Cleaning your chinchilla’s cage may not be the most fun job in the world, but it is very important for your chinchilla’s health and the general cleanliness of your home.

By nature chinchillas are very clean animals. Unlike Ferrets they have no natural odor. They also spend much time grooming and cleaning their whiskers and fur. Also unlike ferrets they cannot really be litter trained. Though they will tend to urinate in one specific area of the cage (generally the corners) they cannot help where they poop.

You will need to spot clean around the edges of your chinchilla’s cage daily. For spot cleaning a small shop vac is nice to have around, and a dust pan and broom will also be handy. We also purchased tile to place under our chinchilla’s cage to help keep things clean. You will not want to place your chinchilla’s cage directly on carpet or hardwood, because it will likely become soiled. Title or even plastic runners are durable and easy to clean. You may be able to get extra tile from your local hardware store for a discount price. There are often scraps left over after a bathroom or kitchen has been tiled.

Your chinchilla’s cage will need to be cleaned thoroughly once a week. This means changing the bedding and wiping down bars that have become soiled. Be careful which kind of bedding you use. Both cedar and pine bedding are toxic to chinchillas and other small pets. They contain phenols, used to make them smell pleasant. These compounds cause constant irritation to the nasal passages, throat, and lungs of small animals giving bacteria an easy opening, thus commonly causing pneumonia. Phenols also affect organs such as the liver and kidneys, because these organs are responsible for filtering toxins out of the body. When presented with a large amount of toxins over time, they are unable to filter it all out and begin to fail. An animal with a damaged liver will have a depressed immune system, which can lead to other medical conditions and eventually death.

We use Kaytee Soft-Sorbent Bedding. The bedding comes in natural scents of lavender, mint or rose and is made from reclaimed resources. Lavender is our personal favorite. Lavender is known to remove nervous tension and have an overall calming effect, it also smells good! For a list of other pet friendly bedding please visit http://www.afrma.org/rminfo2.htm

Many people have asked me about newspaper. In the past I had heard that newspaper was not a great alternative because when it becomes soiled ink could become toxic. Also I had heard that it was not as absorbent as pet bedding and thus would cause excess odor and need changed far more frequently. However, according to an article published by Ohio State University regarding using newspaper as bedding for livestock, newspaper is now a safe alternative. Most publishers today use organic pigment and the study seems to suggest that it is a safe and cheap alternative. You can read more about this option at http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0136.html

If anyone out there happens to know other cheap, safe, and earth friendly alternative to purchasing bedding please let us know!