Describe your ideal cage.

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DramaMama

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I just want to know what everyone's "ideal" cage would look like. How big would it be? What would it be made of? What would be in it? What would NOT be in it? What products would most definitely be included?
I'm asking because I'm going to be building a new cage sometime in the near future and I'm sure that some people on here have ideas that I would never ever think of.
Thanks!
:)
 
An ideal cage is going to be different depending on who you are asking. Breeders and ranchers have very different cages than pet owners.

If you are asking what a pet owners cage would ideally have I would say:

Lots of ledges, fleece tube, hammock, chin spin or flying saucer, lava ledges and landings, toys and more toys, hidey house, natural bridges, chin chillers, and that's about it for mine I think.
 
I built my ideal cages and I am in love with them. Big doors, lots of full levels, built in pee box, 3 solid sides, on wheels, BIG, 24x24x72, solid tile surfaces on the flat surfaces for easy cleaning, white background for picture taking, large cage wire for easy scritching.
 
My ideal dream cage would be HUGE! It would be like big enough for me to step in, with lots of wooden branches all over the place for the chinchillas to run around and feel like they're in their natural environment, and not need play time outside the cage. And I would come into their cage to visit them instead of them coming out of their cage to visit me lol.

But that's probably a kind of unrealistic cage.
 
I would change a few things with it as I never built anything before so it didn't go perfectly as planned. But I like it. I only wanted one wall to be solid because after looking at all those pictures of people's homemade cages that only had the door made of wire, I was worried about the air flow (being in a small apartment) but the solid back wall is perfect because I can push the cage up against a wall in my room and not worry about the wall getting dirty or Chloe trying to eat the paint off of it. Wheels are a must also. Make sure you have all the wheels swivel, no rigid castors--learn from me!! I have two swivels in front and two rigid in back. Figured it would be like front wheel drive in a car but it's slighty annoying to move sideways. I can replace them though, I'm just lazy. I also made the litter base 8 inches high. It keeps in SO many more shavings and poo than her old cage. My floor stays pretty clean.

And--all the panels are on hinges, so they fold up.

The hardest part was cutting and bending the wire. There was nothing that made it easier it's just tedious and my hand got tired. But once you make a panel or two, you can't stop and it's encouraging to look at the panels and start to actually see your plan off of paper. Plus, I mean what was I going to do with a half built cage in the middle of my room? I kinna had to finish it. Also putting in shelves and the wheel was a bit difficult. Do you know how hard it is to put a shelf on one side of a solid wall while you're standing on the other side and you can't reach around? haha, I figured it out, though.
 

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jessla said:
My ideal dream cage would be HUGE! It would be like big enough for me to step in, with lots of wooden branches all over the place for the chinchillas to run around and feel like they're in their natural environment, and not need play time outside the cage. And I would come into their cage to visit them instead of them coming out of their cage to visit me lol.

But that's probably a kind of unrealistic cage.
Click to expand...

Ideally I would like to do this too but for now I really like my FN142b because it's easy to clean. It also has a lot of room for everything a single chinchilla could want.
 
For me, an ideal cage would have to have big doors that open wide. It makes life so much easier for cleaning, putting in new shelves or toys, and changing food and hay. Also, a pullout bottom that makes it easy to change out fleece or shavings and to deep clean when you have to. Lots of pine shelves to hop around on, and a wheel for exercise. I would like it to be large but not so large that it would be hard to clean the top. If it is tall, plenty of shelves and hammocks to make sure that in case of a fall, the chin wouldn't drop all the way to the bottom. I currently have an FN142, and love it. There is more than enough room for one chin, and I know that when I get a new chin, there will be plenty of room for two or I can separate it if I need to.
 
I love my cages but I was thinking today (when I should have cleaned) my ideal cage would be self cleaning....
 
Jazicat said:
Self cleaning cages would be wonderful, especially for my birds.
Click to expand...

Even better than that! Chins who clean up after themselves! :thumbsup:

My ideal cage would be 6 foot tall, 4 foot wide, 3 foot deep with lots of ledges and shelves and toys and maybe some whole branches of apple or pecan wood for them to play on and chew on. Of course there would also be the much needed tubes, hammocks, coolers and other chin furniture needed to keep the fur babies happy. Built in feeders for easy feeding, built in hay dispensers and see through screening on the sides and front so my chins could see all around them! :)
 
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