Anybody have experience with wooden cages?

[Tricialynn]

Hi
I have a qc mansion for our two boys, but am seriously thinking of getting a custom wooden cage made.
Does anybody have any suggestions on this? Can anyone tell me about their own experiences with them ( what you like, don't like, or what you would have done differently).
Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

[chinsNdobermans]

My father built a custom wooden cage for my chinchillas when I first got them. It was nice, 100% custom to what I needed, but if I did it again, I'd make sure I had some sort of guard over the framing to protect it from urine. Small mesh wire prevented most chewing on the framing but I had a real urine sprayer back then and it did tend to weaken the wood over time.

 

[ticklechin]

I love mine, the tiled shelves are easy to clean, mess on the floor is limited, they are on wheels so they roll easily.

 

[Tricialynn]

We are lucky that the boys have never sprayed anywhere. I love the look, and the cleanliness of the wooden cages.
Tile is a great idea for the larger ledges...will make sure to do that!
Love your cage Ticklechin! How tall is your cage?

 

[ticklechin]

They are 6ft tall, 30in wide and 36in deep.

 

[Kylelemler]

I attached pictures of a custom cage I built if you're looking for ideas. I was wanting one that looked similar to our furniture and not just a metal cage. It has a metal pan at the bottom that you can pull out through a flip down door in the front.

 

[Tricialynn]

Really cute! Thank you

 

[tunes]

Two words - never again. There was a guy who used to make tons of wooden cages, everybody bought them and loved them, so when I had a chance to get a bunch of them second hand, I grabbed them up. Nine of them. My chins have eaten holes in the walls. They have eaten the wooden bars on the front of the cage that support the wire. They have eaten the wood corner posts. Any place that has wood, they have eaten them. I have chins that eaten the entire tops off of their Ryerson runs as well. I hate my metal cages because they are poorly built for what I paid, but they have never been eaten.

 

[Stackie]

I love the look of wooden cages but I'm with Peggy- the way my boys chew through their hidey houses, I'd be afraid of the damage they would do to a whole wooden cage. I've had a pair of boys completely chew up one side of a large wooden hidey house in two days.

 

[ticklechin]

The tile in my cage keeps the chewing on the actual cage to zippo, the cages themselves are chew mark free due to the design.

 

[Stackie]

I'd definitely have to tile mine if I ever had a wooden cage. My boys love to pee on and eat wood.

 

[Tricialynn]

How is the tile attached to the shelves?

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I love my melamine cages more so now that I have ferret nation cages too! It keeps the mess to a minimum. They also have wheels on the bottom. Very easy to wipe clean. The only thing they chew is the wood shelves. If you wanted to add tiles I used liquid nails as an adhesive, and then used grout.

 

[Sovay]

The tile in my cage keeps the chewing on the actual cage to zippo, the cages themselves are chew mark free due to the design.

This is what I did too to cut down on chewing and for cleanliness. But I didn't learn that the first time, and the ledges were a pain in the butt to replace. But once they were back in with tile, they were fantastic...easy to clean, and doubled by being a nice cool surface to sleep on.

Except, the boys still poo'd and peed on them and it always found a way to get between the ledges and wall. It wasn't a huge deal, but it bugged me. I loved the solid cage design and it kept so much of the mess inside and the wheels and jumping were a lot quieter. But, I decided to go with a Ferret Nation because I got sick of how heavy the cage was. I couldn't move it at all without help and it was gigantic (but not as tall as the FN so they have more room now). I was going through a time where I was making a big move and I decided not to bring it with me. Maybe I'll go back, but to get a size that I think is big enough for two chins would be enormous. I had two in the cage before, it was like 30 x 24 x 24 If I remember correctly, but I thought it was a bit snug.

 

[Tricialynn]

Thank you both for your input. Our boys are getting their cage built next week, so hopefully it will be done and here in about three weeks. I will make sure to have the tiles before it comes. I was a little worried about them biting the shelves and stuff, but feel much better now.

 

[ticklechin]

How is the tile attached to the shelves?

I used liquid nail construction adhesive then grouted the tile with non sanded kitchen counter grout.

 

[AmandaDi]

I have 3 melamine cages that I had custom built. I personally like them more than the wire cages. I think it helps to keep the dust at bay and they are just prettier overall. The only wood they can chew on is the shelvs, so the rest of the cage stays really nice!

 

[Tricialynn]

Ashki and Chesmu's cage will be started this Friday. He is even putting a second floor in WITH tile for me. It will be removable for easy cleaning. The man that runs this has been so easy to work with. He has taken all of our ideas, and is going to build this custom cage for us. It should be all that we ever dreamed and the boys will love having all of the extra room. I will post pics when it gets here (which should be in the next two weeks).

 

[Tricialynn]

I will probably still tile the smaller ledges too. The boys don't really pee on any of the ledges, so I am probably going to try to "pan" train them. However, they do like to chew those ledges.