I need help on cages

[Newchinmom]

Hi, I had my 3 chins since last Sep, breeder(?)told me they were 3 boys so I put them in one 4 levels cage. Well I found out I became a chingranny on 6/1..saw this violet grey furball crawling inside the cage! I took them all to vet and got checked up, got a digital scale from Walmart and am weighing mom and kit everyday, and yes I moved mom and kit to a old rabbit cage that I used for their play pan before. I will need a new cage soon, but the space I have for their cages is wide enough but not tall(about 36x25x52), I looooved everyone's FN but it's too tall, I was thinking maybe I can get a FN without using the bottom wheel? Can someone tell me how tall the cage is without wheel and will that work? Will it stand on 4 legs or just the bottom tray will be sitting on floor? Also, the kit is an escape artist, it crawled out from rabbit cage(has 7" tall base) and crawled back to daddy and uncle's cage(5" off ground on casters) when it's 1 day old!! So I was thinking, should I get a Critter Nation cage cuz I think the bar spacing is 1/2"? Any suggestions? I've also checked QC and Martin's, but FN and CN has big doors and will be so easy to clean...Please help..

 

[Jen-n-Tys-Chins]

Now I am still new at this but from what I have read you deffinitly want to baby proof your cage immediatly. Many people put thin spaced chicken fencing around the cage so the baby can't get out. If you take the wheels off of the fn you only cut off about 1 in from the height. And after closly inspecting my cage and talking to my husband (who put it together) I don't think it is possible to put the cage together with out the legs and basket. Congrats on your new kit! did you have the rest of your chins sexed to make sure you don't any more suprises? lol good luck with the new baby!

 

[Rickman]

Quality Cage has many that are "baby-safe", and in the meantime you could wrap the current cage, tightly, with 1/4 x 1/4 hardware screen. Since chins grow so rapidly, it'd probably do for a while, until you get another! Cover all sides, even the top, as they're escape artists!!
1/2 x 1 is considered baby safe!
I'm surprised you hadn't a problem - usually 2 males will fight, sometimes to death, for a female in heat - brothers or not! Hopefully they're not all from the same parents!
Good luck with your the surprise addition - pictures would be nice!!

 

[jmdebb]

Can't answer your question about the cage, but wanted to say congrats on your little surpise and glad everyone is healthy.

Jean

pictures please!!!

 

[Newchinmom]

Jen, thanks for the FN cage info, and yes the vet helped me sexed my chins, the kit is a big surprise for us but I'm so glad now that it happened, the kit is cute as a button. ^_^

Rick, my profile pic is the new kit @ 13 days old! I will post more pics when I got new cage and all set up for them. Now that you've mentioned it, I started to worry about my 3 older chins were from same litter..*_* OMG I hope the kit won't have any health issue later in it's life...I did wrap up the rabbit cage mommy and kit are in right now, except the top. Cuz the flip open top is the only way I can get to them. I guess I'll figure out a way to wrap the top and weight it down somehow.
Thanks, Jean. You guys are the best!!

 

[Rickman]

You can wrap the top of top of the cage by wrapping the edges around, and clamping with a pliers. Make sure the wire is tight all around, as they'll get caught in the middle!
I once had a kit get out, and back in a 2 x 2 x 4h cage that had a 6x6 area in the middle of the top - I thought impossible, as he had to be upside-down for at least 18 inches!!
Top of cage was 8ft. from the floor!
Sorry, didn't notice the little cutie in your avitar!! Good luck!

 

[3CsMommy]

Look around on Craigslist and similar for your area. There are a TON of chin enthusiasts around the greater Baltimore area that might have baby safe cages for reasonable fees.

That said, this cage is carried at our local pet store, as well as (obviously) PetsMart and I'd consider it an acceptable alternative adult cage to a Quality Cage or Ferret Nation if the budget/time just didn't allow for it: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3057122

The catch is, you'd have to swap the wire shelving out for 1"x6" or 1"x8" pine boards bolted/screwed onto the sides of the cage, or rig fleece/safe wood coverings for them, and take out the ramps. The drop in pan is also a difficulty b/c you have to pick up the whole cage to take out the bedding (unless you have a shop vac). But, at $50 to start + another $15 for the wood and hardware, it's not a bad option.

 

[Newchinmom]

I've been checking on Craigslist these few days, just didn't see a decent cage so far, but I'll keep looking for another day or so. The cage from PetsMart seems okay for mommy and kit right now, and I don't mind doing pine borads myself. I re-did the first cage that came with my 3 chins, replaced all plastic shelfs with kiln dried pine borads and drilled and screwed onto the sides of the cage(first time using my hubby's tools..)and took out the ramps. To me it's hard work cuz I've never done it before, but I was having fun doing it. Plus HomeDepot helped me cut the board.

 

[3CsMommy]

I won over our Home Depot guys by taking pictures of the cage, the critters, etc. when I go to get wood. I think it helps them realize what's going on when they can see the project, and even tough biker-type guys usually think pets are cool. The only thing to watch with the PetsMart cage is that it's not quite as sturdy as the Ferret Nation etc. A big heavy wheel on the side is going to rattle a lot, but since a kit shouldn't be on a wheel until it's nearly adult sized anyway, that won't be an issue for a while at least.

 

[Jill of Beans]

I've been checking on Craigslist these few days, just didn't see a decent cage so far, but I'll keep looking for another day or so. The cage from PetsMart seems okay for mommy and kit right now, and I don't mind doing pine borads myself. I re-did the first cage that came with my 3 chins, replaced all plastic shelfs with kiln dried pine borads and drilled and screwed onto the sides of the cage(first time using my hubby's tools..)and took out the ramps. To me it's hard work cuz I've never done it before, but I was having fun doing it. Plus HomeDepot helped me cut the board.

There is a Ferrert cage *not sure if its is FN or CN on Baltimore CL - and it's already babyproofed with the hardware cloth on it....I can't access from here at work - but thought I'd share.