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[Lo]

Hi there!

I am adopting a chinchilla next weekend from someone on craigslist. I posted about it in the Q%A. After doing a bunch of research, I am trying to make sure the cage they are giving me is a good one! I know it's nice and big, I will take the ramps out of it when I get one. Do any of you have experience with this cage?

http://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/cages-habitats-hutches/all-living-things-wrought-iron-small-animal-home-zid36-20361/cat-36-catid-600011?var_id=36-20361&_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted

She told me that there is a grate on the bottom, which worried me. But it looks like, according to the description, it can be removed. I am hoping some of you have had or currently have this cage and can maybe clear this up for me?

Thanks so much!

[GrayRodent]

If the wire floor is not at maximum of 1/4" x 1/4" spacing it is dangerous. If those are wire shelves they are dangerous. Wooden shelves should be used for chinchillas. They are easy to fabricate if you have a drill and a saw.
The tray may be a problem if it is plastic. Chinchillas have been known to chew through the floor and escape. I recommend going to tj's chinchilla supplies. They have done a lot of research on their products and are a good place to go. They recommend Quality Cages. Martins cages are good. Ferret Nation cages are good if you get an aftermarket metal floor pan made for chinchillas.
Perhaps someone with experience on this type of cage can comment. My own cage is a modified parrot cage with a different floor.

[kageri]

Rather than remove the wire when we use our bird cage we lay tile over it.  Chins like to lay on granite tile.  It's nice and cool.  The only problem caused by that is that there is no lip to keep poop in.  However, many people make wooden poo guards for shelves and could custom you something to go around the inside of the cage.  Which is the other thing.  They fling tons of poop off their shelves anyway so the stuff from the bottom of the cage is not going to seem like as much.  If you don't use bedding you either need to cover some/most of the floor in fleece to absorb urine or litterbox train them.  It's hard to find metal litterboxes.  For this cage you would also have to replace everything in it with wood shelves.  You can buy ledges from people but it's not hard to make your own shelves.  http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml

Quality cages or ferret nations require less work to modify in to a safe chin cage.  You just need to add some wood shelves.

[Lo]

The shelves are metal but not wire. I can definitely make wood shelves really easily--I have access to a table saw and any tool I would need in my father's shop!

I'm not sure how big the grate of the floor is, that's why I was asking if anyone here has this cage. I suppose I will see when I get it. I can definitely create at tile floor if they would like that--it would be easy and I could actually build a lip as well for it. It would be easy to clean also in that case.

I am very interested in litter training him if that's possible! I'll do some research on that. I'm stuck with this cage for a while since i'm paying a lot of money for this chin and the cage, but I have plans to build a really nice wooden frame one as soon as I can get the supplies together--something 6 ft tall and 3 ft wide maybe. My father is an amazing architect so I have his expertise to help. For now, I'll modify this cage to make it optimal for him following your advice! Thanks!

[kageri]

If they are solid metal you should be able to use the shelves but the cage still needs more shelves and chins get more enrichment chewing on wood shelves.  Also consider mounted houses.  We have a tunnel house from here http://simplychintastic.com/housing.html and look at the summit retreats at the bottom of the page.  They mount on the cage off the floor to make a more interesting house with or without ledge and you can put chiller tiles (granite) on top or in some of them.

[Lo]

Oooh, I LOVE the tile house!! Thank you, I'll order one!

I'm thinking I will make fleece sleeves for the metal shelves, and add two wooden shelves as well. I'm fairly certain he isn't one to chew fabric, as he's had the same bed for a year and the photos I have seen of it have no bite marks, but I will keep an eye on him anyhow.

[GrayRodent]

Chinchillas cannot be "litter trained" like a cat. They typically will urinate only in one spot in their cage and will not urinate outside of their cage once they have established their cage as their territory.
They are poop machines though and that is not something that can be helped. It doesn't come out all at once and it kind of trickles out through the day. The good thing is chinchilla poop comes out mostly dry, does not stain, and does not smell. (Although note that if it does stain and is mushy that is a trouble sign for them). It can be swept up easily with a dust pan and a broom which is mandatory equipment. In my experience my chinchilla poops very little during the day and is a big mess in the evening so I don't have him out a lot at night. When I do I have to be careful to find it all.
Having a converted bird cage myself I understand the mess. If I had the space I would install the seed guards the cage came with but instead I just use a rubber mat under the cage (since it is on carpet that makes it easier to sweep around). Cages made for chins will typically have oversized trays to help. By tilting the shelves downward you can minimize the mess. Personally with one chinchilla I don't think it's a big deal. I sweep around the cage each morning. Most of the mess is made at night when he is most active.
I have a marble slab from a scrapped dresser in my cage. Kulu spends most of his time on it. I have a chin chiller as well (a granite slab marketed for chinchillas) and it makes a nice addition.

[kageri]

Unfortunately simply chintastic builder is waaaaay behind because he can't say no to anyone.  He's not supposed to be taking orders until winter.  He does eventually get you what you want but if you want it now it's best to try to build it yourself.  If we can figure out cutting the doors it doesn't look too difficult.  We are picking up a table saw Monday to start experimenting.  I need some hay boxes anyway.

Litter training chinchillas is more just putting the box where they pee and hoping they keep peeing there.  It has worked for many people.  Like said, they cannot be litter trained to poop in a specific spot so you still have to deal with that but it's not too hard.  Really easy to sweep up if you don't have carpet.

[jmdebb]

you can keep the plastic pan in the bottom in and cover it with fleece.  the cage looks like one of the pruvue cages, and they are decent cages but in the future you might want to upgrade to something bigger.   

i have some houses on my site, it says out of stock, but we are working on some at the moment and will have some in stock shortly. 

jean