Chinchilla Cage HQ » safety

Custom Homemade Chinchilla Cage

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:11:06 +0000

The pictures below are from Erica Vojnich. She did an awesome job making her own chinchilla cage. Her chin, Sophie, is a lucky lady. Her homemade cage cost around $100. This is one of the great examples of a chinchilla cage that people create themselves.

Here are a few notes she had about chinchilla cages, and some precautions for those who want to try to make their own.

1) If the cage is constructed with melamine, make sure your chinchilla won’t be exposed to any of the edges. Melamine is toxic if it is ingested and your chin will most likely chew the exposed edges. The edges can be covered using metal edging. Our cage doesn’t have that issue because we used wood for the shelves and ramps.

2) If wood is used, it has to be Untreated Pine. Since the chin will probably chew the shelves, it has to be something they can digest and it can’t be painted. These chemicals will harm your chinchilla.

3) Please do not put wire or plastic shelves in your custom homemade cages. Plastic is very harmful for them to be digesting. Wire shouldn’t be used because your chinchilla needs something solid to stand, walk, jump and sit on. It is very possible for your chinchilla to injure their feet on wire surfaces. Chinchilla can slip their foot/toe through holes. This could result in spraining, breaking, or cutting a part of the toe off.

4) Try to arrange the shelves so there is no possibility of your chin falling all the way from the top of the cage to the very bottom. We used a series of “L” shapes in our cage divided by a middle shelf. You’ll be surprised how quickly they will learn to jump all the way from the top to the bottom. Still, you want to take precautions. If they loose their footing, the fall won’t be from such a great height.

I completely agree with avoiding wire in your cage, but a metal chinchilla cage is easy to find and cheap. With some adjustments, they can be made safer.

Customizing a store bought cage is another option. You’ll need some chinchilla supplies. Add some shelves to get the “L” shapes Erica talked about in order to keep your chin safe from injury. Covering the sides and floors with untreated, chinchilla safe wood may be an easier way to get a unique cage. This goes for chinchilla bedding, as well. Putting up walls on the sides is a good idea because chins have the amazing ability of shooting their poo out of the cage in every direction. I swear that my chins had a poo slingshot hidden in their chinchilla cage somewhere because there is no other way droppings could fly that far across the room. Sometimes I imagined that they would have competitions to see who could get their poop the farthest. I always hoped to walk in and see Pedro DePacas shot putting a dropping.

There are a bunch of great homemade cages out there, and I will be featuring some more soon. Thanks for letting me show off your chinchilla cage, Erica.

Turning a Room into a Chinchilla Cage

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:20:40 +0000

Even with a large chinchilla cage, it is important to let your chin out of its cage. They are not fish that you keep in an aquarium just to look at. Letting them out of their chinchilla cage will give you a chance to bond with them. It’s good to give them at least an hour to run around and get some exercise. Do not be surprised if your chinchilla does not sit on your lap and let you pet him/her. It takes a while to build trust. Chinchillas like routine, so it helps to let them out about the same time each day.

You can keep your chins safe when you let them out of their chinchilla cage by taking precautions, and look for anything that may cause your chin harm. As with their cages, the same rules apply to chin-proofing a room. Remove all unsafe woods, chemicals, and other things that a chinchilla could ingest. Lead based paint can be poisonous to the chinchilla. Household plants can cause your chinchilla to get sick. You should cover all electrical outlets. Electrical wires are also dangerous. I’ve heard of people using PVC pipe when they can’t remove the wires. If you are letting the chin run around in the bathroom, make sure that the toilet bowl is down. It’s also a good idea to block anywhere that your chinchilla can hide behind. They are quick to run behind a fridge or behind the dresser that is a pain in the butt to move.

Chins love to gnaw and chew. Do not put them in a room where there is anything that you don’t want ruined (this includes baseboards. You would think my baseboards were raisins the way my chins would go at them.) Unfortunately, the do not wait until their back in their chinchilla cage to pee. I found that the best area to let my chins out was the basement. I threw down some industrial carpeting and blocked off a section that they couldn’t escape from. It’s best to have some sort of carpet down. This will give them some traction as they bounce and run. Hallways are another good option.

Chinchillas are extremely good at getting under doors. I thought Spicoli, my first chin, was a magic animal because of his ability to squeeze under a door that even light had trouble getting under. Once they escape, they can be very tough to catch. It took me forever to find Spicoli the first time. I would often use the chinchilla dust bath to get them back in their cage. Treat or chinchilla food will work as well. The chinchilla is very curious and will get into everything it can. They are also very good jumpers, so it is important to keep that in mind. The most important thing is to keep an eye on your pet when they are out of their chinchilla cage.

Things to Put in Your Chinchilla Cage

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:50:37 +0000

Time to deck out your pet’s home. Here are a few chinchilla supplies that are essential.

A House –

Your chinchilla will want a cozy place to get away. A wood house is ideal because it will give your chin something else safe to chew on. There are plastic houses available, but it should be obvious by now that plastic is not a good option for your chinchilla cage. These are very easy to make, since it can be as simple as a wood box with a hole. Below is a Woodlawn Get-a-Way.

Water –

A water bottle attached to the outside of the cage is the best option. These will have a ball in the tube which will stop the water from leaking. The chinchilla will have to move the ball up for the water to come out. I’ve heard of people using water dishes, but I don’t think it would be worth the hassle of cleaning up.

Food –

Chinchilla food is obviously very important. It is best to go with a quality brand of food. Some good examples are Oxbow, Traditions, and Mazuri. Personally, I bought Oxbow in bulk online. A lot of the food that is on the shelves at your local pet store is full of filler and not particularly healthy. The same can be said for a lot of the treats.

Hay –

High fiber hay is important for your chinchilla’s digestion. The most common types of hay are timothy and alfalfa. Alfalfa hay is very high in protein and other nutrients. Because of this, it should not be your only type of hay. It should be handed out as more of a treat, or to a chinchilla that is nursing. Most stores will have hay racks to put in your chinchilla cage, or hay cubes are also available.

Bedding –

It comes down to using newspaper or wood shavings in the bottom of your chinchilla cage. If you use wood shavings, use Aspen or kiln dried pine. DO NOT use cedar. Choosing chinchilla bedding may seem like a no-brainer, but there are things you need to watch out for.

The Dust Bath House –

No showers for these guys. Chinchillas take dust baths and they love it. 10 minutes a session, a couple times a week, is plenty. It is not good for their skin or fur if they are allowed to hop in whenever they want. If you want to keep the dust bath in the chinchilla cage, you can find (or make) something with a door that closes. The chinchilla dust bath is a good way to get your chin back in it’s cage, as well.

Things to Do and Thing to Chew On –

Besides the fact that you want to spoil your chinchilla, they will need things in their large chinchilla cage that will provide stimulation. You have to keep your chinchilla stimulated to keep them happy. Tubes for them to run through and hide in are great to have. Hammocks will give them an extra place to hang out in. Wood or lava ledges can be bought to add on to your cage. This gives the chins somewhere to stand and something to chew on.

Lava rocks and wood sticks are good for your chinchilla to chew on. Without something to gnaw on, dental problems, such as malocclusion, can occur.

For exercise, the Flying Saucer is a pretty cool invention. Exercise wheels with spokes can be dangerous.