Chinchilla Cage Question

[kiwiandcotto]

I just got my first chinchilla, a female 3 month old standard gray. She came with a good cage (15 X 17 X 30), but since she's alone I think it's too small for her. I found a very large cage on craigslist, but the entire thing is made of wood. Picture a wooden cabinet with thick walls, fitted with all the chinchilla supplies inside. The entire front door of the cage is made of mesh/wiring, but I'm not sure how great the ventilation would be. Pictures are available here - http://images.craigslist.org/5Na5K75F73E53o83H4c5s1c373b35716412b8.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/5E75K45Je3L53F53Jec5s3aea074d31ee1061.jpg
Would this cage be good for my chin? Thank you!
:thumbsup:v:wink2:

 

[dancingintherain]

I think someone on the forum has a similar cage.

pictures are on this thread
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101

 

[halfstache]

If it were me, I'd be concerned about two things. ventilation, and chewability. I can't tell from the picture how far down the wire mesh extends on the door, but I would be worried that they might be able to chew a hole through the door area and get out. Not sure how much they are asking for this cage, but I'm a big fan of Ferret Nation cages, which are pretty expensive, but if you look around on craigslist long enough eventually you can find a used one at a fair price. The lack of ventilation with a cage with three solid sides would likely be enough to deter me by itself. But then I've always had wire based cages of one sort or another so maybe some of the members on here with wooden based cages would be better at giving advice.

 

[ChinnyMom]

wood is very porous and if the seller's chin had passed away from something that could still be in the wood, then the cage would either need to be completely disinfected or thrown out. giardia is one parasite that i think i would just toss the cage in the garbage after, if it was all wood, as proper cleaning would just be too much work, and getting in all the corners would be much too tricky for my patience. i would be worrying constantly if i got the cage cleaned well enough or not. i personally don't buy any used wood stuff for my chins.

you could build your own cage from new materials, then you would be rest assured that no sick chins ever shared the same space.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

In my Craigslist experience, people who built cages generally want WAY too much money for them when they try to sell them used.

Get one like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Bird-Pa...570?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588098827a

And make your own wood shelves. It's the perfect size for one chin and the price is awesome since the shipping is free.

This cage has almost exactly the same dimensions as the Feisty Ferret cage, for about $50 less.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

I think someone on the forum has a similar cage.

pictures are on this thread
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101

CarolAnne's cage is about 4 times bigger than the one the OP posted. Hers is MASSIVE.

 

[jess32247]

If you're still looking for a cage, Mashall mansion cages are quite nice

http://www.petco.com/product/104532...og_4-_-Marshall Folding Ferret Mansion-104532

It would need some work though, but so does a lot of cages.