chinchillas cage

[zooky]

would this be a cage that would be big enough for my chinchilla to be happy in when hes fully grown? http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4470999 i know now that i should replace the plastic with wood so do you guys have any links for the right wood from home depot or lows?

how would i use fleece for bedding? would my chinchilla know to pee in it? because hes used bedding his whole life. would i be able to keep on reusing the fleece? or would i eventually have to get new fleece? lol i just need to know how does it work???

and lastly the wheel. i was think of getting something like this http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3155602 but off of ebay. is it safe? considering its made of plastic? and would my chinchilla automatically know how to use it? hes used a normal wheel all his life too.

thank you soooo much for your time!!!!

 

[Anna35]

I pmed you some links for cages and wheels.. I have many more for chin toys and supplies if you want them. I wasn't sure if it was ok to post them.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

The cage would be fine, with some modifications. When you go to Home Depot or Lowes for wood, look for "KD Pine" or "kiln-dried pine" on the labels.

The pan at the bottom is plastic and will need to be covered with fleece. It looks like the cage bars come down into the pan a bit, so it *should* be safe from chewing. I personally would go with a different cage because that one is not going to be too easy to clean.

http://www.ferret.com/item/feisty-ferret-home/600999/ This one has better doors for cleaning, and is about the same size and price as the other one you are looking at.

The wheel is NOT suitable at all, don't waste your money. Proper chin wheels are expensive but will last the whole life of your pet, whereas the cheap plastic ones will break about every three months anyway.
Here's a link to some good wheels:
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=129_142_143_144

As for the fleece, you either make or buy fleece liners to cover the litter pan. These are washable and resuable, and you would need two sets.

 

[dancingintherain]

I think the cage might be okay if you replace the plastic shelves with wooden ones instead, replace the hammock with a fleece one, and add more chinchilla safe items.

For the bedding, you can use fleece along with a glass baking dish filled with aspen or kiln dried pine shavings.

As for the wheel, that wheel isn't safe since it is made of plastic. Chinchillas chew plastic and they can get impacted. Chinchilla safe wheels are the metal flying saucer http://www.flyingsaucerwheels.com/index.html, the chin spin http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_143_144&products_id=1802, or the silver surfer http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=63. You might be able to find more safe chinchilla wheels on this forum if you look around.

As for him knowing automatically how to use a wheel no, chinchillas have to learn and figure out what wheels are for. I bought my girls a silver surfer, it arrived last Wednesday and one of them already knows how to use it while the other one wants nothing to do with it. I have read that it depends on the chinchilla, some take longer to figure out what wheels are for and some never take to a wheel.

 

[Vcchinchilla]

I almost picked that wheel to try out and see if my chin would understand the metal flying saucer
IMO its not even worth to try it, I took it out and assembled it at the store
it is so flimsy it's not even worth the money
I can see my chin /table flipping/ that plastic disk

 

[zooky]

The cage would be fine, with some modifications. When you go to Home Depot or Lowes for wood, look for "KD Pine" or "kiln-dried pine" on the labels.

The pan at the bottom is plastic and will need to be covered with fleece. It looks like the cage bars come down into the pan a bit, so it *should* be safe from chewing. I personally would go with a different cage because that one is not going to be too easy to clean.

http://www.ferret.com/item/feisty-ferret-home/600999/ This one has better doors for cleaning, and is about the same size and price as the other one you are looking at.

The wheel is NOT suitable at all, don't waste your money. Proper chin wheels are expensive but will last the whole life of your pet, whereas the cheap plastic ones will break about every three months anyway.
Here's a link to some good wheels:
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=129_142_143_144

As for the fleece, you either make or buy fleece liners to cover the litter pan. These are washable and resuable, and you would need two sets.

would you know any other places to get that cage? the website was sold
out. but thank you soo much. but do you think that cage is large and strong enough for chinny to be happy living in?

 

[zooky]

I think the cage might be okay if you replace the plastic shelves with wooden ones instead, replace the hammock with a fleece one, and add more chinchilla safe items.

For the bedding, you can use fleece along with a glass baking dish filled with aspen or kiln dried pine shavings.

As for the wheel, that wheel isn't safe since it is made of plastic. Chinchillas chew plastic and they can get impacted. Chinchilla safe wheels are the metal flying saucer http://www.flyingsaucerwheels.com/index.html, the chin spin http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_143_144&products_id=1802, or the silver surfer http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=63. You might be able to find more safe chinchilla wheels on this forum if you look around.

As for him knowing automatically how to use a wheel no, chinchillas have to learn and figure out what wheels are for. I bought my girls a silver surfer, it arrived last Wednesday and one of them already knows how to use it while the other one wants nothing to do with it. I have read that it depends on the chinchilla, some take longer to figure out what wheels are for and some never take to a wheel.

is it ok to use carefresh natural bedding instead of aspen or kd pine shavings? and is the cage good enough for him to be happy in? and ill start looking for better wheels

 

[jess32247]

The cage is fine, yes. I have a Marshall cage, which is a tad bigger then that and about $20 dollars cheaper, with free shipping. Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://www.petco.com/product/104532...og_4-_-Marshall Folding Ferret Mansion-104532 Of course, the shelves in the cage would have to be replaced but that's easy to do. The plasic bottom on the cage is a concern though.

Big no on the wheel. Too small and flimesy and plasic. Save up your money for a good wheel, I have a Chin Spin from quailty cage and love it.

Your chin will know how to pee on the fleece, you just spot clean it every day then throw it in the wash every few days and reuse it. You won't have to buy another fleece liner for a while, it's a lot cheaper then bedding!

 

[dancingintherain]

is it ok to use carefresh natural bedding instead of aspen or kd pine shavings? and is the cage good enough for him to be happy in? and ill start looking for better wheels

I'm not sure if carefresh natural is safe for chins. You might want to search on the forum about it, using the search bar.

As for the cage, I also think it is fine.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

Try here, it says in stock:
http://www.wpetsupply.com/wps-4-37517.html
My best friend has three of them for her three chin boys and she LOVES them.

Some chins eat Carefresh, it's a hit-and-miss bedding. It's also the most expensive, so I usually recommend either Aspen or KD Pine shavings.

 

[LoveBug]

you could try the FN 182 as well. it's a tad more money.
but they last forever.
hard to break bars (atleast i think so)
plenty of room
great to decorate
all four doors open
and easy to clean.

 

[zooky]

The cage is fine, yes. I have a Marshall cage, which is a tad bigger then that and about $20 dollars cheaper, with free shipping. Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://www.petco.com/product/104532...og_4-_-Marshall Folding Ferret Mansion-104532 Of course, the shelves in the cage would have to be replaced but that's easy to do. The plasic bottom on the cage is a concern though.

Big no on the wheel. Too small and flimesy and plasic. Save up your money for a good wheel, I have a Chin Spin from quailty cage and love it.

Your chin will know how to pee on the fleece, you just spot clean it every day then throw it in the wash every few days and reuse it. You won't have to buy another fleece liner for a while, it's a lot cheaper then bedding!

would this cage last a long time? like wuld i eventually have to buy another cage down the line because of breakage of the cage and/or its wire?

 

[jess32247]

would this cage last a long time? like wuld i eventually have to buy another cage down the line because of breakage of the cage and/or its wire?

No, I don't think so. Even though it folds down (when taken apart) it's very sturdy and strong. I can't bend the wires at all, even when my girl runs on her chin spin everything stays in place very well!

The only flaw that drives me crazy is the doors. I have binder clips holding them down because the design for them stinks, but it isn't much of a problem.

 

[zooky]

No, I don't think so. Even though it folds down (when taken apart) it's very sturdy and strong. I can't bend the wires at all, even when my girl runs on her chin spin everything stays in place very well!

The only flaw that drives me crazy is the doors. I have binder clips holding them down because the design for them stinks, but it isn't much of a problem.

so do you think this wuld last a lifetime?

 

[jess32247]

I've only had mine a couple months, but yes I think it would last a very long time, like a life time!

 

[zooky]

I've only had mine a couple months, but yes I think it would last a very long time, like a life time!

are the trays plastic? and if they are how would i cover it with fleece? and would fleece make the cage any more heated?

 

[jess32247]

are the trays plastic? and if they are how would i cover it with fleece? and would fleece make the cage any more heated?

There's only one tray at the very bottom that can be pulled out, and it is plasic. I put a towel down on top of the pan then wrap the fleece under the pan and slide it back into the cage, so it's compeltely covered with no plasic showing. If you can't wrap the fleece around the pan, then putting heavy stuff in the corners help keep it down, or using lanyard clips and clipping it to the side of the cage works too.

Nope, covering the pan won't make the cage any more heated. It's all open bars and ventilated!

If you want pictures or anything to help explain things, please don't hesitate to ask

 

[zooky]

There's only one tray at the very bottom that can be pulled out, and it is plasic. I put a towel down on top of the pan then wrap the fleece under the pan and slide it back into the cage, so it's compeltely covered with no plasic showing. If you can't wrap the fleece around the pan, then putting heavy stuff in the corners help keep it down, or using lanyard clips and clipping it to the side of the cage works too.

Nope, covering the pan won't make the cage any more heated. It's all open bars and ventilated!

If you want pictures or anything to help explain things, please don't hesitate to ask

yeah that would be great if you dont mind posting some pictures of the tray and cage

 

[LoveBug]

just remember with the marshall mansion you may need something in the middle
incase your chin was to fall from the top.

 

[jess32247]

I'm terrible at resizing pictures with photobucket, so these might be really big. Sorry if they are!

The pan a towel on it, to collect all the urine-

Fleece on top of the towel, covering the plasic pan so the chin can't get to it-

Then it slides into the cage and the fleece gets tucked in, again so no plasic is in reach-

Clean cage with no plasic showing-