Best small animal grooming supplies according to redditors

Just get soft claw covers or nail caps. Its a simple, painless solution to immaculate curtains and your general upholstery. Your cat will feel loved, and your furniture will still be admired by guests.

http://www.amazon.com/Feline-Soft-Claws-Plastic-Starter/dp/B003WGWGBA

My chinnies have a dust bowl that they sell on amazon like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AS5M8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dPqJyb1Y0FHSN. It hooks on to the side of the cage and can be removed. Looks kinda like a big plastic birdhouse lol but they love it. It seems to trap in most of the dust although some shoots out on occasion.

Awww. He's a cutie! And that playpen is AWESOME.

Usually I see advice to give them about a week to settle in. For an older hamster, it might take a bit longer.

I also got my dwarf as an older guy - and he did the same frantic running around thing! At first I thought he was excited, but like you I soon realized he was actually terrified.

I ended up doing something similar to what you have, where he could go in and out of his cage on his own terms. It still took about a week for him to feel confident doing that. And another week or two before he felt confident enough to roam around the room (once it was hamster proofed, of course).

What I found to be absolutely key was lighting -- he simply refused to emerge if the lights were on (which made monitoring him tricky). He'd tolerate very dim light, like the light from my laptop screen, but that's about it. It was about a month before he'd come out and play around his cage when the lights were on.

However to this day he refuses to get on his wheel if any lights are on. So if I accidentally fall asleep with a lamp on, he will go all night without running on his wheel.

(If this turns out to be the case with yours, I read somewhere that red light doesn't bother them. I now have some red LED Christmas lights hanging above his play area, and he seems to tolerate those just fine.)

Also keep in mind that hamsters are essentially blind - they navigate by smell, sound, and touch. Mine is totally comfortable with me now (although he'll probably never be hand-tamed), but he still doesn't respond to my voice. He knows me by my smell -- so if he's in his nest and I'm trying to get him to come out, I'll gently blow in the entrance. So maybe try doing something like that to help him get used to your scent.

__

Regarding his cage/play pen --

Hamsters are like any other pet in that they each have their own distinct little personalities and quirks. For example, mine hates those igloo things and hates wicker (but other dwarves seem totally content with theirs!) So he might not like the hideout you've given him, and is finding it difficult to relax.

I'd try placing more hideouts in his play pen to see what he likes. You don't have to go out and spend a bunch of money. For example, we finally figured out that mine loves his hideouts to be dark and low -- so like one of those smaller kleenex boxes cut down with a little hole for an entrance. One of his favorite nests was when we cut a hole in a clean cardboard sandwich box from Arby's! Then he likes to stuff the entrance with bedding, to the point where you wonder how he manages to get in or out. He likes this one a lot, but won't really go in the top half.

You'll also eventually want to replace that wheel. This one is pretty popular - I have it and mine loves it. I've seen others on here recommend it as well. This one is also popular. Giving him a good wheel is pretty essential. It's how they exercise and run off all their excess energy, which is key to managing stress. (To check if he's using his wheel, place a seed or something on top of it. If it's still there in the morning, you'll know he's not using it.)

You can also give him stuff to make his play area more interesting, which might entice him out a bit more. Again, it doesn't mean you have to go spend a bunch of money. The tubes from empty paper towel or toilet rolls make perfectly fine tunnels. Things for him to climb over or through or under. If you have some extra boxes lying around, you can make him a cardboard maze. More/deeper bedding to dig through. Things like that. Lots of it he'll probably ignore, but eventually you'll start to get a sense of what he likes and doesn't like.

"Hide" seeds or treats around for him to find. Hide seeds in his bedding, or maybe put bit of broccoli or apple in one of the tubes. Mine likes when I put seeds in the back of an empty cereal box. Find out what treats he likes. Mine is a pretty picky eater as it turns out, but lately he's been crazy about snow peas and likes to pull them out of their shell. So at night I'll open them half way up and place them around so he can hunt them down and tug them out.

Another piece of advice I don't see given very often is to try to have two water bottles. I know someone who's hamster's water bottle broke or got jammed or something and they didn't realize it. The hamster ended up being ok, but they had no idea he had been unable to drink and felt pretty terrible about it. I use ones like this since I don't have cage bars to hang one on.

There's a lot of info online you can find. Wabbit wiki is always a great source: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Grooming

​

Some bunnies take to it easily, others way less so. Thrasher is on the difficult side. What I do is put him on a folded up towel on the Kitchen table (somewhere he is unfamiliar with). Then I sort of wedge him under my armpit and hold him in place with that arm. With my other hand I cover his eyes and pet his face. My partner than takes a paw and frees it as much as she can to clip. Read more about identifying where the quick ends, but a good way to double check is to do the press-press-clip method where you squeeze the clippers a couple times and only snip if he doesn't flinch.

​

I like htese nail clippers: https://www.amazon.com/CleanHouse-Pets-Clippers-Safety-Stainless/dp/B07D9CLFYD/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=rabbit+nail&qid=1555001824&s=gateway&sr=8-5

If you don't want one quite so large, you can also use a chin bath house like this: http://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-Chinchilla-Bath-House-Colors/dp/B0002AS5M8. I've had mine for 4 years now & it's just now starting to come unglued. Bath water gets changed daily & it goes through the dishwasher weekly.

Yes, I use one of these.

For my long hair I use a wire brush that is probably made for dogs (link below). I also use a wire comb. When he has mats I use the bladed tool below to loosen them and cut them away. Don't cut with scissors. It's too easy to cut the skin. I have to use a brush or comb ever other day or he gets mats.

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Dog-078279-102-Combo-Brush/dp/B00ICB3OWU/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1483582710&sr=1-4&keywords=dog+brush

https://www.amazon.com/Dematting-Comb-Hertzko-Cutting-Removing/dp/B017ATHM86/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1483582736&sr=1-1&keywords=wire+comb+cat

https://www.amazon.com/Strimm-Metal-Grooming-Shedding-Detangler/dp/B01ATOK9X4/ref=sr_1_21?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1483582736&sr=1-21&keywords=wire+comb+cat

Levels depend on size of cage really, so it is hard to say. Bare minimum size would be 3'x3'x3'. Preferred brand would be Ferret nation (you will get this from most everyone because it is a completely metal cage with awesome features). Wheels are great to be able to clean up around the cage or to move chinchillas that are frightened of vacuums. AND DON'T GET PLASTIC CAGES OR ACCESSORIES! Plastic is not something anyone should eat. And chinchillas chew EVERYTHING in a cage.

I'm just going to write a list of things you should have in general for 'accessories.' And I'm a college student, so be prepared to hear about bargin stuff.

> Food : Avoid pre bagged food. It's expensive.
>
> Hay : I just get a bale of hay from the feed store (where farmers get their food for their barn animals.) Way cheaper than a little bag at the pet store.
>
> Hay manger : I personally don't use mine, It's a pain to refill, and my chinchillas eat so much hay so fast anyways.
>
> Huge ass waterbottle : Plastic is fine. They won't be able to reach it.
>
> Litter pan : You can just use a small cake pan, I personally use [this](http://www.chinchillathings.com/for-the-critters.html) and to hold it down to the size of the cage I use [these](http://www.amazon.com/Brands-Bankers-Clasp-4X6-1-Silver/dp/B004E3HYW6/ref=pd_sbs_op_5).
>
> Litter : I use something like this.
>
> Dust Bath : Don't cheap out if you want them to have super nice soft coats. Lots of people use blue cloud. [I haven't used this site, but it seems to be the best price for your dollar for a big bag of it.](http://www.chinworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=CW02)
>
> Bath House : You can just use a dish for them to bathe in. I personally use this because it keeps the dust from flying everywhere. Plus, since less is going all over the place, you aren't wasting as much dust. Plastic is fine as long as you supervise them while they use it. They should have 10-15 minutes of bath time 3 times a week. Don't leave it in the cage or else they will piss in it to mark it.
>
> Wheel : You can go buy one large enough for a chinchilla for about 150 bucks, but I am not the kind of girl that will spend more than 20 on a stupid wheel. So I am currently in the process of making my own! [Here is a post of mine with a few options on how to make one.](http://www.reddit.com/r/chinchilla/comments/1degot/could_use_some_help_on_making_my_own_chinchilla/) Just keep in mind that the wheel needs to be 15 inches, and if you do end up going out to buy one, don't get one that does not have a solid bottom. Chinchillas can break their feet if it gets caught.
>
> Granite stone : To keep them cool. You can possibly get a free/super cheap slabs from a place that cuts granite counters and stuff. They have no use for the small pieces anyways. I personally just went ahead and bought a couple from the pet store though, because I am picky on how my cage looks.
>
> Hammocks : I personally make my own because their so easy to make and WAY cheaper. Why pay 15 dollars for a hammock that might get chewed so bad that you won't be able to use it in a week or two. Plus, I like choosing what colors. Keep in mind the material. Fleece and flannel are fine because they do not ravel. Remember if it unwravels, and the chinchillas want to eat it, you might come back to a dead chilla.
>
> Chews : Get a fuck ton of them. Seriously.
>
> Treats : Alfalfa, raisins, apple slices. Just give them tiny bits. The reccommended treat allocation is 2 raisins a day if that gives you any idea.
>
> And chinchillas love to run through tubes during play time.


And don't bother with the huge ass chinchilla ball. People call them death balls because chinchillas tend to over heat because their owners consider that their daily play time and will leave them in there for an hour or two. I have one when I only had one chinchilla, and he didn't want to touch me. He really enjoyed it, but I had a close eye on him the whole time. Every 10-15 minutes, I would bring the ball to his cage, and if he didn't hop out, I would let him roll around some more. He loved running into the cat and tormenting her. XD

1] the room your chinchilla cage is in should be kept below 70F. if that means having to run your AC every day, then that's what you'll have to do. humidity is slightly less of an issue if you keep the dust bath available inside the cage 24/7, but you'll still want to keep the room relatively dry.

2] i don't know what you've read, but my two girls definitely didn't read the same information. they are LOUD, especially late at night. the wheel is noisy, their chewing is noisy, their general bouncing around the cage is noisy [lilac think it's fun to make her cage shake and rattle].

2.5] i don't recommend getting any pet if it's not 100% okay with your landlord. if you wanted to adopt a chinchilla from a rescue, many places wouldn't even approve your adoption application without talking to your landlord first, because they don't want the chinchilla to end up right back in the rescue when the landlord discovers you've snuck a pet into your 'no pets' rental. what will happen if your landlord decides she's really not okay with it? will you get rid of your chinchilla? will you find pet-friendly housing and move? will you try to sneak your chinchilla into another 'no pets' rental?

3] i've only ever owned female chinchillas, so i can't really say anything about males based on personal experience. i'm happy i never have to deal with hair rings, though.

4] chinchillas are crepuscular, leaning toward nocturnal. my girls sleep mostly during the day, but they don't sleep the entire day. they drift between napping and short bursts of activity. they're most active at night, between 10pm and 5am.

5] i use these dust bath houses, hung up on the wall of the cage. they have little hooks for that purpose, but they break off easily, so i use bolts and washers to secure them instead. unfortunately these houses are made of plastic, but i've yet to find a suitable non-plastic option that can be hung in the cage the same way.

My chins use this dust bath: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Ceramic-Chinchilla-Colors/dp/B0002DJ4PM It's not plastic so it's chew safe.

Hold on, this might be the same set on amazon! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Options-Mini-Grooming-Set/dp/B003GKICVA

Yes - there are a few options. You might try a hairbuster: https://store.binkybunny.com/hairbuster-p116.aspx?widget=mp

It works really well for my jersey wooley, but my flemmie hates it and runs and hides when I try to comb him with it. Some people use something more like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TT6SP1C?psc=1 You do have to be very gentle as rabbit skin is very delicate and you don't want to scrape them with the bristles.

This is fairly common in older cats. There are a few things that you can do.

First, a professional grooming is in order, not just a bath, but have them cut his belly, inner leg short. Not to skin, but quite short. Not only will this give you a good baseline, but it will greatly reduce the formation of those undercarriage mats from forming.

Once this is done, I recommend daily maintenance brushing with a few different types of brushes. I like to use a metal comb, the kind with two different teeth distances. A slicker brush, the kind that has little rubber nubs on the end of the brush teeth so it isn’t straight wire on skin. And I like to finish the undercarriage area with a flea comb because it has such a small space between teeth. Now, if you do this everyday it should not take more than a few minutes and some days you can only use the flea comb and slicker brush on the areas that tend to form mats. The key is to brush regularly to prevent mats before they form, because as you know, once they form it is more difficult to get them out.. for him and you.

The only other advice is to make sure you are actually getting in there with the grooming. Obviously you don’t want to hurt him, but I have found most people are so afraid that they aren’t effectively brushing. They stop at the first sign of complaint from the cat, but you should be able to tell the difference between complaint and injury. Remember, cats are like children, they might not like it, but you know that a few minutes of consistent discomfort with save them from much more discomfort later.

https://www.chewy.com/oster-medium-coarse-comb-dogs/dp/119576

https://www.amazon.com/Pixikko-Slicker-Protective-Animals-Grooming/dp/B078RJS6BW

https://www.chewy.com/master-grooming-tools-contoured-grip/dp/163411

You're welcome. I really like the nail guard. It helps me to gauge how much nail I'm trimming. The only bad thing I've experienced is pieces of trimmed nail getting stuck in the guard/pivot area sometimes. Still, the clippers have lasted and continue to work great, no split nails or accidents from cutting too short.

These look similar and are a little cheaper: https://www.amazon.com/CleanHouse-Pets-Clippers-Safety-Stainless/dp/B07D9CLFYD/