Banish the urine smell?
A couple months ago, I opted to rescue a pair of male degus over going to PetCo/PetsMart to buy some sort of small rodent. My boys are shy, but fun nonetheless. They have been dubbed Henry and Floyd.
Lately, there's been a problem with stink. I did a lot of research into Degus before getting my boys, and everything I read said they don't smell like other rodents - at least not as strong. Even when I went to go look at the boys before bringing them home, the woman had many cages of Degus, and they didn't stink very badly. Because they're shy and skittish, I have them in our guest bedroom, kind of away from everything. But the guest bedroom has started to smell like rodent urine...even though I clean it weekly. I may have to go to twice weekly.
It was suggested to me to use shredded paper for their bedding, but I think I might have to go back to using Soft-sorbent, but even when I was using this, there was still the smell. I've been using a method-brand cleaner instead of bleach to clean the pan, and everything smells nice and clean and fresh for about 12 hours or so. They're in an open-air cage.
Is there anything else I can do/use to help get rid of this smell?
AND one of my boys, Henry, has a bald spot right behind his ears on his back. The woman I got them from (who rescued them a year ago) said it happened to him last summer, and she thought it was part of his "molting" process. Since I've had him, the spot has only gotten bigger - about the size of my thumb nail right now, a little bigger than a dime. Any ideas?
Lately, there's been a problem with stink. I did a lot of research into Degus before getting my boys, and everything I read said they don't smell like other rodents - at least not as strong. Even when I went to go look at the boys before bringing them home, the woman had many cages of Degus, and they didn't stink very badly. Because they're shy and skittish, I have them in our guest bedroom, kind of away from everything. But the guest bedroom has started to smell like rodent urine...even though I clean it weekly. I may have to go to twice weekly.
It was suggested to me to use shredded paper for their bedding, but I think I might have to go back to using Soft-sorbent, but even when I was using this, there was still the smell. I've been using a method-brand cleaner instead of bleach to clean the pan, and everything smells nice and clean and fresh for about 12 hours or so. They're in an open-air cage.
Is there anything else I can do/use to help get rid of this smell?
AND one of my boys, Henry, has a bald spot right behind his ears on his back. The woman I got them from (who rescued them a year ago) said it happened to him last summer, and she thought it was part of his "molting" process. Since I've had him, the spot has only gotten bigger - about the size of my thumb nail right now, a little bigger than a dime. Any ideas?
