My cleaning process : I typically change their pouches and shelf/food liners twice a week and try to shake out their tray liner every morning. Once a week I do a larger "clean" which includes changing the tray liner completely and wiping down bars where they tend to be the messiest (left side of cage for some reason). I also spray it down with odor neutralizer and let it dry. I rent a place and can not take the whole cage outside to spray down, but up until now this process had worked amazingly well.

So my babies used to have an empty-ish cage. If any of you saw my last post i spent an evening and redecorated it. There is a lot more fabric in the cage now - including a full fleece backdrop (my thought process being it will be easier to clean because i can just swap the fabric out). I made a shelf liner because i typically put their food on the shelf each night. I began to grow tired of scrubbing that shelf since theyd get food all over it, so i now have a shelf liner i can just change.

The day i redecorated i changed EVERYTHING in there - pouch included. My babies loved exploring however when i got home from work, the cage STUNK! I am assuming all the new in the cage caused them to over mark. I attempted to change out a few items, since i know that if i were to change it all at once, they may mark even more. That didn't really work :-(

So Sundays are my clean cage day. I changed out their pouch, tray liner, self liner, wiped down the bars and sprayed the deodorizer .... and it still stinks!! It's surprisingly not the fabric items as i sniffed each one individually (and had swapped a few of those out). It smells like it could be still be the bars ... but then i don't know. That smell is just there and i can;t find the cause! During tent time i put their raptor wheel in with us (it's new, i've had it a week) and i noticed it has an odor. I plan to wipe it down today, but all that odor can't just be coming from the wheel can it?!?!

Any of you experienced glider owners have any insight to what might stink?? or any ideas on how to neutralize it - remember i can't take it outside and hose it down.

Thanks!

Sounds like you might have some debris (urine, food particles & the like) in the little crevices where the bars are welded together.

When that happens it's usually the time to take it outside and give it a good pressure washing.

It's usually not visible to the naked eye. I had the same issue...powerwashed and all was nice and fresh, no lingering odor.

Honestly...I think you're cleaning too much. LOL There are things in there that are still new to them so no matter whatever you're swapping out now to clean, they're re-marking immediately. Some wheels can really, really hold the smell. I would clean that really well and see if that doesn't help. I clean the cage with a wipe down once a week and only clean their fleece items and cage items as needed. I notice that when the girls are in heat, it smells more and after a few days, that dies down again. Could that be it?

Can it fit in your shower?

jazznzoeysmom-ugh i was afraid of that. The problem i have is where i live i can't take my cage outside to wash :-(

kyro - it is possible. i have a neutered male and a female. Just last night i saw her pee all over the bars and mentally yelled at her "no i just cleaned those!" and when i reached in to grab her out of her pouch ... peee!!!. She's been peeing on everything lately. My male doesnt do this as much. She could be in heat - im not sure how i would know - but i can say she's my primary stinker right now I will give the wheel cleaning a shot. It's -possible- but will be quite difficult to get the cage into the shower without taking it apart (narrow hallway and then narrow entrance into bathroom). I think that will be a last resort option for me.

I have a steam floor mop, i have considered "mopping" my cage but not sure how effective that will be seeing as how the bars are not the same kind of surface as the floor...

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by piratektty</i>
<br />jazznzoeysmom-ugh i was afraid of that. The problem i have is where i live i can't take my cage outside to wash :-(

kyro - it is possible. i have a neutered male and a female. Just last night i saw her pee all over the bars and mentally yelled at her "no i just cleaned those!" and when i reached in to grab her out of her pouch ... peee!!!. She's been peeing on everything lately. My male doesnt do this as much. She could be in heat - im not sure how i would know - but i can say she's my primary stinker right now I will give the wheel cleaning a shot. It's -possible- but will be quite difficult to get the cage into the shower without taking it apart (narrow hallway and then narrow entrance into bathroom). I think that will be a last resort option for me.

I have a steam floor mop, i have considered "mopping" my cage but not sure how effective that will be seeing as how the bars are not the same kind of surface as the floor...
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If you notice that her urine smells, I would get her in to check for a UTI especially with you noticing a change in her "peeing" habits.

I have a shark steam cleaner that works great for the cages - to get mine outside I'd have to take them apart and lug them down a large flight of stairs so its just not feasible. I used it a lot more with the PVC cage, but its my plan to use for my deep cleanings of my new cages as well.

Well the good thing is, if she's in heat it only lasts 2-3 days.

Many people use a hand held steamer to clean their cages and say it works well. Not sure if your floor steamer has a hand held tool but if so, try it.

Otherwise maybe investing in a handheld steamer such as the Shark would be beneficial.

petluv - i wouldn't say her urine smells. I mean it is urine so i'm sure it does but when she pees on me i don't notice a strong odor. It's the cage that smells but that could be do to an accumulation of urine/food bits/something. Ive had my girl for 2weeks now and it's only been he past few days that she seems to pee on everything. I assumed maybe she was finally getting comfortable with us and her surroundings and has been deciding to make it her own. She doesn't hiss or seem to have trouble using the restroom. Ive seen no cause to assume she is ill. Her vet checkup a week and a half ago was clear. Her coat is beautiful and she generally looks healthy. Her appetite and energy levels are normal. I will monitor her though just in case.

jazznzoeysmom - any idea what kind of behavior to expect if a female is in heat? My steam mop is a shark, i will check and see if it came with an attachment or if i can use an attachment on it. That would make life easier if that works. I'll let you all know if that works or not with the smell.

depending on how your cage is made, check under and on the rails that support the cage pan.

My cages have a small ledge around the cage that is hidden by the cage pan that catches lots of food crumbs and poo and I am sure glider pee. I usually pay close attention to that area when I hose the cage down out side.

If you do not move your cage often, check the floor under and behind the cage for food that gets dropped (or intentionally thrown) out of the cage.

Wheels are frequently the source of smells also.

Even if you can not take a cage out side very often for a hose down, if it is really smelly, I would wrestle the cage out of the house and give it a good soap and water wash down and rinse it very well.

Not sure about the heat thing. I'm sure my girls are old enough to go into heat but I've never noticed any change.

Some people say they get cranky, a bit more nippy...

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by JazzNZoeysmom</i>
<br />Not sure about the heat thing. I'm sure my girls are old enough to go into heat but I've never noticed any change.

Some people say they get cranky, a bit more nippy...
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I've only noticed one of my girls in heat because Cupid goes nuts(silly boy doesn't know he's neutered and can't do the deed lol). Every so often I will walk in and the room will be a bit stinkier and I assume its the boys marking more while one of the girls is in heat although a post on GliderCentral was talking about there being an odor associated with mating?

So random update

I cleaned the wheel then took boiling water and scrubbed down each bar - really - each bar individually and yes it took a while. I tried to get crevices semi hidden by the plate. I changed out there liner and sprayed a non toxic deodorizer on some of the fabric items.

The smell is MUCH better ... but it's still there... just fainter. I stuck my head into that cage and smelled everything! Even the toys i decided not to wash yet (which didnt really smell btw). I really did put my nose to almost everything but there is this faint smell that just floats out of no where I must be what jazznzoeysmom was saying about food in welded crevices. I really cant take it outside at all. Im out of options other than taking it apart and dragging it into the shower. These babies better appreciate all i do for them!