Digging to China or kickboxing with the litter...

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Alexah

Alexah

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One of my two american chinchilla does, Lennox, has been driving me crazy lately. She's been kicking the litter out of her litter pan...constantly. I'm not entirely sure whether she's digging or kicking, but either way, it's making for a huge mess - and not just once a day. It's pretty much all the time. I refill the litter and out it comes. Any ideas why she's doing this or what I can do to help stop this manic behavior?

I've tried using a different litter thinking that maybe she didn't like the one I had been using, but no deal. I've also tried putting hay in and taking hay out - no change. I wouldn't mind so much if it was only once or twice a day...but it's all the freaking time! And my asthma is acting up because she's kicking so much dust around. I should also say that this is a new behavior that started maybe about two weeks ago. And I clean their litter every other day. I've tried changing it each day, but that didn't help either.

If it matters, the litter box is a covered one because she and Silvie liked it best out of all of them. Please help because it's making me nutty! There's got to be a way to get her to knock it off. I mean, I love her, but she's not on my good side at the moment because I'm tired of hourly dates with the vaccuum cleaner, broom, and dust pan.
 
I would put a grid over the litter. Something to prevent her from getting to the litter but would allow the waist to fall through.

You can use the plastic grid that supposed to go over tube lights, it works well and I believe JimD uses it. You just cut it to size and place it over the litter.
Here's an example here:
http://www.geocities.com/bunniekrissy/grid_litterbox.JPG

Or a metal mesh could be bent to shape to put over the litter as well.

Also see if she would enjoy a digging box full of hay or shredded paper. She may just really enjoy digging. Stuff a cardboard box with shredded newspaper and see if she goes nuts for it.

--Dawn
 
A metal grid, cut in the dimensions of his litter boxis what I'd used with my previous bun (I was afraid he would chew up the plastic), who loved to dig the contents of his litter box out and around. It worked just fine for me, so, try it, I believe it'll solve your problem.

Marietta
 
It didn't even occur to me to use a grid over the litter. Duh! I've seen them on this site and I've heard other members talking about them.

I can't get out today to get it, but hopefully tomorrow or this weekend at the latest. I think I'll go with a wire grid or wire mesh since she's definitely a chewer.

And I do have a digging box for my buns. I should dig it out - no pun intended :) - for Lennox to play in. Come to think of it, I'm going to throw in an old phone book with the girls too. Maybe they just need more toys...ha...like they don't already have about a billion in their pen!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you all know how it goes :).
 
Hihi, it's different when it comes to our buns. Lol. We often read about things but aren't dealing with the issue at the time so we know it but the information is stored too far back in our brains to process it as we'd wish :pAt least, that's the excuse I give myself :p

Btw, she might be wanting to make a game out of it. You might want to look into making a digging box with shredded paper or something and see if she likes that. My boys decided to do that a few weeks ago and they were driving me bonkers. Poor kiddos are bored with me these days :?
 
Thanks for posting this. I have had the same thing going on with one of my bunnies as well. It started about 2 weeks ago and it doesn't matter what I do she is digging. She will sit in it and just start flinging it all over or stand on the out side and put her front paws in and start at it. The dog loves it because the poop is fling out of the cage like coins from a slot machine.:? I'll have to look for the grid and try that as well. I'm tired ov vacuuming the living room 3-4 times aday.

 
I would like to add a slightly different spin on this issue. We had a digger....Yoda. He could dig all night. And he went with us every weekend on a three hour one way drive to our place at the beach.....he would dig in his carrier the entire trip. His digging drove me crazy. Odd thing....we lost Yoda just over a year ago. I would give anything I own to hear that digging again. I really miss that sound. There is a song by a group called Cinderella...."Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone". Yoda's at the bridge....and I miss that digging so much now. He's gone...and I know now just how special that digging sound really was.

Randy
 
:tears2:You made me cry :cry4:I hear you when you talk about those sounds being special. We only realize these things when they're gone... So sad... Hugs to you.
 
I, too, am in tears over what you wrote, Randy.

I did provide a digging box yesterday for both Silvie and Lennox. They loved it and were doing binkies all over the place when they saw me bring it in :). It was so cute. I wish I'd had my camera available because it was just precious. And tomorrow I'm going to be getting the grid for their litter pans. But, seriously, I'm going to try looking at this from the point of view that was offered - I'm going to just love them regardless of their behavior. I don't know what I'd do without either of them. So, right now, as Lennox is digging like mad in her litter pan and tossing poop and litter all over the place, I'm smiling because...you know what?...what's a few vaccuum runs when you have sweet noses and whiskers staring back at you?!
 
Funny the things we will tolerate when it comes to our pets :)

I got so sick of cleaning up bedding, hay, etc. and clogging up vacuum cleaners that I ripped out all the carpeting in my house. It is so much easier to clean up after the critters now and so much less stressful for me if someone makes a mess.

BTW, I love Cinderella!:dude:, I have one of their tapes in the tape player in my van right now.
 
Hey Alexah, did you get the grid yet? I got mine from Walmart in the craft section and then cut them to fit the litter boxes. They were really cheap too.

Susan:)
 
Lol ChinaBun, I had thought about you when I read the title. :p

I haven't found any canvas here but I have to recheck the dollar store. Such a simple solution but when you need it you can't find it! Lol.


 
I haven't got the grids yet as I'm planning to do so this afternoon. I was going to go to a craft store, but Walmart is closer and I need a couple other things so maybe I'll try there first. Actually, it's funny because as soon as I accepted the situation as it was, the girls stopped the behavior. Isn't it amazing how that happens?

And, ChinaBun, so funny! Please take care of them :). I'm thinking they should get there in...oh...50 years or so. Maybe sooner if they both work on their digging expedition together.
 
Lexi, Walmart does sell the plastic grids in the craft section. You can purchasea single sheet or a package of them. I use them for some of my fish tanks.
 
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