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[ChinchillaChris]

Hello Everyone,
Lately I have found myself very unhappy with my chinchilla's double Critter Nation cage. The pans are super shallow (and the Bass metal pans need to be painted or powder coated plus, they don't make the metal pans for the smaller middle levels on the top and bottom of the cage), the wire bars easily break when you attach an exercise wheel to them, and I just feel like it's poor quality. So, I've decided I would like to build my own cage! Currently I am in the preliminary planning process, I've been doing some research and seeing what it takes to build one of these cages. I shouldn't have much trouble during the assembly of the cage since my grandfather who lives with us is a very handy engineer, my brother is very good a building things, and we have a close family friend who we can call upon for some emergency help. But, I need some advice about materials. For those of you who have built cages, or who are familiar with building cages, I have some questions:
1. What materials did you use for the walls, shelves, etc.
2. Is melamine coated wood a good material for a chinchilla cage? I've heard from some that it's great and super easy to clean, but other have said that a chinchilla can get sick if it starts gnawing on the melamine which is toxic.
3. How did you secure shelves, etc? Did you use gorilla glue or liquid nails? Did you just screw them in, or, if you have an all wire cage, how did you attach the shelves?
4. Was your cage solid sides with a wire front, or was it all wire? If it was all wire, what type of wire did you use? Would you recommend using vinyl coated wire?
5. Finally, do you have any blueprints, plans, or pictures from cages that you have built. A blueprint or plan that I can base my cage off of would be greatly appreciated
Thank you everybody for reading my very long post. You guys are always very helpful when I have questions! By the way, I will make sure to do ALL necessary research and planning before I jump into this project and I will always have my chinchillas safety in mind when building!
~Chris

[GrayRodent]

I don't have all the answers for you but I know some things about building chinchilla cages. The simplest cage would be something like a Martin's cage (http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/chinchilla/). We built a small carry cage for a parrot using the same kind of construction which uses off the shelf parts for that style of cage.

Here are my recommendations:
If you are breeding do not house the female in a cage with more than 1/2" x 1" bar spacing or the kits can get out. This is the typical bar spacing of a chinchilla cage using wire mesh. Bar spacing over 1" cannot be used with animals that are not fully grown.
The floor wire spacing should be no greater than 1/2" x 1/2" square wire mesh.
A chinchilla can chew through a 1/4" aluminum bar.
Never use wire shelves or ramps. Ever. Your pet will probably get hung up on it and die from injuries. It happens frequently.
Melamine can be used as long the chinchilla does not have access to the edges where it can gnaw on it because it is toxic.
Wood frames can be used with wire mesh but monitor gnawing and replace damaged frames. Staples and wire should be placed carefully to prevent injury.
I used to have a cage with vinyl coated wire. I did not have a problem with the 1/2"x1/2" floor pieces but the 1" horizontal bars had evidence of chewing. This is potentially harmful. I now use a powder coated parrot cage and my chinchilla leaves the bars alone.
I make my own shelving. I use stud bolts that screw in. I drill a hole and screw in the bolt then fasten it to the cage on the bolt side with 1" fender washers and wing nuts. This is how commercial shelving is built.
Use unfinished white pine if possible. That is pretty much industry standard.
Never use pressboard or particle board. Those are highly toxic.
I have no blueprints but have documented and diagrammed my parrot cage modification. That might give you some ideas.
http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4091.0.html

Also be very careful about the joints at the floor. I injured a chinchilla because there was too much of a gap once. He fully recovered though.
That is also documented.