Cheap ass fleece cage liners for cheap ass pocket pet owners.
This isn’t going to be a detailed how to because others have done a better job of explaining how to make these than I could. But I will tell you all you need to make these liners are pictured here.
Total cost was probably around 20 bucks, maybe. I only did half the cage, so lets say $40 to do an entire two level Critter Nation cage, and that’s probably at the high end. I bought this fabric on sale at Jo-Ann’s Fabric (no-pill fleece is the only fabric considers safe to use). The remnants were 50% off and the swatch I bought let me do the entire one level with enough left over that I can probably make a hammock.
When I was looking at ordering liners to do an entire double cage would have set me back around $78. I just couldn’t see spending that much on something my chins are just going to pee on. Plus I would have needed two sets. Overall it was more money than I wanted to spend at the time.
Now you might be asking why even bother? Do my chinchillas really need fleece liners for their cage? Well no, but if they ingest too much plastic it can be harmful, and I promise you a chinchilla vet bill will cost a whole lot more than $40. One of the cheapest ways to cover the plastic is to use no-pill fleece, or you can replace the plastic pans with metal ones. If you have plastic shelves you can also replace them with wood ones made of kiln dried pine -- which they can safely chew on.
Even if you have a wire bottom cage it might be a good idea to look into using fleece to protect your chin’s feet. Wire can be very harsh on their little feet and may cause abrasions and cracks, resulting in something called bumblefoot... Which is not as cute as it sounds. It’s pretty much an ulcer on the bottom of the foot.
Now what do you do if your chin decides to chew the fleece? Most won’t but occasionally you will find one that does. If you have a Critter/Ferret Nation cage you can buy metal pans and use some sort of bedding (my preference is aspen shavings, but I will go over safe alternatives in a future post). If you have a wire bottom cage you can make sure you have plenty of shelves and solid surfaces for them to get up off the wire.
My girls in their new fleece covered digs. Notice I have a pie tin in the back of the cage filled with aspen bedding. They are actually pretty good about peeing in there. The same cannot be said of my two boys, who don’t care a bit about where they do their business. A cheap shallow glass pan would work better, because it is heavier and they won’t be as likely to knock it around. I just haven’t bought one yet.
No matter what type of cage your chins are housed in or what type of liner/bedding you use, their cage should be cleaned every few days if not more depending on your chin’s housing situation. Use your judgement, if the cage looks dirty, clean it. With the fleece liners it’s a good idea to sweep or vacuum up their droppings daily.
