New Chinchilla, looking to make custom cage

[KyleGCorcoran]

I have a fairly new chinchilla I adopted through a friend of a friend, and I'm not happy with his current cage. It's about 3' x 1.5' and has a few levels for him to sit on but he's not happy. I can't let Sheldon (the chinchilla) run around my house because my parents won't allow it, and run ins with my golden retriever will not end well.

I want to give him something more to play around in, so that he's getting enough exercise in his cage and I don't have to let him run around frequently. The custom cages I'm finding on the internet all seem to have one design flaw. What happens when the wood inside is soiled with pee? I've attached a picture of a cage that seems great until you think about how it's going to be used by the chinchilla.

I'm trying to design levels for him that will solve this problem. Would it be enough to create a ledge or a box shape on each wood level so that you could fill it with bedding? Has anyone tried designing a custom chinchilla cage before? What are the problems you run into most? Is it worth it to try and make one out of wood, or is this the reason cages are made out of wire instead.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

Personally I see nothing wrong with your cage, other than maybe it's a little sparse but that's an easy fix. I have these type of cages, and never would go back to wire. If you check out this thread.
http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23954&highlight=melamine
Some of the members have awesome set ups! Might give you ideas. As for all the wood, that's pretty much a must, since most wire cages have wood too. The melamine that your cage is made of is easy to clean up, and wipe down. Part of the reason I went with them. They were labor intensive but well worth it!

 

[LoveBug]

is that bed/hammock thing safe?
i didnt think it was, since its not fleece. and it's stuffed with stuffing

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

is that bed/hammock thing safe?
i didnt think it was, since its not fleece. and it's stuffed with stuffing

Lovebug is right. I didn't pay closer attention to the picture, other than glancing at the tiny photo. Also, the long pieces that support the bed, I would be worried that it could wrap around a chinchillas leg, and cut off circulation, and leave them hanging, hopefully being found in time! I'd go with simple fleece hammock, or even add eye hooks to the sides and have a huge one made for you to go across the width of the cage. There are a few people on here that could do that for you.

 

[LoveBug]

also are your chillers fastened down or something, i'd hate to see them move and hurt your chinnie

 

[momenteller]

Hey ladies, that's not his cage, it is similar to one he's considering building.

I assume the floor of the cage is lined with bedding or fleece, you just can't see from the picture. Chins will usually just pee on the bedding, not on the shelves. I assume the shelves are what you are worried about getting soiled and smelly? If they do pee on an area of wood, you can scrub it down with a little vinegar/water solution or hydrogen peroxide. That usually solves the problem. Shelves can be sanded down to be like new when needed.

If you do a search on here, there are several people that have made homemade cages. You can get some ideas from others pics before you start your project. Good luck!

 

[LoveBug]

Hey ladies, that's not his cage, it is similar to one he's considering building.

oh gotcha gotcha, sorry i didn't really read the post just saw the picture :/

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

Kate, thank you for making me feel so smart....NOT! Can I claim chemo brain, or maybe not enough coffee this morning? LMAO
You'll find lots of good ideas on here, so still check out the link I sent you to another thread, there are plenty more to explore on here!

 

[momenteller]

Kate, thank you for making me feel so smart....NOT! Can I claim chemo brain, or maybe not enough coffee this morning? LMAO!

Yes, you can claim both! :hug2:

 

[ChinnyMom]

i believe Kyle posted that photo as an example, and it is not actually their cage. good to note on the unsafe hanging bed though Keisha, as they are not appropriate for chins at all.

wood shelves can be scrubbed with a vinegar/water mix or hydrogen peroxide, rinsed, and after they are dry you can sand down any remaining pee stains. shelves do need replacing now and then anyway, as chins will chew on them.

the downside i can see to a melamine cage is that you are left with screw holes whenever you want to move shelves around. i guess a screw and a washer could be put in the hole to keep chins from chewing the hole eges, but your cage would look rather 'studded' after a while, if you moved shelves a fair bit.

 

[dragsil]

My boys have a custom cage very similar to the one you have shown except it is a bit taller since we converted what would be a closet into a two story chin cage with shelves. So far they have never peed on their shelves or in their sleeping cube, luckily! It was actually really easy to build and attach the hooks for my accessories wherever we want and the chins love it, our house can get drafts sometimes so it´s really good for keeping the temperature stable for them and Dragon wall surfs up the levels, which is adorable.

Dead easy to clean too, everything stays contained in the one place and not on my floor

I think the hardest thing for us was finding the correct wood to use for the shelves, the whole thing actually only took a few hours to complete and the only thing I would change is the wire on the front doors since I worry about it being a bit too dense, wanting to swap it over for something more like the spacing on the FN.

If you have the time/patience I would say give it a shot for sure because some of the cages can turn out looking great, it´s really common here in Sweden to make cages for our chins and there are some great examples on the bottom of this page http://www.chinchilla.se/Chinchilla_sida.aspx?selId=5 It is in Swedish, but the pics are cool and the info is too if you wanted to google translate, it has the minimum legal requirements for cage size here which might be a nice guide to go by if you decide to build a cage of your own.

Good luck!

 

[dragsil]

Lol and completley unrelated but on the Galleri link of that site there is a baby photo of my darling Dressed In Silver if you happen to browse the pictures Our little celebrity, lol!

 

[KyleGCorcoran]

The picture I put in this thread isn't Sheldon's cage, it's one of the custom ones I found on the internet. I was looking to create a custom cage but looking at that picture as an example I feel like the wood would just become soiled and ruined quickly.

 

[KyleGCorcoran]

Thanks for the replies, I figured sanding would do the trick if the wood got too soiled in the cage, I just wanted to make a good note of the things not to do when making a custom chinchilla cage. If I'm gonna go through the trouble of making a cage, I wanted to be as proactive as possible.

I might mess around with angling and persuading him to use certain corners of the cage. Are they most likely to pee in corners?