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[Snickerdoodlesmom]

Hi everyone, I've been absent here for awhile-- I started college recently and have been too busy to check the forums   I'm looking to purchase or make a new cage for Doodle, but as I live in New York City and am completely ignorant of woodworking techniques, the building my own cage thing may be a problem. so I was thinking-- what if I buy a large metal frame and add in wooden shelves? Does anyone have experience with that?

[GrayRodent]

Welcome back. I'm glad to hear Snickerdoodle is doing well. I was afraid something happened to him.

I have a Ferret Nation 182 now, (you can also use a Critter Nation that has narrower bar spacing). My old parrot cage is now being used for a parrot (what a concept!). Reuben died and we have a green eclectus now. With this cage you will have to get the aftermarket metal pans if you go that route because making a custom floor for that one was a big job. Making shelves is dead simple. Just saw to length, drill holes in the ends with a regular power drill, they don't have to be perfect, screw in some stud bolts and you're done. Just measure from the inside of the cage up to the bars where the shelves will be bolted to. Before you drill place the cut wood into the cage where you want it and then mark with a marker where you want the holes between the bars. You'll want two bolts on the long end and one bolt on the short end on the front side. The bolts should be at least 1" from the edge of the wood.

This will prevent gaps in the installation that can be potentially harmful. With 1" bar spacing there's a lot of wiggle room but smaller bar spacings will require a bit more precision.

Use fender washers and wing nuts that fit onto the stud bolts. This can be done with any chinchilla cage.

You don't want to use a metal frame unless you know how to weld. Gaps between metal grating and metal bars are extremely dangerous. Use a solid prefabricated cage that is all metal, has about a 1" bar spacing or less, and go from there.

I have posted a diagram here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1459579484355695&set=a.1389112151402429.1073741828.100009109720588&type=1&theater

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

He's doing really well! He's super annoying as usual and always tries to eat my textbooks, but we've bonded even more than ever. Sometimes he sits on my shoulder now and just happy-chirps in my ear.

Unfortunately, I can't do any woodworking- I live in Manhattan I was thinking of purchasing premade shelves.
One of the problems I have with Doodle's cage now is that the wire is so flimsy... What gauge should I look for in a cage?

[GrayRodent]

The FN-182 uses 12 gauge wire. Some users complain it is flimsy but I've found it to be just fine for normal things so I would say 12 gauge is the limit for 1" bar spacing. A CN-182 has narrower bar spacing so it can get by with a smaller gauge. Another exception is if you have a wire grid such as a Martin's cage but they're kind of their own thing. It really depends on the bar spacing and how the vertical bars are arranged.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't be able to make your own shelves. I've done it on a picnic table with a simple hand saw and a 6 foot board at an RV park so you can really do it anywhere. You can even use a battery powered drill. You can buy pre-made but you'll have to have them custom fit and measured or just deal with whatever you get. With my little infographic that might help you with ordering because that's pretty much how everyone does them.

[Snickerdoodlesmom]

GrayRodent, thank you for your advice! I am considering making my own shelves, but I'm not sure from where to order the KD pine. Is yellow pine okay?
As for the gauge of the cage, as of right now, we still have the super pet multilevel ferret cage (the purple and green plastic one... Yuck!!!). I'm wondering if anyone knows the gauge of the wire used in that cage, because we have had problems with wire snapping off and I'd like to ensure that I'm buying a thicker wire.

Also, is Elmer's wood glue truly safe?
Thanks again

[GrayRodent]

I've used Aileen's tacky glue to make paper toys for my chins to play with and they were completely unaffected. (Since then I don't give them a lot of paper. There's reason to suspect paper and cardboard can cause bowel obstructions). Considering my chinchilla ingested the glue with the paper I'd say there's some limited proof it's not harmful. Of course I'm more willing to accept it's not harmful because if it were we'd see many children being poisoned by it. Make sure it says "non-toxic" on the label and conforms to ATSM specs.

Without knowing the model of the cage in question there's not much I can do to help you search for it. This is a kind of question that you should be able to ask the manufacturer.