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[sarahspins]

Hi! This cage for my chinny:

What was this originally?  I really like the locking doors on the front (though I'm thinking more for my crafting stuff to keep my kids out of it than anything chinchilla-related)

[Puffy Puff]

My humble cage

[GrayRodent]

That is some nice creativity there. If you start noticing any chewing on the plastic I recommend removing the plastic clips and replacing them with more conventional metal fasteners that use stud bolts and fender washers to secure items to the cage bars. They are not as pretty but chinchillas can chew through plastic very quickly and if ingested it can cause fatal intestinal blockages.

I appreciate the design of the wood items though. They are really interesting.

[Puffy Puff]

hi thanks!
noted on the plastic parts...looking for metal parts to replace.

[basil92]

this is my chins cage her name is basil and she loves it so much room for her to run around and jump and play!!!

[GrayRodent]

Looks like fun. I'm not trying to sound harsh but there are some serious problems with your cage setup though. The first thing you'll want to do is remove the ramp that in there. That is extremely dangerous and I can't tell you how many chins have been killed and maimed by getting their feet tangled up in those.

The second thing is to put the water bottle on the outside of the cage and mount it so the spigot goes through the bars. Your chinchilla will likely dislodge it. If it's a plastic bottle (I'm assuming it's glass) it will get destroyed overnight.

The next thing you want to do is remove the plastic tray. The tray may be okay for a ferret but chinchillas will eat anything plastic and this can cause bowel obstructions pretty easily. Having plastic items in the cage is very bad.

You'll want to remove the wheel for the same reason and replace it with a metal one. They are more expensive but it's worth it to take the time to save up for one. These plastic wheels don't last very long, the bearings are terrible and noisy and don't hold up to chinchillas, and if hard plastic is fractured off and ingested it can cause internal lacerations.

You should make some wooden shelves and install those as soon as possible. Having a wood house is good but that's going to get destroyed very quickly without some decent shelving. I can refer you to some information on how you can build shelves with some simple hand tools.

I happen to have the two level Ferret nation cage. I know that the floor tray is plastic as well. I don't think you want to make the modifications that I did to mine unless you're good with tools and fabricating things (I'll be glad to give you some design ideas). I do recommend getting a metal tray that you can find for the FN cage made for chinchillas. These are easy to find online and are commonly used with chinchillas in this style of cage. I know of incidents where chinchillas have chewed through that bottom tray and escaped from their cages. It is something that you'll want to fix right away.

You probably don't want to hear any of this but it is what is it is. Chinchillas are very active and will explore every inch of the cage to find things to chew on and jump off of. Please consider each point carefully. And again, congrats on your new pet. With some adjustment you can make a very nice home from the FN cage.

[basil92]

hey i found what you said about my cage thanks i will look into all of that, she hasnt started chewing not sure if its cause sher is a baby still but she seems to love all of it. i will keep a very close eye on everything and do some reasearch about it thanks

[GrayRodent]

FYI I know of more than one chinchilla that escaped by chewing the bottom trays on FN cages. You will have to fix that ASAP.

[IkiKolohe]

@kathy5, how was shipping off amazon? I am getting either a critter nation or ferret nation off of their, and want to know how it came to you in

Living in Hawaii, you have to be creative in your thinking sometimes.  I WANTED a Double CN and an add-on CN from Amazon - both are prime.  They won't ship the double to Hawaii... damn.  So, I figured out if I buy a Single CN (which they will ship prime) and TWO add-ons, I can get the same 3 stories for just a few dollars more!  WAY better than the only place I found that WOULD ship here... for $199!!

If you are on the mainland and a prime member, Amazon Prime is free shipping!

[GrayRodent]

That's funny.

I just re-read the comment that I made of that chinchilla who escaped from the FN cage. I've been making a video presentation of my cage. Just shot the last camera scenes yesterday. There was someone I clearly remember who said their chin chewed through the bottom of the cage and escaped. Looking carefully at the way the cage is constructed I think the only way that was possible is if the middle and the bottom grates were swapped.

On a standard double level there is a cutout in the corner of the wire grate that the middle tray sits on. This allows the animals to pass between the sections. The other grate is solid all across so the chinchilla which would have made it impossible. Anyway I'm glad you've found a good cage solution. I would think being a prime member would be a necessity over there for most things.

[prince_medion]

Meet Kuzco (beige) and Kronk (pink white) in their critter nation cage. Fleeces made by my wife with terry cloth underneath to absorb all that pee and all wood platforms made by myself. You can't see the water bottle on the pic but it's on the outside on the left. The wheel is the only plastic in there but they never chewed it, and also never used it to my knowledge...although there is evidence of poop in there every day. The dish in front of the hide is a big ceramic pot saucer, they never used the house as a house but rather as a source of hay and they love to pull it onto the dish and spread it out to pick out their preferred bits.

[GrayRodent]

Very nice indeed. I really like that. It looks awesome.
There's no good reason to have a plastic wheel in there. They tend to disintegrate when chinchillas use them and if they are smaller than 15" (most them are) it can be dangerous for them to actually use.
I recommend saving up and getting a chin spin.

[prince_medion]

They seemed to like it too, i mean it's like 4x the size of the breeder's cage they lived in. Not to mention the frequent pop-corning on the day they got home. We made some slight changes since then thou, mainly chinchilla proofing the underneath an side of the cage, and even blocking gaps with boxes did not faze them as they pulled them out (crafty lil devils lol). I will not invest in a metal wheel yet as I have not seem them using the wheel at all. I do have a wooden one though if needs be. I have seen a tutorial to make a wooden a wooden running disc from an ikea cake stand thing which looked interesting.

[ChinchillaGardens]

My picture needs updated. I went crazy buying things since getting him 2months ago. 

Your cage is beautiful. When I get my new cage I am hope my looks half as nice

[GrayRodent]

That's a very nice cage setup. Thanks for sharing.