new FN question?

[mgonya]

Just got a FN for my little boy, he's 4 mo. Should I wait to put shelves more than half way up so he doesn't fall and get hurt? He does laps around his small cage so I know he's ready for something bigger but want to keep him safe. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.

 

[javachin]

I think he'll try to climb his way up, shelves or not. They're so acrobatic early on that I don't think it would make a difference if you put them higher up. If you're concerned, put a hammock in the middle to serve as a "safety net."

 

[smhluvsmh]

I just brought home 11 week old sisters. I just put a lot of leaps and ledges and a good six inches of bedding on the bottom in case they take a tumble.

 

[ashleynicol3]

Were your 11 week old chinchillas able to escape from the Ferret Nation? Squeeze between the bars? My little guy will be around 10 weeks old when I get him and I'm wondering if I should go ahead and add hardware cloth to the cage to prevent him from escaping or if I should be okay...

 

[smhluvsmh]

They are fine. Do you know how big your baby is?

 

[ashleynicol3]

I'm not sure of his weight. I'll have to check with the breeder. I know he was born 4/23 and I'll be picking him up 6/29, so he'll be a few days shy of 10 weeks old.

 

[ashleynicol3]

He's 231 grams!

 

[ashleynicol3]

She's gonna send me an updated pic of him tonight too! I'm hoping he'll be OK and won't be able to escape from the cage.

 

[Cuddlebug]

With his weight, you will definitely need to cover the cage with hardware cloth. He will be able to get out.

 

[halfstache]

In a couple weeks when you pick up your chin it'll most likely be closer to 300 grams, I think the hardware cloth may not be necessary, but just in case you might want to consider only covering the bottom half of the cage in hardware cloth. That way you can lock him in the bottom section for a couple weeks until he's big enough. If you only have to cover half the cage it'll save you a few bucks. Baby proofing supplies are not cheap.

 

[ashleynicol3]

Thanks! Trying to decide if I want to go ahead and wrap the whole thing with hardware cloth or wait and see how it goes when I get him. I guess I could buy the supplies and have them on hand, but it seems like it's kind of a pain and would probably be easier to do before I get him and get everything set up, but I've already invested a lot of money as far as his cage, food, toys, etc. - not to mention actually paying for him - so I don't want to waste money kit-proofing the cage if it's not really necessary. Of course, his well being is more important than a few bucks... Decisions, decisions! Maybe I'll wait until a few days before I plan to get him. Then I'll know if he's picked up a lot of weight or not.