot of things to consider and think about. The kids always had hamsters in big aquariums or specialty hamster houses with pine bedding bottoms, so I can see the pros and cons of that. My 2 biggest concerns with that is it can cause sanitation issues because they're running around in the same bedding that they're going potty in and needs cleaned every 1-2 weeks . This means everysing needs taken out of the aquarium or habitat and it needs taken apart, emptied, cleaned, refilled, and put back together. Depending on how many habitats you maintain and how much bedding yuu use it can get a little pricey because dating isn't cheap for what it is.
This is Rain's 3 level chilla' house. She was in it when I got her but it only had one 2nd floor ledge. I added a full 2nd and 3rd floor w/ ladders. Her hay (alfalfa and Timothy) dish, pellet food dish and treat dish are upstairs with A cold stone. There is a 2nd cold stone on the 2nd floor w/ her edible log hide and water bottle downstairs.
It's a 3/16"-1/4" wire bottom. Now that I've been maintaining Rain's wire cage for quite a while I can understand both sides of the wire bottom issue. The main advantage that I've found is it stays cleaner, and with the pull out tray below the bottom I use les pine bedding then I did maintaining an average hamster habitat. Since I take her cage to the car wash or put it in the bathtub and give it a thorough spray wash, clean up isn't that hard.
With that said, Rain prefers to go potty in the back corners downstairs. The only problem I've had with the wire bottom is after I line the tray with newspaper, add kitty litter in the corners or she goes potty and fill it with pine bedding there was only 18" gap between the bedding and the bottom of the cage. Even though I clean the tray out every Recycle Week when I collect the trash for the garbage man, its not long before that gap fills up and it makes a mess in the corners of the bottom of the cage.
Well a few days ago I gave the cage another cleaning in the shower. This time i left the wire rack in the bottom of the cage out that the tray used to slide in and set on. Now the tray sits on top of the base as if it were made for it. Now there is a 2" gap between the bedding and the floor of the cage. Now there is plenty of room for everything to fall thru your floor eliminating the buildup issue I was having keeping things cleaner.
I has been reading a bunch and learning a lot that I didn't know before since I've joined the forum. I will be adding more tiles to the upper floors, but I'll leave the ladders as they are so she can grab them going up and down since they're a little steep. I will also add some tiles to the bottom, but al have to do it creatively so it leaves plenty of open space but still gives her more tiles to walk on.
This is Rain's 3 level chilla' house. She was in it when I got her but it only had one 2nd floor ledge. I added a full 2nd and 3rd floor w/ ladders. Her hay (alfalfa and Timothy) dish, pellet food dish and treat dish are upstairs with A cold stone. There is a 2nd cold stone on the 2nd floor w/ her edible log hide and water bottle downstairs.
It's a 3/16"-1/4" wire bottom. Now that I've been maintaining Rain's wire cage for quite a while I can understand both sides of the wire bottom issue. The main advantage that I've found is it stays cleaner, and with the pull out tray below the bottom I use les pine bedding then I did maintaining an average hamster habitat. Since I take her cage to the car wash or put it in the bathtub and give it a thorough spray wash, clean up isn't that hard.
With that said, Rain prefers to go potty in the back corners downstairs. The only problem I've had with the wire bottom is after I line the tray with newspaper, add kitty litter in the corners or she goes potty and fill it with pine bedding there was only 18" gap between the bedding and the bottom of the cage. Even though I clean the tray out every Recycle Week when I collect the trash for the garbage man, its not long before that gap fills up and it makes a mess in the corners of the bottom of the cage.
Well a few days ago I gave the cage another cleaning in the shower. This time i left the wire rack in the bottom of the cage out that the tray used to slide in and set on. Now the tray sits on top of the base as if it were made for it. Now there is a 2" gap between the bedding and the floor of the cage. Now there is plenty of room for everything to fall thru your floor eliminating the buildup issue I was having keeping things cleaner.
I has been reading a bunch and learning a lot that I didn't know before since I've joined the forum. I will be adding more tiles to the upper floors, but I'll leave the ladders as they are so she can grab them going up and down since they're a little steep. I will also add some tiles to the bottom, but al have to do it creatively so it leaves plenty of open space but still gives her more tiles to walk on.
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Solid bottom all the way! Against my better judgement I did get a wire bottomed cage for my first chin as that was all that was really available, and within a few hours she managed somehow to break her tail on it! I have never used a wire floor since for anything, apart from being dangerous, it must be really uncomfortable, like walking over a cattle grid a all the time.
gsbuickman
Resident Hooligan on holi
LGarl
Well-known member
I prefer solid floors to wire. Animals feet are not designed to live on wire. I watched rabbits my parents raised suffer with sore hocks because they lived in wire bottom cages. The wire, aided by the animal's weight and gravity puts unnatural pressure on only certain areas of the sole.
Bumblefoot is extremely painful and it takes a lot of dedication and time to treat. I know animals can get it even with solid flooring but it seems from all I've seen and read that wire flooring really ups the risk.
Bumblefoot is extremely painful and it takes a lot of dedication and time to treat. I know animals can get it even with solid flooring but it seems from all I've seen and read that wire flooring really ups the risk.
IFireflyl
Active member
I think the reason for the increased risk from wire flooring is due to the wire itself not being completely smooth (some wire flooring can have very, very tiny jagged spots that are easy for small animals to get lacerations from), and people not keeping the wire floor clean (basically thinking that since chinchilla poop falls through they don't need to wash down the wire flooring as often). This leads to lacerations on the feet, and then running through their own pee (which is usually still coated on that wire flooring) which leads to bumblefoot. I think the majority of people who have solid flooring do a better job of cleaning. This is, of course, speculation based on what I have read online. I personally have a spray bottle of white vinegar and water mixed that I will be using at least once per week for my chinchilla cage, as well as spot cleaning any messes they make daily. From all that I have read bumblefoot is bacterial, so keeping the area the chinchillas are in is essential to maintaining good health among the little guys (and gals).
LGarl
Well-known member
That's a good point about the imperfect nature of wire. Plus rabbits tend to be a lot heavier than chins so the pressure from gravity on weight is there to increase the danger of breaks to the skin. I didn't know bumblefoot was also caused by bacteria. Thanks for the added info.
As a kid seeing my folks treating rabbits for sore hocks I really developed a strong dislike for wire bottoms, something that's just stuck in my mind now.
I wonder about chin's little toes. Don't they kinda grasp the area where they are sitting? Wouldn't the toes go into the holes in a wire bottom and when they hop there could be a danger of either breaking the toes or stripping the skin off them?
Any insight into this would be great because I am trying to balance correct information with my own stubborn mind set. lol
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IFireflyl
Active member
All it would take is one misstep while running to miss the wire and have a broken foot, so I still say that's reason enough not to have a wire cage. Plus, chinchillas don't have wire floor in the wild. They have a variety of surfaces that they walk/run on, but none of them wire. I can't say 100% as I haven't ever encountered wild chinchillas, but I would bet that they usually are running on rock and wood. Both of those are (generally) thicker and easier to grip than wire (again, speculation).
ticklechin
Well-known member
I hate wire bottoms, too hard to keep clean. The scrub brush flinging chinchilla pee is my face while scrubbing grossed me out.
