We're starting "Critter Talk" with our first SmallAnimalChannel.com newsletter.

The May 2008 Critter Talk Discussion Topic

This month we want to know what is your critter housing maintenance plan?

• What do you clean daily?
• What do you clean weekly?
• What do you clean monthly?
• What kind of bedding/lining/litter do you use? Why do you use it?
• Do you use cleaning products or do you make your own cleaning solutions to clean your pet's cages/housing units?

And please let us know what species your pet is and what kind of housing you have for it. We're interested to find out more!

- Critters Moderator

She lives in a bin cage,well actually 2 

^Thats her main cage(27 gallons)

And then I also have a 17 gallon bin attached to the 27 gallon bin.

• I clean her food dish and water bottle daily.
• I clean her little yellow house and I empty out the all the bedding from the cage weekly
• I clean her smaller bin and I wash the bins every 2 weeks
• I use hemp bedding for 3 quarters and then I have a quarter of Carefresh Ultra(white stuff)
• I just use soap and water to clean the bins

What do you clean daily? 

 The floors and shelves get wiped down with Natures Mirical and litter boxes get scooped in all the cages,2 in each cage. Water bottles and food bowls get washed every other day. 11 litter boxes around my home also get scooped daily.

What do you clean weekly?   

17 litter boxes get washed, the cages get a good scrub down. bedding gets changed out for clean bedding a minimum of two times a week

What do you clean monthly?  

I really don't have a monthly cleaning thing, with my business it is always on going cleaning lol

What kind of bedding/lining/litter do you use? Why do you use it ? 

  I don't use any type of floor substrate , i use vinyl flooring on the bottom 2 levels of the cages [keeps the noise down] and carpet on the top level [main sleeping area] as for Bedding i use hammocks, sleep sacks, hanging cubes, old t-shirts, fleece blankets and nest boxes filled with old t-shirts.

For litter i use yesterday News and i use about 90 pounds a month  it's cheap and holds odor down well. I also used wood stove pellets but not all my kids would like it and use it.

Do you use cleaning products or do you make your own cleaning solutions to clean your pet's cages/housing units? 

I use  Natures Miracle Orange OXY for my everyday cleaning of the floors and shelves. I use a mild dish soap with a drop of bleach for my weekly heavy scrubbing. i use vinegar and water for tough odor areas.

Ferretopia.proboards51.com

FerretMaster, I have a question for you. About how many hours would you say that you spend cleaning for all your ferrets? And are there more out-of-the-blue messes to clean or do your ferrets keep you on schedule?

I would have to say about 1 - 1 1/2 hours a night and thats with stopping to play with the ferrets, witch takes up most of the time lol.  I know i was rushed a few time to go out to dinner and i cleaned all 3 cages and litter boxes in about 1/2 hour, but that was not stopping to play with the critters.

My night sort of goes like this, I get home get changed scoop all the litter boxes around the house. Then i let the mob out and play for a few minuets before i start cleaning. I clean 1 cage at a time i do the wipe down, scooping boxes and and empty and refill water bottles and food bowls then move on to the next cage. My heavy once a week cleaning takes about 2 1/2 hours because i do all of the above plus take the floors out of the cages and wash them in the bath tub and scrub the cage bars down and wash the litter boxes.

As for the extra messes i am one lucky ferrent [ferret parent] my kids are real good, aside of the once in a blue moon poop outside the box in the cage, they dont make to much extra work for me. I have been the cause of most of the extra messes, I forget to put up a baby gate  to block off a room once in a wile and the ferrets did what they do best they got into everything they were not suppose to. My last big boo boo was when i went to bed and left my chair too close to my computer desk and when i work up i looked into the room and it looked like it snowed, they shredded every piece of paper on the desk and a whole jumbo roll of paper towels, i also had a 1/2 can of soda on the desk and that got knocked over......good thing my keyboard and digital camera soaked most of that up or i would have had a real mess on my hands

I  had 8 ferrets within my first year of owning them, and it stayed that way for about 4 years then i got 5 more rescues in, out of the 16 ferrets i had only my first 4 were store bought all the rest are rescues. So the cleaning is like second nature to me now.

Ferretopia.proboards51.com

That brings up some other great questions for everyone.

• What do your critters do while you're cleaning? Do they play with someone else or do they play in another room?
• Does anyone have any great stories in the instance that you're trying to clean your pet's home, but then you have to stop to go and clean up the newest masterpiece that your pet(s) have created?
• What lessons have your learned about cleaning your pet's homes? What are your Cleaning Do's adn Don'ts?

critters-moderator (4/29/2008)

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I bet your ferrets hope that you forget to do something to give them a chance to play

I dont know if you own ferrets, but ferret proofing and keeping a close eye on them is a never ending job  and they will take any opportunity to make you pay for you mistakes

What do your critters do while you're cleaning? Do they play with someone else or do they play in another room?

With 13 ferrets in 3 different cages they just have fun playing with each other and all the tubes and toys around the house. Usually they don't want to play with me as soon as they come out of the cage, they like to check out their stash first, if they do come up to me for attention i stop to play with them.

What lessons have your learned about cleaning your pet's homes? What are your Cleaning Do's adn Don'ts?

The dont's

DO NOT turn your back on a room full of ferrets when there is a roll of paper towels around

Do not leave any cleaning solution un guarded, bad things can happen fast!

Make sure you only use pet safe products to clean with. Small animals have small lungs, what might not bother your nose could kill them!

The do's

Clean everyday it will help to keep odors down and you animal healthy and happy.

play with your pet wile you clean it helps with not thinking of it as a chore.

set up a schedule or routine to do your cleaning, it will help with not stressing out you pets, when you do.

Ferretopia.proboards51.com

I adopted a Syrian hamster, back in march, from the Humane Society. She came with a habitrail,food,etc. I really don't like chemicals around my pets so, I have been cleaning her cage with a mixture of warm water, vinger or baking soda.I wipe down her cage and chang her water daily and do a complete, scrub down or soak once a week. She loves to run around in her ball, so when I'm cleaning that is where is is.