Is this cage appropriate?

[leaveittoweaver]

A friend of mine has to find a home for her Chinchilla and she contacted me. I've done a lot of research but the one thing I'm unsure of is if the cage she is giving me is appropriate:
http://www.petco.com/product/113057/WARE-Chew-Proof-Three-Level-Small-Animal-Pet-Cage.aspx

I can cover the bottom with fleece since it's a wire bottom, and the bar spacing on the bottom is appropriate I think. She has a lot of ledges in the cage and whatnot but I don't want to keep the chin in there if this isn't a good home for her.

Here's also a photo of her in the cage for a little better idea:

Thank you

 

[JodiO]

Very cute chinnie!!! Is that a ramp? If so, it's not needed. What is that pink thing? If its a dust bath it shouldn't be left in the cage 24 / 7. Can you get a pic of the whole cage? Sorry, but its hard to comment on the cage if we can't see all of it. Congrats on your new fur ball. She's a looker!

 

[ChinnyMom]

that looks like the Superpet 'chewproof' cage. it has a blue metal slide out pan under the metal grate? (that bottom grate is very easily removable, btw). if it isn't the Superpet cage, it's a very close facsimile of it.

Rhino came with that cage. i took out the wire shelves and ramps, replaced them with wood shelves. i just left the bottom pan bare metal with no wire grate and used a corner litter box. the metal bottom was nice for after playtime, since it stayed cool. Rhino would flomp down under his log house and lay on his side or back to cool down. the bare pan was also very easy to clean up - gave it a good sweeping with my lil dustpan broom every day, and every couple days i wiped it with a wet cloth (followed by dry towel), and if it needed a good cleaning, i just hosed it down in the shower (shower-heads on hoses are a wonderful invention! lol).

i wouldn't try attaching a wheel to the cage bars though, as the welds do snap if you aren't careful.

one thing i did was use pliers to ensure all the little curved bar ends that linked the panels together were secure.

here's Rhino's old cage:

it's a decent cage, but IMO not big enough for long term chin comfy-ness. that's why i picked up a larger cage for Rhino. he now is king of a 2x3x4 foot tall modified cat cage, that i'm still making more improvements on )

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Yup that's the cage!

And theres a link to a picture of the full cage. That is a dust bath house but it has no dust in it. My friend left it in for her to sleep in. She has the ramps still in there but I would take them off. I don't have the chin and cage yet so i can't get a full picture. But you can see it at the link I posted.

So is this cage big enough? The dimensions are bigger then the minimum suggestion.

 

[ChinnyMom]

it's big enough if you ensure plenty of play time every night. I just wanted something bigger and better for my fuzzy baby. pets get spoiled more than rotten around me, lol.

 

[Olallie]

One of my chins has that cage, he's been living in it for close to 3 years now (he's on the small side anyway). I just replaced all the shelves with wood shelves, took out the ramp, and hung a hammock in it. He seems to like it just fine, it's his space and he knows it.

 

[Ash]

it's big enough if you ensure plenty of play time every night. I just wanted something bigger and better for my fuzzy baby. pets get spoiled more than rotten around me, lol.

The cage is perfectly fine even without playtime, so don't feel guilted into having playtime if you don't have hours upon hours or a safe place to allow your chin to run around. Chins do perfectly well without getting out for running around.

 

[Laurie]

Yes it is definitely big enough. The ramps should be replaced with wooden shelves and ledges and don't use the hay ball if she gives it you. I know many people think chins NEED playtime, but the truth is they do not need to ever leave their cage. I look at it this way the more the chin is taken out of the cage the more something can go wrong--ie falls, broken limbs, getting stepped in, chewing on something bad etc.

This is a good cage and can be a great chinchilla home with some additions such as teh wooden ledges and shelves, a fleece covered tube, a fleece hammock, a wooden house or a glass fish bowl

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Oh great Thank you all so much for the replies. If I do end up taking in the chin, I'll certainly modify the cage.

And what's the best priced place to buy ledges?

I don't mind having the chin out for playtime for maybe 30 to an hour and a half a day. The rats are generally out though since they really require the out of cage time so I obviously wouldn't have them both out at the same time.

 

[ChinnyMom]

just go to Home Depot or Rona or any other hardware store that sells kiln dried pine boards and make them yourself. much cheaper than paying for each ledge!

you'll need:

kiln dried pine boards (i found mine in the moulding section and they are just shy of 6 inches across. they come in varying lengths).
metal washers that are wide enough to span just a bit more than your bar spacing
hanger bolts or screws (if screws, make sure the screw head is larger than the hole in the washers).
wing nuts (if using hanger bolts)

there is a tutorial here on the forum that shows step by step instructions on how to make your own shelves. super easy peasy!

 

[rainey]

That's a good cage, I just found that exact cage yesterday at a dump, and I'm putting shelves in it today for a chin I'm rehoming. Just take out the wire bottom and you don't even need to cover the bottom with fleece

It's definitely cheaper to go to home depot and buy a piece of kiln dried pine (depending on thickness and width around $10) and hopefully they are nice there and will cut it for you for free into the size shelves you want. I went today and got a 30'', 17", and 2 "10's specifically for that cage. Then just get the washers, wing nuts, and hanger bolts and the wood is pretty soft so you can hammer the screw in or use a drill if you have one. I then end up sanding them just because I like the shelves to look pretty, but that's obviously optional.

Also make sure you make or buy her something out of wood to sleep in if she chews on the pink dust box, because that's not good for her. Very cute chin by the way congrats!