Is my set up causing a stinky cage?

3319 Views 10 Replies 11 Participants Last post by knitfreak, Sep 21, 2009

NoisyCottage

Discussion Starter · Sep 13, 2009

Chester lives in a 90qt sterilite container. We use polar fleece and other cloth liners. We feed Innova cat food and fresh fruit and veggie (right now- asian pear and carrots). He bathes every other day. We removed his wheel because he injured his foot and it is healing up. But every time he poops or pees it smells like someone has dumped sewage in my living room.
I have 4 kiddos and a small house so the living room is it as far as living space for him- and for us and any company we have.
Do you have any ideas of how we could make our living room not smell like sewage? I can't have him stop pooping LOL but something needs to change. My husband and kiddos and I love him but the stink overtaking our living room (the first room you walk into in our home) is frustrating.
I wash his cage out regularly (several times a week) and I wipe it out daily and replace the liner and still there is lingering stink.
Any suggestions?-- I have already had a pet in the house that had to find a new home because of the strain on the family. I don't want Chester to leave- no one does- but we need something to change.
Any suggestions? Is there a cleaner that takes scent out so that the cage doesn't have permanent stink to it?
The lid has slits cut in it for the heat lamp and to allow for the wheel when it is in the cage.
Oh-- and the wheel gets scrubbed every morning with a sturdy brush and hot water.
Anyway, please let me know what else we can do to help this problem. We love him but our living room can't smell like sewage, something has to change asap.

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LizardGirl

· #2 · Sep 13, 2009

The smell might be what you are feeding him, if there is a lot of fish in the Innova food or something (just a thought). Baby poop and pee smells the worst, it gets better as they get older.

Things you could try to keep the smell down:
-Put a dish of baking soda near the cage, can help absorb the smell
-Buy a small air filter, I have one in the room with Inky/beardies/mice/rats etc and it does wonders
-Opening windows always helps, but you have to worry about temperature

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Nancy

· #3 · Sep 13, 2009

If he'es a baby, that is one reason he smells so bad. Babies stink far more than most adults. Wheels will stink so make sure you wash his wheel every morning. A clean cage should not smell. What do you wash his liners in? I've had difficulty recently keeping the liners from not smelling even when clean. We use cold water wash now and many of the laundry soaps leave the liners looking clean but they still smell.

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gyaku

· #4 · Sep 13, 2009

I use SA8 (Amway brand) mostly cause its the only one that gets out the smell outta pretty much anything I toss in, being my work shirt, liner, under garments... It really works wonders... I am not making this an add for it I am just saying, Sunlight doesn't ever get the smell out (only once has the smell be removed, that was the first wash only, though it drained the blue color... Now my once navy blue liner is now baby blue.) Tide I haven't tried, but I doubt I can find a box that will be lasting 6 months... Actually I have both soap and powder...

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nikki

· #5 · Sep 13, 2009

try using vinegar in the rinse water and to clean the cage with too..it helps cut the smell better.

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hedgielover

· #6 · Sep 14, 2009

I use a product called Nok-Out on all the surfaces, it gets the smell out really well (apparently it even works on skunk).

If his diet is high in protein that could be another reason why it stinks. With the high protein his poo will also be soft and make it harder to clean.

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Bengall77

· #7 · Sep 14, 2009

I use All, Small and Mighty, Free and Clear as my detergent on warm/cool and I've never noticed a lingering smell in my liners. Like Lizard Girl mentioned the food could be contributing. If it is primarily fish based it will make his poop smell absolutely wretched. We tried a salmon and brown rice formula for out cats and could only stand it for a week before we threw the remainder out and went back to chicken.

To help clean and sanitize my guy's wheel and cage I use a pet-friendly wet wipe called Spotty that I found at Wal-Mart (in the pet section of course). It has baking soda in the wipe to help eliminate odors as you sanitize.

If his poop smells really foul (you mentioned sewer-like) and you aren't feeding him a diet high in fish, then you might want to take him to the vet. He could have an overgrown amount of bacteria in his GI track. There are also some pet foods that have good bacterias which help regulate the flora in the intestines.

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krbshappy71

· #8 · Sep 14, 2009

Sorry to hear about the stinkiness, I can relate. Not the sewage smell but sheesh they smell as bad as if one of the dogs went in the house. Thankfully once I clean the wheels and tarps it usually dissipates quickly.

I crack the window and turn on the ceiling fan while I am cleaning the items and then shut it back up when I replace their items, takes maybe 5 minutes to wash up and by the time I'm done the room is cleared when I put the items back. It does clear out quickly.

Also, the food I am feeding is the Chicken Cat Lovers Soul and they don't get treats at this time.

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LarryT

· #9 · Sep 19, 2009

LizardGirl said:
The smell might be what you are feeding him, if there is a lot of fish in the Innova food or something (just a thought). Baby poop and pee smells the worst, it gets better as they get older.

Things you could try to keep the smell down:
-Put a dish of baking soda near the cage, can help absorb the smell
-Buy a small air filter, I have one in the room with Inky/beardies/mice/rats etc and it does wonders
-Opening windows always helps, but you have to worry about temperature

I just got a Thera Pure air filter for my hedgies room(its the larger one $103.00 plus tax at walmart) and it is amazing i can't believe i went all these years without one it's well worth the money takes alot of the smell out of the air and the dander as well.
Plus cleaner air for them to breath.

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jopenguin

· #10 · Sep 19, 2009

I just bought a Diaper genie to keep down the smell coming from Ender's trash can.

I have noticed that the nights he got baby food turkey sticks, he had diarrhea and the cage really stunk. Most mornings (w/ scrambled egg) its not too bad. I have a harder time with the vinegar solution.

Jodi

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knitfreak

· #11 · Sep 21, 2009

I think that when they pee on the liners it really smells, but if they pee in litter it is a lot better. Do you have a litter pan under the wheel? If he is just peeing and pooping there are all night and it's going right to the liner, that could be contributing to the smell. Also, is your food fish based? Most people think the fish cat foods make stinkier poops.

My guys pee smells a LOT more than his poops (which only smell when they are fresh, and then don't smell at all when dried - kinda like hamster poops). If he didn't pee into his carefresh his cage would really smell.

Also, is his cage getting enough ventilation? If you ahve a lid on without a lot of ventilation, the smells can really build up in there and it smells worse than if you just had it open. Every time you walk by, you will get a strong smell. I use a ferret nation cage, which is totally open wire so it is all ventilated. I change the litter every day or second day, liners only need changing once a week (but get vacuumed when I change the litter) and I clean his wheel daily. I never have smell after a wheel and litter change, and he is right in my living room as well.

Good luck! Please update us on what you try and if it works

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