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[GrayRodent]

A couple of days ago we had some really bad storms and had to go to the basement with our pets. We had hail blowing against the windows and at one point I was wondering if one was going to blow in as I was rushing to evacuate my chinchilla. This was shortly after my weather radio alarm was going off with a tornado warning. Thankfully it was just a microburst that didn't cause damage to our property but there were quite a few downed branches nearby. I suppose it's starting early this year.

As a direct result I focused on readying my travel cage for these kinds of emergencies and even an overnight stay downstairs for prolonged tornado threats.

So here it is.

[GrayRodent]

The cage started out as a basic super pet carry cage with the plastic bottom. Early on I put in a wire floor using one of the (dangerous) wire shelves that came from the large super pet cage I was using. After some bending it makes a nice floor and keeps my chinchilla from chewing the plastic and eliminates the need for bedding. It is now lined with a paper towel. My only complaint is that it makes the cage stiffer so it is more difficult to remove the plastic bottom from the cage to clean it.

I had two watering systems from Edstrom since at one point I was going between the both the large Super Pet cage and the parrot cage. I am not doing that now so I made a miniature version that fits on the travel cage. Whether my chin will actually use it I have no idea but it works.

I discovered that the 7/16 (outside diameter) tubing fits perfectly inside of a .38 caliber shell. I cut the end off and slid that behind the watering nipple to make a new chew guard.

I built a reservoir using a 10cc syringe which is way too small but it will work until I can find something better. It can still supply about a third of my chins normal water intake.

I constructed a lid for the reservoir by cutting a hole in the rubber part of the syringe's plunger and inserted a coffee stirrer through it. I then used a rotary tool and fashioned a wire cap into an aerator. Electrical tape was used to hold everything in place and a vacuum line cap was fitted on top. The ridges on the wire cap allow air to flow through the tube and into the reservoir while making it difficult for water to get out and dust to get in.

The system is held in place with stainless steel tubing standoffs that are also sold by Edstrom. I purchased extra ones on my last order because they are cheap and very useful.

The cage also features rods that holds blankets away from the bars. I constructed these so I can cover it with a blanket to keep my chinchilla calm without him grabbing the blanket and pulling through the bars to chew it. I had a big problem with this when I took Blue to the vet. The bars on top are held in place with the same standoffs used for the water system. They are constructed from plastic coated clothes hangars. Pieces of water tubing were fitted over the rods to hold them into the standoffs. Vacuum line caps were fitted over the ends to pad them.

Also I added a stainless steel feed cup and a wood chew loosely fitted to a hex bolt.

[GrayRodent]

What I thought was a microburst may have been winds generated by the formation of a funnel cloud. I saw a photo of it in a local newspaper today. There was a lot of rain that likely obscured the radar. Although it didn't make it to the ground it easily could have.