Whether you own a Chinchilla or planning to have one, you must be excited. Well, it is really quite exciting to own a cute and fun-loving pet like a Chinchilla. But as soon as you own it, the next thing you get worried about is the bedding option for it.
How do you choose the perfect bedding for your pet? It’s a tough question to answer, as it is extremely important to set up a comfortable bed for your pet. A bedding type that doesn’t suit your little buddy will eventually harm its health.
So, in this article, we will be talking about the ideal bedding for Chinchillas. Stay tuned and read till the end.
What Is The Perfect Bedding For A Chinchilla?
To answer in a short way, the best bedding should be a fleece liner set in the most suiting cage. Or you can also go for the aspen shavings. While fleece liner is suitable for a Chinchilla to give it additional comfort, aspen shaving fits perfectly in cages that are wired on the bottom.
These are two of the perfect Chinchilla bedding options you can have.
Why Fleece Liner Bedding?
Well, it’s not that we prefer the fleece liner over aspen shavings, but there are so many benefits you can get from a fleece liner bedding. Here are some points to note.
Whenever your chinchilla has made the bedding dirty and got out, take the chance. Take the fleece liner out of the cage. Then wash it by hand, or you can put it into the washing machine if you like. But make sure you are using cold water when you are washing it. By avoiding hot water, you eliminate the chance of shrinking the bed.
Again, this bedding is a perfect match for vacuum cleaning. The poop nuggets on the bedding can be easily cleaned up by the vacuum cleaner. Just take your pet out of the cage and run the cleaner inside. It gets clean as new!
Okay, we know that you are really worried about the pee or urine of your pet inside the cage. For this, you can actually try out chinchilla litter pans. You can find out the best litter for chinchillas online easily.
This may take a little bit of time for your chinchilla to get used to, but it will help you in the long run, for sure.
If you feel like this is actually a time-consuming task for you, just try to clean the fleece liner for two days a week. All done and clear! The reason we are emphasizing this type of bedding is that it keeps your cage clean all the time!
All it takes is just 30 minutes of your life!
But this type of bedding comes with a catch. You can only use it on single or dual level critter nation cages. If you have a cage other than this type, it means you have to think otherwise.
Why Aspen Shavings?
Aspen shavings bedding is the best alternative to the fleece liner bedding. Why is this the only best alternative? Because the type of cage you will get from the store will either have a black-tray liner or a wired bottom.
So you can’t escape from either of these two types of beddings.
While the aspen shavings bedding doesn’t come with the same comfort as the fleece liner, but it is actually a pretty good option for your pet.
What you may seem like a pain in the neck is to buy more and more shavings on a regular basis, that too, along with cleaning the bed every time. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t use this bedding at all.
As we told earlier, this is actually the best alternative to fleece liner. Plus, these come with a lower cost if you are not considering the change you need to make frequently.
Our favorites in this section will be the Kaytee Clean & Cozy White Small Animal Bedding, and the Carefresh Small Pet Bedding.
Better you can visit Kaytee Clean & Cozy bedding review.
The Good and the Bad Sides
Well, although both these beddings are quite helpful for any pet owners, these still come with a number of catches. You have to be very much careful when you are selecting an ultimate bedding option for your little buddy.
The Best Part of Fleece Liner Bedding
- It is easy to clean, and you get to save a lot of energy.
- It is just a one-time buying.
- The cage looks incredibly appealing when you use this bed inside.
- Comfortable for your Chinchilla.
- Less odor emission.
The Not So Best Part Of Fleece Liner Bedding
- The one-time purchase cost you more than the aspen shavings bedding.
- You can’t ignore washing at least twice a week.
- If damaged, you may need to go for a complete replacement.
Now, for the aspen shavings part,
The Best Part of Aspen Shaving Bedding
- The initial set up cost is much cheaper than the Fleece Liner Bedding
- You can discard the bedding after use.
- No need to wash. Just replace the shavings.
The Not So Best Part Of Aspen Shaving Bedding
- This can cause allergies.
- It needs a lot of cleaning.
- It produces more odor than other beddings.
Some Other Thoughts
Although we have made it clear here that these two bedding types are the best options for your pet, it actually varies from pet to pet. Not all pets feel suitable for the same type of bedding. That means you need to keep a sharp eye on the reaction of your pet.
If you are giving it a fleece liner bedding, monitor its reactions. If it does react negatively, quickly change it to the aspen shaving type. Hopefully, it will revert to a better mood.
On a different note, you can also use a rabbit bedding or a gerbil bedding for your chinchilla. These beddings are quite similar in nature and work perfectly for a chinchilla, as well. So if you can’t find a suitable bedding option for your chinchilla, you can revert to these options, too.
Conclusion
So it’s your turn. We hope that you have gone through this article pretty attentively and have made your mind up for the chinchilla bedding. While we did bet for fleece liner and aspen shavings, you can explore more on your own to get your pet the best bedding it deserves.
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