New Critter Nation for new owner

Hello all, just wanted to say hello and thank you for such a wonderful resource! I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time for a girl at work to need to re-home two chins, a male and female, a little under 2 years old. One of my daughters sadly lost a hedgehog about a year ago, and had always been looking for a replacement - now we have two replacements! The first thing I did when I agreed to take them, was scour the internet and this forum in particular, for information on care, cages, and safety. Obviously I will still have plenty to learn as I go but I'm hoping to make as few mistakes along the way as I can.

Today, our new Critter Nation cage arrived, and with the exception of the doors being slightly out of square (which I have yet to figure out how to fix), it went together very easily, and I'm sure after the first run, I could whip one together in ten minutes now. Amazing how simply they go together.

We're going to try the fleece option for now and see how they take to that, with the Bass metal pans as a backup option. I opted for homemade wooden shelves instead of the included plastic ones, and only used one ramp with it's cover. I ran out of shelf hardware, so I still have another to find room for, and to get a couple proper houses for them. Turns out I didn't have large enough clamps to make one myself, so the "house" is basically a tunnel at this point.

All wood was Select grade Pine from Lowe's near me, as it was the only stuff I could find that I felt comfortable enough with. In hindsight, I might have over-sized them, but it's hard to really say. I opted for 1" thick, and most of the shelves are 8" widths with one longer 6" shelf to run a good width on the top. It almost feels like the 1" (well, 3/4" in practice) thickness is too heavy for the bars, but I wanted to make sure I had enough to take a good bite on the mounting screws. For now though, they'll work. I haven't sanded them down yet, but wanted to get them in place for the little guys to enjoy, and I can pull them out one at a time and take care of the sanding after work.

We also added a couple simple hammocks, a hanging crinkle tube (that they'd rather tight-rope across the top of, instead of going in) and a few chew toys, and a granite resting plate. That's more a formality though, as the cage is located near the Air Conditioner so I'm more concerned with them getting too cold, if anything.

I will say that their demeanor has completely changed in the new cage! We had them kind of cramped in an older guinea pig cage we had, and I felt horrible but there was just no way to get the CN any faster than it was coming. I was just hoping they would forgive us for the tight quarters, and I sure believe they have. As soon as we open the doors now, they're right to our hands, and crawling on our arms, and curious as can be! The extra space has certainly livened their spirits, and it makes us feel better too knowing they've got so much more room to play.

I still need to get a few better food dishes, some hay boxes, and a wheel setup (I'm putting a homemade one together based on some designs I've seen online, just a few bolts left to buy and should be able to get that in there). I'd love the treadmill wheel, but after the outlay for the cage and what we've got so far, that might have to wait a check or two.

Melvin and Kokomo are happy as can be though, and it's a large part in thanks to the wonderful advice found here!

Just wondering, are the two chins housed together? If so is the male or female fixed? If not are you planning to be breeding? Mate + female= kits, even if they haven't mated yet in their old setting does not mean that now that they are in a better home that they wont mate now. If they aren't fixed and you have them in two cages (top and bottom of the CN) just make sure you don't allow them to play together either, mating takes literally a second.

I wouldn't use the ramps, chins don't need ramps and even covered, (unless it's sewn shut so it wont come off) chins like to pull the fleece off and the ramp's bars can catch toes and feet, leading to broken toes, feet, and/or legs.

I wouldn't worry about sanding down the shelving, the chins will be chewing it anyway. You can sand it later to help with cleaning (sand off stains and such) but chins are like little carpenters and will form the wood how they want it. Also I have the FN not the CN, but I've heard the CN bars are weaker, so it's best to not move the shelving and stuff around as much. Also in case you aren't already it's best to use fender washers for hanging shelving and stuff, that way the weight is on at least 2 bars instead of just one.

As for the hammocks and tube they need to be all fleece or fleece with metal hardware, fleece is the only safe fabric. If the crinkle tube is what I am thinking, it's fabric with a plastic coated paper inside, so it's not safe.

Make sure the AC is not blowing on the chins, it can cause a draft with will make them sick. The summer setup I have for my chins they are a few feet from the AC so I have a fleece blanket hanging over the side of the cage facing the AC to prevent it blowing right on them. As for getting too cold, chins can happily be in temps down below 30F (I knew a breeder who lost power in the winter and it got down to 20F in the chin room and the chins were fine), the only issue is the water freezing, so if it's not too cold for you then it's definitely not going to be too cold for them. Also the granite tiles are good as they help cool a chin when it's been running around, they hold cold well (so they can be put in the fridge or freezer for added cooling), but don't replace an ac for cooling.

Thanks for the advice, the tube might very well be made that way. I'm planning on removing it anyway tonight, I just don't feel they are interested in it for more than something else to try to jump over and being so flimsy it scares me they might fall. The ramp is only in place until I get home tonight, as I have to pick up more hardware to mount the other little shelf in the lower unit to give that in-between to the shelf leading to the top.

They are together, they haven't been separated, though from what I understand they had a similar wide open space in their old house, we only had them in the small cage temporarily until the CN got here. Not saying they won't mate, of course. We're kind of torn. I know a few posts reference that if they haven't shown interest within a general time frame (2 years) they might never, but I'm not ruling things out. I know how ladies can be hard to get for a while But we also don't think that IF it were to happen, it would be a bad thing. So I was kind of over-ruled with "let's not get him fixed yet, just in case. Maybe they never will, and that will save a few dollars and the little extra stress on the little ones, and if they DO, then we'll have babies, and THEN we'll get him fixed". Any pros/cons would be welcome in any event.

I do have 2" fender washers on the backside of the shelves, and have tried to place them so they overlap not only a few bars horizontally, but also with at least one in place over the vertical bars as well for a little more stability that way. That's why I also think that the 1" thick shelves are a little overkill, it seems to be way more weight than needed, so as time goes, I'll replace these with some slightly thinner pieces to relieve some stress.

The air conditioner is located slightly diagonally across from them, about 6' away but blows to the side so it's not felt at the cage side itself, but the proximity keeps it nice and cool, about 67 degrees at the cage as the cool air circulates past and into the rest of the kitchen and living room. The room is easily moved around, and I can slide our rabbit around and move the cage to it's left which would put it another few feet to the side of the AC's path. I do like the blanket on the side idea though, so if I do move it, I can hang it on the side nearest the air path and shield any residual.

This is all a new learning for me, and I definitely appreciate the input and suggestions! I know some of the things have to be addressed, and will be doing it as we go and learn.

I've heard of that 2 year time frame thing, and I believe it's more when pairing for breeding. So basically if they haven't breed in a couple years in the current breeding set up they probably wont. However what I was trying to get at was not the cage size, but environment as well, maybe they weren't in the optimal location before. Simply changing things as simple as moving them from one side of the room to another (change of light, sound, smells, etc) can change the environment enough that they decide breeding seems right now. I had two chins growing up that we thought were two males, we had them for a few years before one morning I woke up to kits.

I don't advise getting them fixed, it's a very risky major surgery even with a vet that is experienced with it. It's a major surgery for males and females as the male's testicles are pretty much internal, so it requires cutting him open to access them just like during a spay on the female. The chin can died during, after, or even during recovery do to infection and even then you will still need to have them separated for a few months for recovery, which often involved hand feeding round the clock. Then after that re introduction, which might not even work. I would just split the cage into two, top and bottom, and count 120 days and watch for kits. You say it's not a bad thing if they breed, but chin breeding is not simple, do you have a few thousand set aside in case of an emergency c-section? Are you prepared for the possibility of the female dying during delivery? or for hand feeding every 2 hours 24/7 if she isn't producing milk or rejects the kits? Also are do they have pedigrees? and are from good lines with no genetic issues? Also the male will need to be removed from the female before birth anyway so he doesn't rebreed her right away, they going into heat right before birth to right after birth, being pregnant and nursing a litter is very hard on the female.

Having said all that, do you know for sure they are male and female? or are you just going by what the previous owner said? it can be tricky some times to tell the difference.

Another thing you mentioned, is the rabbit in the same room as the chins? Rabbits can carry a bacteria that is deadly to chins, the rabbit may appear unaffected unless it gets stressed, but can still carry and pass on the bacteria though body fluids, spit, snot, etc. The chins should be far enough away from them that they can't get sneezed on, so about 100 ft at least I think, or simply in another room. Also make sure you wash between handling them to avoid transferring anything.

Thank you for the insight. I had no idea about the rabbit, it was something I didn't even think to research ahead of time. I'll have to do some rearranging then. She's been with us for many years but I know that sometimes things one animal is fine with can hurt others. So I'll have to move some stuff around.

As for the breeding side. No, I'm actually not 100% on the male/female, that's just what we were told by the lady we got them from, who isn't a breeder herself, and it never really occurred to me to ask about their lineage. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing. She said she had them since they were young, and both at the same time, but anything beyond that, and the two years she's had them is just speculation on my part. I'll reach out to her and see if I can get more of the story.

The financial side I'm not worried about, but you do raise very valid concerns that hadn't been in the front of my mind. I guess there's a part of me that hates to see them separated after being together for two years, even in just a top/bottom cage situation. I mean, it's easy enough to do with the CN cage but I feel bad doing so. It does beat the alternative and the risks involved. There is a local place that specializes in small animals, exotics, etc. I think my first step is going to be to get a check-up scheduled for them there, and make a plan of attack from there.

I guess in my haste, there were some things I never thought to check into ahead of time, and I didn't fully appreciate the delicate and intricate nature of these wonderful little companions. I certainly don't want anything to happen to them though, so thank you again for the advice.

I did remove the questionable pieces inside their cage, and have bookmarked places that sell more chin-friendly pieces. I'd rather spend money and be sure, than skimp and regret it.

Thanks again.