Building A Chinchilla Cage

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Milo10

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
429
Location
Pinconning, MI
What sizes do you recommend and what type of material? In december I was just going to go buy a bigger cage off of ferret.com. But then I got to thinking, I'm gonna be getting another one in December too. I don't want the cage to be too small.
 
One of the cages I built is 5' tall x 2.5' x 2.5'. The top section is about a foot tall with theirhouses in it, and the rest of the cage consists of wooden shelves and ledges. The frame of mine is done with 1/2 in ply wood, which you don't want to use anywhere they can put there teeth on because it can be harmful to the chins. Get creative with your interior space, just make sure the materials used are safe for the chin because they will chew on it. In the housing and supply forum there is a list of woods that are safe for your chins. I keep 2 in that cage now and the space is perfect for them.
 
I have built 3 cages now for someone and I have built them all of melamine, which it is a really good material for easy cleaning, I built them of 24 inches wide, 24 inches deep and 48 inches tall with 3 wooden shelves each and wooden houses, I can upload a picture of one cage soon, so you can see
 
I think I'm gonna go with the 24 inches wide 24 inches deep and 48 inches tall.. Thanks and a picture would be awsome :)

What kind of wire fencing material did you use for it?
 
Wire cloth...

I used wire cloth. Home Depot and all other stores like that sell it. Here's a fantastic website for you: petchinchillas.info -it is great for building cages. It tells you exactly what material to use, how to do it, and it even has cage plans if you want them. I used it as a guide-not the plans unfortunately. Lol, then I added on and my chins cage is funny now:) Just make sure to make the doors BIG! I was stupid with the first 1/2 of his cage and seriously suffered for my stupidity. Make it as easily accessable as possible for you. The ferret nation cages are really great ones, highly reccomended on here. Just look at the ferret nation club on here-it's amazing. If I could do it alll over, I'd have a FN. Someday I may and give that to a pet, maybe a ferret, who may not pee all over the wood shelves like my little butthead does:p I am now working on ways to absorb all his peeing though! And I swear he does it just to annoy me, cause I know he can tell that it aggravates me:hair: But I love him anyway and he knows that too!

The smaller is the original. The bigger is obviously the original on top of the new. I wanted to go wider and I'm happy I did. It was 24x24x36"H but the 24"x24" around made his laps seem so cramped. The bottom is about 36"x34"x30" maybe?! Lol, you'd think I'd know, but I'm having a duh moment. Anyway, he LOVES it. The bottom is for his food, litter (glass casserole dish with shavings) and wheel. I also covered up the bottom floor (wire) with fleece cause I was afraid it was starting to irritate his feet. I hate all the wood, but the fleece takes care of where he's supposed to pee, lol. If I can find the website that sells the metal pans (they make custom ones), I'll give it to you. It will save me from his peeing on the old cages bottom, lol. He seriously must do it to make me mad cause he honestly does know what his litter box is for! So I'd design it so there isn't so much wood to pee on in case yours is a big peer like my little guy!
 

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Hi

Here is some pictures of 2 cages I built, the first one is the big one of 48 inches tall, made of melamine, I took the picture without the door though, I couldn't find the one that I had taken after I put the door on, so that's the only one I have, as you can see, this one was 48 inches tall, but it was divided in 2, so it was actually 2 cages, but you can make a hole in one level, so they can use the other level or just add more ledges and shelves, this was my first cage, so the second and the third one have been better than this one

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This is my third cage of 24x24x24, and has a wired top to hang toys and hammocks, and the door has a wooden frame and is wired, you get this wire at the hardware store, they sell it by 50 feet, but with this I have used it to build 3 cages, 2 that had two compartments, and one of 24x24x24, so I have been able to use it for 5 doors so far, and I still have some more left.

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Hope this helps
 
Building Vs. Buying a cage??

I was just wondering, Would it be cheaper to build a cage or to buy it? I found a Critter Nation Cage at Petsmart for $145. I'm getting another chinchilla next month. But I'm getting a temp cage for her until I can get the money to buy the critter nation! Any suggestions?
 
To build one cage it probably wouldn't be cheaper unless you already have the tools.

I have built lots of cages (strictly wire mesh, no melamine) and the first dozen or so were done manually and took a lot of time to make. Now I have electric cutters which were costly but speed things up significantly. With the number of cages I make, the cost of the electric tools balances out and they pay for themselves in time.

Now, for me, it is much cheaper to build my own cages. Plus I can make them to my specifications so they fit in the room like a glove. And I know the quality because I made them myself.
 
If your looking to save money, and just a suggestion, but you could do what I did and find a cheap melamine closet/linen closet and convert it into a cage. Most of the work is already done. The linen closet I found was a bit smaller than 24 inches wide but it's going to be for weaning kits. Hubby was happy to not have as much work this time! lol
 
the wire itself costs about $50, and the materials cost about $80 to $100, so the first time is expensive, now that I have used the same wire for 2 more cages, it has costed me the rest of the materials only, such as the melamine, hinges, etc. I add metal braces, for extra support too, so that is extra, but it is up to you.

It took me about 7-8 hours to build the big one, maybe a couple hours more, and about 3 hours to make the small one, so I am getting a pro now
:):hilarious:
 
I thought of building a cage out of a cabinet as well. I didn't like the lack of ventilation and while I'm sure people with powerful enough ACs and such can manage, I knew my little room AC would probably not be able to compensate for the trapped heat and humidity in the cage. Plus, when I move back home I am going to pay the electric bill for the AC so it would save me money if I can cool the cage more efficiently. And it took me a while to find cabinets that fit the size I needed them to.

I ended up building my own cage out of KD pine; melamine base and back wall; 16 gauge, galvanized after weld, 1"x1/2" wire I found at Lowe's; and poplar edging to cover the melamine edges and edges where the wire is stapled to the frame (which I want to replace with metal now I just don't know how to go about doing that). I have an album chronically the building of the cage in my profile.

If you don't have any tools, it will likely be cheaper to buy a cage. If you plan on building more than one than it might be worth it to buy the tools. Of course, if you have the tools (drill, wire cutter, staple gun, screwdriver, hammer, saw if you cut your own wood) and some spare hardware (braces, screws, hinges, door locks) and all you need is materials, you can build a large cage for a decent price.

Just think it through and plan everything. I drew up schematics and added up costs to find totals for everything. If you have a cage that is decent now, you can take your time and build one panel at a time.
 
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