Old DFN help

[tinypixiexoxo]

Hello friends,

I recently acquired an older Double Ferret nation (142, I think) from craigslist. It was used for ferrets and I had to really wash the thing. Anyhoodles, I have some questions about being able to use it for my Chin.

We've thoroughly washed and towel dried all the pieces, but there is some rust. Mostly on the inside perimeter bars, and in the corners. We will need new screws for sure.

But there's also a lot of rust to those black connector thingies. Can they be replaced? Is there something else we could use to attach levels and pieces?

We threw out the middle level plastic, and probably will throw out the metal bars that go below the plastic. We envision it to be completely empty on the inside, then fill it with wood toys and ledges.

Any recommendations on DIY ledges? How about people who sell ledges that would work with my older DFN?

What products are best to use when cleaning it while in use with my chinchilla?

Any toys, fleece, sleeper, etc ideas? I already have this little fleece bed thing that she loves, and her cooling plate, a wood house (needs to be secured! how?) and some small hanging chew toys. Ideas needed to keep her occupied, safe, and happy?

**EDIT

Can I use rust-oleum on in to cover the rust and essentially "re-paint?"

 

[Jazicat]

We kept the middle part of all of our cages just in case they fall. I would be careful to make sure there is no way for your chinchilla to fall from the top to the bottom. My husband makes all of our shelves by getting kiln dried pine and hardware from the hardware store (Lowes or Home Depot). I have sewn my own hammocks but have gotten most of our chubes and fleece ledges from vendors on the board here. I get cuddle buddies from ChinChic and one of my chinchillas LOVES his so much we actually need to replace it. If you need new pans check out Bass Equipment as they make pans for the FN. Hope that is helpful.

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

Thank you, it was helpful. Good tip about not being able to fall all the way down. Would it be possible for me to construct a middle ledge out of wood that is pretty large?

 

[Tagna]

Hang on to the connectors. Midwest no longer makes them!

 

[Jazicat]

I don't know why you couldn't. I know that some people also use a large hammock. We are going to tile our FNs soon by putting them over the bars and put together so no toes can get stuck. Right now we are researching how to do it.

 

[Pookinaround]

You could paint the connectors...also I use baby oil to help prevent and take rust off (wipe the screws with it too)... I tried calling Midwest to buy new hardware and it is all discontinued...if you can get the rust off I would go that route vs. painting...just depends how bad...

Whenever I buy a used FN or CN I COMPLETELY tear it apart and wash each piece individually...there is stuff that gets inside and is really gross...I first spray it down with antibacterial cleaner then scrub with antibacterial dish liquid then spray to rinse...it takes me a while and maybe I do it to the point of overkill but that is what I do anyway....(really spray into any openings with as high of water pressure as you can...)

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

Thanks guys. I had issues getting inside the hollow perimeter bars. I pulled a nasty beetle out of one... Thinking about using pipe cleaners or something to get in there. As for the rust, it's actually not all that bad. The screws are the worst, but the bars and such are all pretty good, actually.

I shall have to browse the vendors and make purchases soon!

So with the connectors, we are already missing some. Is there no way to secure them together with other pieces from a tool/hardware store? I'm worried that missing 2 connectors, the structure will be compromised. Maybe I can go online to see if any soul out there is selling connectors?

 

[rs117]

Maybe I can go online to see if any soul out there is selling connectors?

easy enough to make.. just goto the local hardware store and get some 1/2" sq tubing. They might have short pieces,drill a couple holes and good to go

 

[3CsMommy]

Got a shop vac? You can make a pretty good seal around the opening of those hollow bars with the shop vac hose and some duct tape and pull a lot of gunk out them mechanically. You might be able to go a step further and suck a bunch of water through them that way too. They'll probably need a good long time to dry outdoors; I imagine it would be hard to dry it unless you could drag some towel through it on a string.

 

[halfstache]

This may be a dumb question, but are you sure the two connectors are not hidden inside the lower pipes? Down at the base of the lower pipes should have been an insert that holds the wheels in place when the wheels are inserted. That piece blocks the bottom of the otherwise hollow pipe. If you take the lower pieces apart and turn them upside down and shake them for a bit you might find that the previous owner allowed the connectors to simply fall down inside the hollow pipes. Otherwise you could try checking with the hardware stores for some square channel pipe. You should be able to find one that is the right size and can cut that to the right size and drill a couple holes in it using one of your existing connectors as a guide.

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

Great advice all! I shall investigate to see if I can locate the 2 missing connectors. If not, I'm glad to know there are options.

My fiance is the one who will be doing all of this, in July, so perhaps I asked this thread too early. But I shall print out the responses and save them.