The Ferret Nation Club

[brinfe]

I have been wanting to get FN's for awhile now.

Also, I'm very interested in the fleece liner concepts. So, what is put in the middle? One of my boy's curiosity includes ripping through fleece tubes to see what the inside is made of. Any way I can discourage this behavior?

 

[leni]

Pleiades,

Yes that did make sens, thanks! It's just hard to tell from the pictures I saw what bottles were being used.

 

[brinfe]

Any thoughts?

I have been wanting to get FN's for awhile now.

Also, I'm very interested in the fleece liner concepts. So, what is put in the middle? One of my boy's curiosity includes ripping through fleece tubes to see what the inside is made of. Any way I can discourage this behavior?

:bump:

 

[staci-p]

I'm finally going to part of this club!!!! I'm so excited, I found it on Kijii! Will post pictures when I have decorated

 

[AK23]

:bump:

I think that the inside of the fleece depends on who is making them. Some people use old towels, others just sew three pieces of fleece together. I am not sure how to discourage ripping into the fleece, some more experienced members could probably help with that. You could always try a liner, and he might leave it alone. If he is chewing up the fleece, though, it might be best not to have any in there at all.

 

[Pleiades]

:bump:

There's nothing in the middle of my liners; that way they get completely clean, don't retain smells, and dry easily. You'd just have to change them more often if your chins aren't litter-box "trained."

If you tuck the edges of the liner under the pan, that would probably discourage chewing somewhat, as it gives them nothing to pull from.

Edit: Sounds like you already have a fleece chewer though. Not really sure my suggestion would help with that.

 

[Sandi]

I have been wanting to get FN's for awhile now.

Also, I'm very interested in the fleece liner concepts. So, what is put in the middle? One of my boy's curiosity includes ripping through fleece tubes to see what the inside is made of. Any way I can discourage this behavior?

A chins natural instinct is to chew, you cannot discourage him from it. If he's already chewing fleece then I would not put anything else in his cage that contains fleece, not another fleece covered tube nor liners.

 

[fbodgrl]

So excited....Yesterday I bought a FN 142 I found on craigslist!

I transported it in the back of my VW beetle which was pretty hilarious :rofl:

Now I just need to start getting it ready for a chin :bliss:

 

[staci-p]

Yay! Finally decorated! Suggestions are welcomed greatly! Right now it is just Sapphire living in it. I had to decorate it really fast since I got the cage at 8am and people were coming for her old cage at 10 am...which they didnt come anyway Anyway if you see any danger please let me now!

Full cage view, bottom, top

 

[Rob7911]

How do you clean the cage linings, do you just throw them in the washer? and How often?

 

[McKenzie]

How do you clean the cage linings, do you just throw them in the washer? and How often?

well it depends on how many chinchillas you have... if you only have one, then you should wash them about every two or three days

and yes, just throw them in the wash, but i would get an extra set to replace the ones in the wash

 

[InkedupTara]

I put mine in the washer, hot water, with a good soap, no rinse. I have about 3 sets for each cage and they gat changed 2 times a week.

 

[3CsMommy]

Picking 'Club' Member Brains if you don't mind.

Crash is in the Quality Cage Condo right now. I'm not happy with it and never really have been, so I'm planning to upgrade him and find him a potential roommate. Getting the FN means I can split it if they don't get along, which is fine by me. But, I'm trying to do a final numbers crunch for the costs of this kind of set up.

I know I'd need:
1) FN 142 ($199+$7 shipping from ferret.com looks like the best buy)

2) A set of two pans from Bass metals. How much do those usually run? What depth seems to work best for ya'll that have them? How do I protect from falls through the gap at the back corner of the upper level?

3) Fleece liners (since Crash is litter trained, and I'm guessing the next one can be as well). Luckily I sew, but what are the dimensions of the pans length and width?

4) Shelves. Luckily, again, I also do my own wood working, so $20 @ Home Depot takes care of the shelving and hidey houses.

5) Furniture: I've got 2 fleece tubes and a single sized hammock. The Flying Saucer would probably be best in the bottom, but I see some Chin Spins mounted near the top in some of these photos. Do those rattle more than the lower mounted wheels?

I've also got a flagstone and a manzanita ledge, and a couple of mulberry perches that Crash got for Christmas. Would that be enough to 'fill' it, or will I have to make/buy more?

6) Dishes. For two chins, I'll need a second water bottle and second food dish. Where do these seem to work best? Where should I put the hay rack to keep the most hay off the floor, near the top so the hay falls down onto the upper pan, or near the bottom so it goes straight to the full pan?

Also: Any advice/tips-n-tricks about set up you wish you'd known before you brought the monster home? I know I'll need a Phillips head screw driver for assembly. Would a cordless drill/driver in low gear be overkill to put it together, or just super helpful?

Tia.

 

[mistywaterwoman]

I want to say that with shipping the bass pans were $26 for the regular pan and $35 for the cut out ( I bought them seperately) but it depends on where you live and if you buy them together it's probably cheaper to ship them together. Figure about $30 each and you'll be safe.
For sewing the liners, you can find the pan dimensions here:
http://www.bassequipment.com/Cages/Ferret+Pans/default.aspx
Be sure to pre-wash (and pre-shrink!) your fleece before you measure and cut, learned that the hard way.
My wheels are at the bottom so I can't truthfully answer your top mounting question - however - with the way these cages are designed, each unit being completely seperate, it shouldn't make any difference in the noise factor.
I always keep a second food station and a second water bottle in, even though my girls are in pairs, it helps cut down on the bickering. I have one upstairs and one downstairs.
I find the less messy way to let them eat hay is in a nice wide flower pot, and I cut the hay to about 6" peices before I put it in the pot. Then they can successfully pull out one strand at a time. Plus, having the pot sort of in the middle of the cage means hardly any hay on my floor in the morning.

These things are pretty easy to assemble, I did it with just the screwdriver, and by myself. If I'd had the drill, I'd probably have used that, though, as a time-saver.

I think it sounds like you have enough stuff to get a great start on "filling up" the monster cage, lol. You know there is never really an "end" to purchasing chinnie junk, though, right?

 

[danakscully64]

How do you clean the cage linings, do you just throw them in the washer? and How often?

As the others said, just throw them in the washer I vacuum them almost everyday though to clean up the poop. My girl is litter box trained, so I could go longer between changing her fleece liner, but my 2 boys aren't anymore (they just stopped one day), so I just change their liners at the same time. Every 3-5 days.

My girl hates the actual pad liners I made, they're too plush or thick for her (she pushes them away), so I just use a single piece of fleece (it works just fine).

 

[fbodgrl]

Interesting to hear. i was going to ask how many layers the liners were. I was planning on sewing mine 2 layers, but I had read on a post somewhere that they were 3 layers.

I took the divider out in the middle. I'm curious if the holes where the grate fits in are going to be a danger.

Also everyone says they vacuum the poop out. Do you just use the regular vacuum with a hose attachment? My vacuum is bag less so I can empty the container right after I vacuum. i just don't want my vacuum to end up poop smelly or something. :biglaugh:

 

[danakscully64]

The liners I have are 3: 2 fleece and a quilted inside. If I were to make them again, I would probably just sew 2 pieces together. It would have been much cheaper to go that route too (the inside ended up being more than double the price of the fleece). I left the divider in and just wrapped the plastic bottoms with a sheet of fleece. No Velcro, no sewing, just wrapped and tucked the ends underneath. My boys have that in addition to the liner (I sewed my liners too small). It saved me a ton of money not buying the Bass pans and I wash the boys about once a month. Just to be safe, I would put the divider back in and cover it or buy the Bass pans.

I use my hose attachment My vacuum is also bagless, I empty the canister every time. So far, my vacuum smells just fine and I've been doing this since last September.

 

[QnMidnight]

I took the divider out in the middle. I'm curious if the holes where the grate fits in are going to be a danger.

Many of us have taken out the middle divider with no issues. Here's my FN (set up on a tight budget, thus the plastic shelves and such still):

 

[SmileX3]

I have 2 of these that I need to decorate and get ready for the crew! So, it looks like everone removes the original pans they come with? And attaching the ledges, do you just use a drill and screw/washer/wingnut combo? What type of screw? I'm not very experienced in the handy aspect however I can sew all the hammocks I need so that makes me feel a bit better about myself! Lol

 

[danakscully64]

Some removed the pans, some covered them in Fleece (like I did). Bass makes pans that fit perfectly into these.

As for the ledges, I don't really remember what I got, but I'm sure someone else can help. There was a thread about it, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

And don't feel bad at all, I can't sew or make ledges