Has anyone attached a playpen to the cage?

[sheri7]

I'm going away for 10 days this summer and I will be taking my chinchillas to my mothers house to pet sit along with their Quality Cage Mansion. I actually went away this weekend and took them over there and all went well.

The only problem is they weren't able to get out for playtime because my mothers basement is not chin proof and she also has 3 cats. I sometimes have trouble getting my chins in and out of the cage at my house so I didn't want the hassle of maybe trying to lure them out with a dustbath and then taking them to the bathroom over there. Just way to risky for my mom to try that and with the cats...no way. At my house the room they are in is chinproof and I can open the cage doors and let them jump in and out of the cage as they please when I am in the room supervising.

I would like to rig something so that maybe I could take one of those metal animal playpens and somehow attach it to the cage so they could jump in and out of the cage on their own and have a little room to run around in. It would need to have a top on it so that they couldn't jump out. Of course this would only occur if someone was there supervising at the time and only if the cats were locked out of the basement. They are really good about going back into the cage on their own when they are tired.

I know I could probably do it with cardboard, but I like the idea of the metal gates because you can see through them.

I was wondering if anyone has been able to do something like this successfully and if you had any pictures of what you use?

 

[Ashley]

If you had a playpen that was big enough to fit around the back of the cage, that would probably work best. That way they wouldn't be able to get out by going under the cage. It might be hard to find a metal playpen large enough to fit around the cage, but you could always get cardboard panels and make your own "custom" sized playpen. You could probably find cardboard tall enough to eliminate the need for a lid as well. If all else fails, they would probably be ok without playtime for a few days. Good luck, hope you have a nice trip!

 

[Jenn]

This is Tink's playpen which I attached two playpens together to make an even bigger play area for her. The cage is in a corner, and I slide the ends of the playpen between the wall and the cage. I did have to tighten the pen to the cage with zipcords because she did manage to squeeze through a gap because there is a lip on the bottom of my cage which doesn't allow the playpen to be tight against the cage. Tinkerbell managed to squeeze through this small space. You just have to make sure there are no gaps between the cage and the pen, because chins will try to get out, no matter how small the gap may be.

Tink is not a jumper, so this pen works well for her, although I wouldn't trust it if I was away on vacation. There are playpens that have tops, or what I plan to do in the future is to make the sides taller by attaching cardboard to the outside of the pen. But hopefully this gives you some ideas as to what you can do. Good luck!

 

[starleomach]

For a vacation the chinchillas would be fine without playtime.

 

[Jenn]

We went on vacation for 2 weeks last summer and Tink didn't get to come out for playtime, and she was fine. She does have a chin spin so she was able to release energy on that.

 

[Sherry Elaine]

My chinchillas can get out of a playpen that doesn't have a cover on it. I wouldn't risk that. I would invest in a wheel so that they got exercise that way.

 

[mishellyshel]

jenn that is a real nice set up!

 

[addictedtochins]

When I first got Tibbit our living area wasn't chin proofed (it is now) I found a child's pop-up playhouse at a garage sale for $10. We got in there and had such fun playing! Here is a similar one. http://www.amazon.com/PlayHut-78106-Playhut-Magic-Playground/dp/B00008GYCL
But while searching I came up with a idea, do you have a camp tent? That would work great! Your mom could sit inside on the floor or bring a chair inside. Open the doors and windows, just leave the mesh covering. Just for short supervised periods, because I bet it'll get warm in there. If you don't have one check thrift stores and CL.

 

[sheri7]

Thanks so much for all the ideas!

Jenn, I really like your set up. I'm thinking of getting this Marshall pen with a cover (because my girls are jumpers) and attaching in to the cage. I will try setting the cage on the floor instead of the stand that its currently in.

I think I'm going to purchase this and try it at my house first....if it works then I will take it to my mothers, if not then I guess their wheel will have to do.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+11281+14629&pcatid=14629

 

[Bethany]

Personally, I wouldn't want to leave them unattended with the playpen cover. I'd think it would be something they would want to chew on ecspecially if they knew they were out of their cage, but couldn't get loose.

They will be fine without playtime, I'd feel better knowing they were safe even if they were missing out on playtime.

 

[Dragonflye]

Yeah, I agree, they will be fine without playtime for 10 days. I've been away for that long and my chins were fine. I wouldn't put the stress on my chinsitter of having to get them out and put them back in their cages when she's not used to it. A wheel will be good. You can make it up to them when you get back!

 

[sheri7]

I ended up buying this one and it came in the mail yesterday and I set it up last night: http://www.ferret.com/item/marshall-pet-ferret-small-pet-deluxe-play-pen/

It looks very similar to Jenn's set up. Its quite large and so far so good, my girls haven't tried to scale the walls yet. I'm going to keep it up for a while and see how it goes. If they don't try to escape it in there regular room at my house, then I think it will be great to take to my mothers so they can get a little playtime outside the cage.

I have already given my mother strict orders that the cats cannot be in the room if they are allowed in the playpen and they must be supervised the entire time.

 

[Sherry Elaine]

That is the one I have or similar. I would get the cover that goes on top to ensure the cats don't get in. Also, my chins always try to jump out when I'm not looking. It's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Sandi]

Sorry if this is too late but I just wanted to mention that I have a pop-up playpen that I use and LOVE, it comes with a zip top and detachable bottom that you can throw in the wash, here are a few pics of my boys in it plus the stock pic from petco

WARE Deluxe Pop-Up Playpen
Dimensions -Large - 50"L X 50"W X 32"H

 

[sheri7]

Sherry, yup I got the cover too just to be safe.

Sandi, that pop-up playpen looks really nice and very portable. Do the chins try to chew it at all?

 

[Sandi]

Sandi, that pop-up playpen looks really nice and very portable. Do the chins try to chew it at all?

No, mine haven't. I've had it for a long time but I started using it for my 2 chins since late February I think. I have seen one of them that tries to paw at the mesh windows sometimes but there are no nicks or runs in any of the windows. Its a real stury material maybe canvas, not sure? I use it when I clean their cage once a week. I did notice that one of them peed in it when I left them in there for a couple of hours while I was cleaning and rearranging and adding new shelves in their cage. The bottom part velcroves off of the playpen so you can either wipe the pee off or you can throw it in the wash in the gentle cycle and then let it air dry. It's also very portable, since its a pop-up, you can easily fold it back up and store it in the bag that they provide you with.

 

[sheri7]

Well I'm back from vacation and I must say that was the best $50 I have ever spent!!

The playpen worked perfectly and I didn't even need the cover. They can't jump over it unless there is something in there with them to help them, so I just don't put any boxes near the walls. I keep my chins in my small office and before I got this playpen I had big pieces of cardboard blocking my desk and computer wires. It was very unsightly and my chins would chew threw the cardboard and get back behind there if I didn't watch them like a hawk....not to mention it made it very difficuly for me to get to the computer with all that cardboard propped in front of it. Now I just use the gate/playpen and can put the panels in any shape I want and get in an out of my computer chair so easily.
And the chins can have free reign of the rest of the room. It also blocks the base boards so no more chewing that!

I would definitely recommend this.