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[flynhawaiian]

I've been watching my two chins playing for a while and they seem to love to bounce off of walls a lot.  I've been thinking about building them a new cage or a habitat at some point but I haven't come up with an idea that I absolutely love. 

When I see pictures of wild chinchillas I see them playing on rocks and living in tunnels.  One question I have is do you think a larger horizontal cage would be better than a taller vertical one.  We have been thinking in our next house to have a chinchilla room.  I've been wondering if maybe one of those plexiglass cages they have at petco would be better than a wire cage.  Thoughts?  Basically, if you had a million dollars to spoil a chinchilla how would you build them a cage.

[chinclub]

I would go with height over length since chinchillas love to jump.

If I could build my perfect cage it would look something like this:



Plexiglass can be dangerous since it will hold in heat and could cause your chinchilla to overheat.  You would have to be very mindful of ventilation on the sides of your cage.

[flynhawaiian]

I actually like that cage a lot.  Looks like the framing is made of an oak 1 x 4".  Looks to be about 6-ft tall or so.  What about rocks?  I just keep thinking that maybe having some rocks in there would be a good thing but I haven't figured it all out yet.

Right now they are in a wire cage from valley view chinchillas, the biggest one they had.  I just keep thinking that they should have a bigger cage, so they can jump around.  We have a small play pen that they love bouncing off the walls of.  We just want them to be happy :-)

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I love that cage, but I'm not a big fan of height. I have had some injuries, and prefer to give them as much width. So I'd say my favorite would be long and mid high. Though most of my cages are rectangle.
And I love plexieglass on 2-3 sides, with mesh doors and roof.I'd never close it right in, but sure saves on the mess.
I start with a pine frame of the size I would like and go from there.
Buying plexieglass is expensive, so go with a small mesh, as it will helps keep the mess inside. I use 1/4 inch, little squares. the only problem is you can't touch them through the cage. I love being able to just give them a scratch as I pass by.
Cages are just way too much fun to build, and the best part is setting up the interior. I love to watch them explore their new surroundings, and know trouble to tell when they are pleased.

[flynhawaiian]

I actually wish I had a metal shear and brake.  I could make the metal cages myself a lot easier.  We think our female is pregnant, which is a bad and good thing since we want little babies but don't want to separate them.  I need to get a new cage I think once the babies come around, so I can separate him from her for a little bit.  He's not going to be too happy about that though.  I fear we will have the male female cage very soon.

The plexiglass idea comes from the fact we like taking the "cute" pictures of them and the wire mesh doesn't yield to taking pictures nicely.



Cuddles, female, is the pink white and squeaks, male, is the charcoal

[gina]

Chinclub, where'd you find that photo of the "ultimate cage"? Been looking @ websites as well..haven't found anything tall enough- but that one would "do it". Is it a custom build? For sale? Or just the result picture from schematics on a build your own? Please advise.....respond.... Thanks!!!!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Oh  flynhawaiian, what a beautiful pink white 
I have to laugh about taking pics through the cage, if you get close enough the camera won't pick up the mesh. I end up taking many of pics that way. As soon as I open the cage door they just want out LOL

[flynhawaiian]

Cuddles, is actually really cute.  For some reason she loves sitting on my shoulder, but the fiancee can "snuggle" with her.  We think she's pregnant, we've seen them breeding 4 or 5 times now.  Also, she seems to "snuggle" up more on him than normal and laying on her side more.

I’m actually working on a set of schematics for that cage.  I've got it partially drawn up but if you give me a two weeks or so I should have a good parts list.

Rather than the galvanized wire mesh I want to use stainless, because I believe that during the process of galvanizing there are extra chemicals that I don't want them chewing on.

Few additions to this cage that I want to make.
(1) A drawer at the bottom that folds over, like a keyboard drawer, to reveal the tray at the bottom.
(2) I think using mesh at the bottom, where the white fluff is at the bottom, would make it easier for cleaning.
(3) The use of glass bottles and not plastic.  Also, I would have one at the top and one at the bottom.
(4) This one in the picture is made of oak, I’m not sure if it's safe for them.
(5) A granite stone on level 2.
(6) Height to not exceed 5-ft
(7) Larger Caster wheels with brakes.
( There needs to be a wheel in there for them.

Since I need to make two of these I probably won't make them till I move this summer, but I'll provide the list.

[chinclub]

I didn't realize we were talking about breeding chinchillas.  That would change my ideal cage.  I have found that some chinchillas will move up away from newborn kits if given the chance and the number of lost kits increases.  If I were building a pet cage for breeders I would create a closure so that mom could be locked in the lower level just before delivery.  I would leave her there with babies for the first 2 weeks.  Debbie, what are your thoughts on this?

Is this their first litter?  You may not have to separate them.  Males are usually wonderful Dad's.  I would try them together and just keep good records.  Many females are good about keeping the male at bay after delivery in larger cages and don't get pregnant right away.  If she should get pregnant again right away, one breed-back won't hurt her and you can always separate after the next littler.  But hopefully you will find you don't need to.  I have successful kept several pairs together who spaced their litters well naturally.

Gina, that picture was an example picture.  It wasn't on a site with instructions.  I think I have a link in the Chin Club members area for a cage like that though.  Are you a member?

[flynhawaiian]

That's the type of cage we have now.  It has a trap door that separates the top from the bottom.  But I was thinking about keeping the babies separate.  We didn't want the male and female babies together because we don't want them breeding.  We still don't know 100% that she's got little ones growing but she's being laying on her side a lot and "cuddling" even more than normal.

We aren't breeding for selling them I actually want a small herd :-).  Maybe I can train them to be seeing eye chinchillas!   

I was thinking that the pair, cuddles and squeaks as show above, would like a big cage and the babies would eventually be in the smaller cage that we have for them, unless I make two big cages.  Then we would use the smaller cage 30x30x18 for when she gets pregnant or one gets sick and needs to be separated.  My fiancee used to breed bunnies, but now that she doesn't have bunnies anymore we got the chinchillas and we have never been happier.  It's great to just look over and see them enjoying life.   

[gina]

Jamie,
Yes Im a member of the chin club! Do I get special info if I am? (if so, yaaa!) Im not a breeer nor am I looking to become one. I just want to spoil the 2 ones I have.  My goal is to have a cage larger than my own bed!  They already have a playroom free of wires and wood trim for them to run around in...just want to make the time they are in their cage more fun and enjoyable....

[chinclub]

There is a section in the members area (which I just updated) under Health,Care,Cages  then  Building a Cage with links to all sorts of different cage designs and building plans.  It should certainly help you come with your perfect cage design.