Wood shelves - big or small?

[ZiggyChinChin]

New chin mom here, preparing to make my own shelves from untreated pine and I'm trying to plan how big they should be. Is there a minimum size (for an adult chinchilla)? Is it better to have a lot of small ledges, or just a few medium-sized shelves? Thank you in advance!!

 

[Amethyst]

For adult chins I would say you want them to be at least 4" x 2", but you can make them bigger depending on the space you have. The sizes and how many really depends on the cage you have and how you want to set it up. Mine range in size from the small lava ledges to the bigger cage width and length shelves, I also uses lots of branches as perches (having to balancing and the rolling pressure is good for their feet). They should be no more them about 6" (up/down and left/right) for them to get around comfortably, they can jump much higher and farther but 6" helps avoid or at least limit missed jumps and falls.

 

[Jawramik]

I use a variety of ledge sizes in my cage. Some are small and serve mainly as steps (just large enough for my big girl to stand on, roughly the size of my fist), while others are wider and longer for her to rest/lounge on. I also have a few ledges that fit in the corners, an enclosed little house mounted to one of the walls, and a wooden bridge sorta thing that's suspended from the top of the cage. And like Amethyst, I have a couple branch perches made from apple wood. She seems to enjoy them all for different purposes.

Some of it just depends on the size and dimensions of your cage, but I think a variety of sizes is nice.

 

[ZiggyChinChin]

Thanks all! Variety sounds like the answer I was looking for!

 

[Chinmin]

Welcome to the forum! Any progress on the shelves?

 

[ZiggyChinChin]

I ended up ordering some of them from PandamoniumPets and I'm going to try to build a few myself. They're still a few weeks out, but I'm super excited and will definitely post pics when they arrive!

 

[Chinmin]

That's great. I actually love to build almost anything. I'm sure you gonna love it too.

I'm super excited for you. So how many chins are you prepping for?

 

[ZiggyChinChin]

Just the one. He's already about 5-6 years old and he's always been a solo chin with lots of human attention, so no plans to get another chin just yet. He gets lots of out-of-cage time and he's so comfortable around people and daily activities - he even chased me when I was trying to vacuum! I've only had him a little over a week and he's already brought so much joy. Who knew such a little creature could have so much personality!

(I know, bathroom pics are so last year, but his pose was so perfect!)

 

[Chinmin]

Looks awesome!

I'm so impressed you already have that level of interaction. Others take months before they bond with their owners or not at all.

 

[ZiggyChinChin]

Loving the new ledges from PandamoniumPets!

 

[Jawramik]

Loving the new ledges from PandamoniumPets!

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Looks awesome, I bet your chin(s) is loving it!