Cage for 1st chinchilla

[waff3le]

Ok, so im getting my chin soon and i have gotten everything together but now im haveing 2nd thoughts about the cage. i bought a big cage for him which has wire flooring and a plastic tray below. The wires are not that large of gaps about 1/4 inch from left to right and from the front to back they are about 2inch long. Is this ok #1 and 2ndly if its not my idea was to use the galvinized zinc wire i have to put over that.
Or... My 3rd option is to take all the metal flooring out and make shelfs out of wood but i dont know how expensive this will be. can someone give me some advice?

 

[eastcoastchins]

Do you have any photos you could post of the cage? You just want to ensure that the chin's little feet can't get stuck in the wire spacing. Normally no more than 1/2" x 1/2" is recommended, so I'd be a little iffy on the 2" length personally.

I'm not sure what advice to offer regarding your specific cage, but if returning it is an option I highly recommend Martin's Cages made especially for chinchillas. They're very, very nice cages with very reasonable pricing, and they make pretty large ones: http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/chinchilla/

Just a suggestion

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I second the photo. Not sure what to tell you about the cage you already have without seeing it.

But putting wood shelves in the cage is a must no matter what cage you buy. Plastic shelves are toxic if chewed and can cause a blockage.
Making shelves yourself doesn't cost that much really. It's cheaper to make them yourself actually. You just have to make sure you are using chin safe wood.

I think most chin owners use either the Critter Nation or the Ferret Nation.

 

[Shenanigans]

There's a whole ferret nation thread where you can see what lots of us do too, even if you use another kind of cage, checking out the pictures may help you figure out a good set up.

As for wood shelving, if you aren't handy, under the classified there should be a sticky with a bunch of chin stores and what they sell. Some will have the shelves and you can look into the costs for what you'd want, shipping, and all that. When setting up remember not to have too big spaces-even smaller falls can end horribly.