The Ferret Nation Club

[InkedupTara]

A little off topic, but why are you nuetering your chin? Is it for a medical condition? JMO, but I am against such a risky procedure if not medically indicated, other then you dont want to seperate a boy and a girl.

 

[danakscully64]

Hey everyone, I disappeared for a while because my life has just been insane. My chinchilla cage has been put on hold for financial reasons and I had 2 very expensive and unexpected expenses (new tires and car registration + smog). All of the money I had saved for the cage is gone I hope to get my cage project going again. I'll try to post pictures of what I have today, I'm going to try and complete the shelves today (I bought the wood when I bought the cage).

 

[danakscully64]

I have the same water bottle as you do with the little duckie.
My chins use it and have never had any problems with it. BUT their breeder showed them how to use water bottles before I bought them... maybe that makes a difference.

I've been using the Superpet water bottles since I first got my chins, they never have any problems drinking(maybe because I didn't fill it all the way?), and their old cage has wired bottom so minor drip wasn't a problem

With that glass bottle, the problem was actually the design. I read online that a lot of people had the same problem, the bottle locks up and prevents water from dropping. It also rusts really quick and really bad. I had to keep playing with it to get the water to come out and once it did, it only lasted for a few minutes. I ended up tossing it and buying a plastic one with a bottle guard. The new plastic bottle I bought for my rabbit from Petco drips like crazy, but the Critter Canteen (Super Pet product) and Lixit bottles I have for my chins have been amazing.

(Cute Chinchilla Pictures)

Your chinchillas are adorable!!!!!! I especially love your white one sitting in the bowl

 

[danakscully64]

I had a little time today to work on the shelves. With the extra wood, I was able to make a box tunnel (I may or may not build a second, depending on whether or not I'll have room, the boys already have a favorite house box). This is the top section of my cage, where I'll have my girl. Her previous owner bought her the Igloo, I have no problem with her chewing on it, it's really her favorite place to sleep.

Twilight Exploring:

I just need to get the fleece liners, hammocks, and wheels. I was going to buy the Bass trays, but I'm going to try to litter box train my chinchillas, see how they do. I think the boys will just make a mess with the bedding. They may chew up the fleece, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

I really want to get Twilight a friend

 

[Shawn Fitzsimmons]

Supplies for my FN.

These chin's are getting expensive, like woah! :banghead:
My mom and I did a total of everything and it ended costing about 220.00$
2 Chin Spins "120"
Bass pans "62"
Ledges and accesories "Hammocks, hidey houses, etc etc" 50

Any help.
.

 

[InkedupTara]

Nice set ups!

 

[crazychin]

These chin's are getting expensive, like woah! :banghead:
My mom and I did a total of everything and it ended costing about 220.00$
2 Chin Spins "120"
Bass pans "62"
Ledges and accesories "Hammocks, hidey houses, etc etc" 50

Any help.
.

Actually that's not bad at all, I spent about $300 to start, and I still spend $50 a month on them. It's fun to start buying things for them!

 

[danakscully64]

These chin's are getting expensive, like woah! :banghead:
My mom and I did a total of everything and it ended costing about 220.00$
2 Chin Spins "120"
Bass pans "62"
Ledges and accesories "Hammocks, hidey houses, etc etc" 50

Any help.
.

That is EXACTLY where I'm at right now, adding up everything makes me wanna cry. I truly can't afford this right now, but I'm trying to figure out how much I can budget from this pay check. I'm in the process of trying to box train my chins, that way I can buy the fleece liners and cover the plastic FN cages instead of getting the bass pans. Cheaper in the long run, less bedding. I need to buy:

-2 Wheels (~$100 total)
-Hammocks ($20)
-Fleece Liners ($30)
-Hay Holders ($2-6)

I got 2 glass containers for box training, those were about $17 for both. The ledge supplies were about $50, but I ended up getting enough lumber/screws/washers/nuts to make 2- 3 foot long ledges, 6 smaller ledges, and 1 tunnel. Oh, and the $50 included the granite tiles. The cage was $160. I'm hoping to get some money from selling the cage my chins are currently in. Fun project, just drains your bank account.

 

[InkedupTara]

I have a lot more then that invested. I have 3 Fn 142's and one Martins cage. Paul made most of the wood shelves, but I have bass pans, 3 sets of liners for each cage. Then 3 hammocks for each cage. 2 Tubes in each cage. Flying Saucer Wheels and Chins Spins, these are very spoiled babies! LOL

 

[danakscully64]

I have a lot more then that invested. I have 3 Fn 142's and one Martins cage. Paul made most of the wood shelves, but I have bass pans, 3 sets of liners for each cage. Then 3 hammocks for each cage. 2 Tubes in each cage. Flying Saucer Wheels and Chins Spins, these are very spoiled babies! LOL

WOW! Yeah, spoiled is an understatement

If I had a higher paying job, it would be nothing, but I'm working part time at a fast food restaurant. I like my job, but it doesn't pay most of my bills. I told my boyfriend that I'm going to reapply at Hooters and pray I get in

 

[RainOverVegas]

I love my ferret nation but it is by far the messiest cage I have ever owned. There is bedding EVERYWHERE. Fleece liners are not an option I despise laundry. The bass pans leave gaps on all sides of the cage and none of my old urine gaurds fit. :banghead:

 

[Chinch&Chilla]

cage for a tight wallet

I love the cage that I have right now, Rat Manor from Petco. If you can't afford a Ferret Nation money or space wise (living in a small apartment) I think its the perfect fit for 1 or 2 chins. Sure you have to make sure they get play time, but that's the funnest part of owning a chin anyway. Things I like about this cage is yes it is all metal, the bar spacing is 1/2" so it can keep the tiniest of chins from escaping, it has a deep metal base, 2 doors with dual locking doorlatches, 3 levels plus 3 ramps, handles at the top and toward the bottom to lift and move it if necessary, and the whole thing collapses and can be stored in its base. What I did to convert my cage is I took the middle floor (which has just 1 hole in it and moved it to the bottom of the cage which when combined with a little creativity and 1 ramp to cover that hole made a nice grate to separate my chins from their droppings at the bottom of the cage and also allowed the cage to be more open. Then I set up the other levels where I wanted them and used the other ramps as water bottle guards on the sides of the cage. In the end I could still fit a 15" chin spin, a house, a leap n' ledge, a large hammock that I made, several hanging toys, a hay holder, and a ceramic crock on the top level so they don't get droppings in their food. Note: All the levels in the cage are made from wire mesh 3/8" and from my experience in the last year hasn't caused any problems at all with their feet, not even signs of any discomfort (doesn't feel hard or rigid to me at all). But it is just big enough to let any and all droppings fall to the bottom of the cage and through the grate making cleanup even easier and the amount of dropping thrown out of the cage much less. When I bought it and just a few days ago it was $80 with free shipping which I think is amazing for the person on a somewhat tight budget. It's likely to be on sale again soon.

Here's a link to check it out: http://www.petco.com/product/106171/PETCO-Rat-Manor-Habitat.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

 

[cintistatern2005]

I love my ferret nation but it is by far the messiest cage I have ever owned. There is bedding EVERYWHERE. Fleece liners are not an option I despise laundry. The bass pans leave gaps on all sides of the cage and none of my old urine gaurds fit. :banghead:

I definately know what your going through. I ordered bass pans for my critter nation and still the bedding and poo is all over. I dont know what to do. I love the cage but it is by far the messiest. I guess i can order 8 fleece liners, lol!! I hate doing laundry too.

 

[Shawn Fitzsimmons]

Aha, the only good thing is that once I'm done ordering the big things, that will pretty much be it for awhile!
Good luck with all your cages people

 

[Ippo456]

Both cages are laid out basically the same, here's the top:

and bottom:

I really like how you've laid out your ferret nation cages.
Where did you get that fleece-lined pan?
Doesn't the chin pee on the fleece?
Do you secure the fleece onto the pan by screwing them on or something like that?
Thanks. I've been trying to figure out a way to replace the wire bottom.
As of right now, the wire bottoms are lined with grass mats, but I don't like grass mats so much.

 

[Ashley]

I really like how you've laid out your ferret nation cages.
Where did you get that fleece-lined pan?
Doesn't the chin pee on the fleece?
Do you secure the fleece onto the pan by screwing them on or something like that?
Thanks. I've been trying to figure out a way to replace the wire bottom.
As of right now, the wire bottoms are lined with grass mats, but I don't like grass mats so much.

That isn't my cage, but you can get the metal pans from bassequipment.com, and you can either buy or make the fleece liners. I believe Kara made her own, though. The chins are supposed to pee on the fleece. The liners are used instead of bedding, and you wash/change them out every few days.

 

[dayento2]

Here's my new Ferret Nation!

 

[LinzWolf]

For ordering the metal pans, what sizes should I get? I have a ferret nation 142, so I'm gonna probably need two pans....one with a hole in it! Can anybody help me? Thanks!

 

[threewingedfury]

For ordering the metal pans, what sizes should I get? I have a ferret nation 142, so I'm gonna probably need two pans....one with a hole in it! Can anybody help me? Thanks!

http://bassequipment.com/Cages/Ferret+Pans/default.aspx One of each...

 

[LinzWolf]

Oh sweet! Thank you, totally didn't see those!! thanks!!!