Can't figure out how to set up new cage...

[lishreese]

So I just got Bella a new FN cage when we moved. She isn't in it yet, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to set it up specifically for chins since I can't use some of the unsafe parts. I replaced the bottom plastic pan and the plastic pan that separates the top level from the bottom level with metal pans, and I got wooden ledges instead of the plastic ones that came with it. Now I'm just having some trouble figuring out how to let her get from the bottom to the top and vice versa because the ramp worries me a little (the covers that came with it are mostly fleece but there is a small non-fleece part that I don't want her chewing). How did any of you get around this? I thought about putting a shelf directly below the hole but I'm worried she will miss and fall (maybe that is just silly on my part, I'm just a worried mommy lol).

 

[Chin_Parent]

I don't have a ferret nation, but from what I've seen, other people have used ledges instead of the ramp, and chins have been able to get between the levels just fine. You can use wooden ledges or even lava ledges and things like that. If you go to the FN thread in Housing and Supplies, you'll see lots of examples of what others have done, it should still be on the first page of threads.

Hope that helps!

 

[Dawn]

Now I'm just having some trouble figuring out how to let her get from the bottom to the top and vice versa because the ramp worries me a little (the covers that came with it are mostly fleece but there is a small non-fleece part that I don't want her chewing). How did any of you get around this? I thought about putting a shelf directly below the hole but I'm worried she will miss and fall (maybe that is just silly on my part, I'm just a worried mommy lol).

Place a ledge on the back wall of the cage and one a couple inches below the "opening". That way the chin can hop from the metal pan floor>to the back wall ledge>then to the ledge just beneath the opening in order to get to the top level.

See attached photos of my fn cages.

Option 2 could be adding a "bridge" in a wavey shape that leads from the floor of the pan up to the opening. You can attach them with fender washers and screws to the back wall of the cage to prevent goring yourself on the bolts that others use with wingnuts (which stick out).

 

[lishreese]

ok I get it now. I thought that's how it would have to work but I was worried she'd fall or something. That was probably a dumb thing to worry about considering how much more agile they are than we are lol, it never ceases to surprise me the acrobatics she can do lol. Thanks for the help!

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

ok I get it now. I thought that's how it would have to work but I was worried she'd fall or something. That was probably a dumb thing to worry about considering how much more agile they are than we are lol, it never ceases to surprise me the acrobatics she can do lol. Thanks for the help!

It's not dumb....you're just making sure your baby's safe. I have lots of ledges and things for mine to jump/land on, and I still sometimes worry they'll fall and hurt themselves (they're still babies).

 

[Godofgods]

while mine might not look as colorfull as hers, lol, it shows what your asking'

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

Dawn, heaven forbid anything ever happens to me, but if it did, and I come back, I wanna come back as your chinchilla! Awesome set up!

 

[rem]

Where can I find the metal spinners you guys have (for the chins to run on?)

I have found the wheel, but I like the way the spinners/top look better.