How do I remove the Oder from chinchillas?

Question

The chinchillas that I brought home today have an oder to them. It is pretty strong. I had heard that chinchillas do not have oder. Should I be worried that they are sick? They came with a plastic bottomed cage, and I really had to scrub it because of urine buildup. If it is the cage that stinks does anyone know how to get the smell out of the plastic. Anyways thanks in advance for any advise offered.

Answer 1

Chins don't have odor. But their urine does!

Chins, rabbits, ferrets and all the rest are the same deal, pee all the time, poop all the time, and if you want really good odor control it's very basic and old fashioned - remove the pee and poop twice a day and replace with fresh clean newspaper.

Also, the grate............... it must also be washed, rinsed and dried at least once a day.

It's cheap and pretty simple but after a while you will grow tired of it all the constant cleaning to keep your home odor free.

You don't get the smell out of the plastic............. you replace the plastic.

You prevent the smell from getting into the plastic with constant changing the papers and cleaning the entire base of the cage.

You simply have two cages and each day you put your chins into a clean and fresh awaiting cage. This gives you plenty of time to change papers and wash and rinse and dry the dirty cage, grate, base and all.

It sure is alot of work. Enjoy your chins.

Answer 2

You are taking the right steps, a clean cage is the first thing, White vinegar and water half and half is a safe and good way to clean the cage, make sure to clean all the wire also, if there is a build up of urine let it soak in the solution for about 15 minutes and use elbow grease to get it all off. I always clean with plain water after wards to make sure there is no residue. To clean your chinchilla try a unscented baby wipe to remove the surface stink from being in their own waste. Dust baths regularly will also help, they may have been urinating in the dust which can cause them to smell. Chinchilla's can get dry skin from to many baths (do not use the scented dust it can cause respiratory issues) and it's recommended to give them a bath 2-3 times a week, especially the beige or light colored chins they can get very very dry skin and loose hair. Make sure you have a lot of flat (non-wire) surfaces for them to sit on. Please research afe woods for chinchilla's CEDAR can kill them so best to use pine or carefresh (just make sure they don't eat the carefresh).

Give them a few days and you should be fine.

Answer 3

Chinnies aren't for everyone. You definitely need a new (BIG!) cage with a wire bottom and pine chips until you get one.

Get them some chinchilla bathing dust, and if you let them dust every day (it's fun to watch them do their snap rolls and wipe the dust off their noses) and get a clean new cage and keep it clean they will stop smelling. Poor little guys must be miserable -- they hate being dirty. www.lonestarchinchilla.com is a good place to get supplies if you don't have a big petstore nearby. They ship quickly.

Your chins need at least a 16" inch solid silver surfer runny wheel (www.chinchillas.com) and be sure you study up on what to feed them. DON'T buy a slotted or wire wheel like you get for rats. They can get their legs caught and broken. I got a rescue female who had broken her leg. It was a MESS and despite all the medical care I gave her it had to be amputated! So save yourself and your chins some grief with a solid wheel. They're a stitch to watch running in a wheel. They go so fast they go up the side, boing, boing, boing! I think if there were runny wheels in chin colonies in the wild, there would be a line to use it.

If they get drooly mouths or runny eyes, take them to the vet IMMEDIATELY, and be prepared to spend some money or they'll surely die.

Although they have the most wonderful fur in the world, their national motto is "Don't Muss the Fur!" If you are patient about scratching their necks and behind their ears, they will get really friendly.

They don't like to be grabbed. Most of their predators in the wild were hawks and eagles who grabbed them on the back and they don't believe it's a good thing.

Keep an eye on them. If their cage was so filthy, they could very well be sick.

I hope they are well and that you and they get along and learn to enjoy each other's company.

P.S. Redawg is absolutely right. DON'T give them a bath in water or tomato juice. Chins don't do wet.

Answer 4

For God's sake DO NOT bathe your chinchillas! If they get wet...they die!! Just clean their cage ( as you probably have done ) and line the bottom with newspaper and replace with fresh newspaper every other day. Pine and cedar chips cause lung damage and hurt the chinchillas eyes. Also, go get some Chinchilla dust and a container to put some of the dust into and allow the chinchillas to roll around in it and have a dust bath...do this once per day and then remove the dust bath container so they do not use it as a toilet. In a few days your chinchillas will not stink anymore.

Answer 5

The smell on the chinchilla is probably from the filthy cage.

You should get a new cage. There is most likely bacteria in the cage you have now still, and it could be unhealthy.

Answer 6

First of all, you should buy a litter that reduces odor, Carefresh works okay, but there are other brands that work better. Also, chinchillas can be litter box trained, which would greatly reduce the smell buildup. You should be cleaning the cage weekly. Also, your chinchilla should be getting a dust bath for hygiene.

Answer 7

You can't get the smell out of plastic...it penetrates and stays...
You need a new cage and not a plastic one...get a wire cage, with a removeable bottom, a potty box (like a cat), a BIG plastic/glass jar, for their dust baths...and get some chinch dust.

www.ferretstore.com will have all you need...

PetCo...PetsMart...Petland....etc...will also have what you need.
If you didn't know about chinchs before you bought them, you should have read up on them first...You are doing a disservice to the animal by NOT knowing how to take care of them..
(and the word is advice..)

Answer 8

After you get the cage cleaned fill the bottom with a combination of pine and cedar chips. the cedar will help alot. Then put a bowl or little container of chincilla dust in it because that is how chincillas bathe. The dust container neeeds to be big enough for them to get their whole body in. I put mine in a giant fish aquarium.

Answer 9

Elbow grease will clean it. Clean it often to prevent it from happening again. Try putting a little Baking Soda under the Cedar chips or litter. It is very important to keep animal cages clean, but don't expose the animals to any cleaners. Make sure the cage does not have any cleaner left in the cage or it could be bye-bye pets.

Answer 10

clean the chinchilla crap and pee out of the cage and replace it with pine chips and see how it smells tomorrow