Learning Center

Cages & Cage Setup

 

 

Cages

Chinchilla cages should be all metal with no plastic shelves or plastic cage connectors inside the cage as chin are “opportunistic chewers” and will test nibble everything and chew through anything they find interesting. Vertical cages are better than horizontal cages since chins are more “mountain” type animals being from the Andes Mountains.

Please do not get a cheap cage. Cheap cages and chins do not match. For our Chin Rescue, our favorite cage and the only ones we use in the rescue are the Midwest Critter/Ferret Nation (CN/FN) cages. Beloved by chin owners, they will last a good 15-20yrs with little maintenance. All the cage parts are interchangeable (front/back, sides, CN/FN) which allows for lots of configuration options leading me to call them “cage legos”.

Highly configurable, each single-story CN cage is 12 cubic feet in area, a true 36” wide x 24” deep x 24” tall (plus the base height if used). These cages use pin/slots for assembly (no screws – except the base stand) can be put up/taken down in less than 5min. We basically never use the little half shelves/ramps that come with the cage; instead, we use plenty of wood shelves mounted to the side walls which gives the cage a rock climbing wall feel giving the chins lots of natural exercise with places to jump around to/on plus wood to chew on and it also opens up the cage allowing us to easily reach all corners of the cage. Cages are typically available via online only (Amazon Prime, Chewy, Petco, Petsmart, etc) and one can get an add-on kit for a second level if desired and is also great for quick spare parts too (or one can always get parts via Midwest or even find used cages on eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Martketplace, etc.

A singe story Midwest Critter/Ferret Nation (CN/FN) cage works as well and still a very good size for one to three chins. These cages are stackable allowing one to purchase an add-on cage later to expand the size. — smile.amazon.com/dp/B001NJ0DAE

A double story CN/FN cage works great if one just wants to give Chins a huge environment (aka 5000sqft house) for a little more money. Taking out that center non-structural floor opens the cage up to one huge cage with four doors and still only one pan to clean. Plenty of space for wood shelves, wheels, hammocks, tunnels, etc. Or use a second solid pan and you have two cages in one stack — smile.amazon.com/dp/B001NJ0DAY

Cheap cages that have a sliding plastic tray under a wire floor, are basically a bird cage masquerading and marketed as a small animal cage by vendors who are just trying to sell their cage to as many people as possible without caring if those cages really are appropriate for the marketed animals. Most even use plastic or wire mesh shelves which are also not recommended for chins (no one wants calluses on their feet which is why we wear shoes and have callus removal products) 

The problem with these cages is they are designed mainly for birds and some only have one door or multiple small doors which makes it difficult to catch chins, clean, add wheels or rearrange shelves (without taking the cage apart). All these cages typically use bolts requiring a much longer assembly time, sometimes the bolts rust making them impossible to remove while trying to take apart the cage again, spare parts are hard to impossible to obtain from the manufacturer. The tray on these cages, sits below a wire floor which is not good for animals who have constantly stand on it (do you want to constantly stand on a wire floor or have calluses all over your feet? Chins do not wear shoes). One cannot cover up the wire floor as nothing would fall into the tray (making it worthless) and thereby forcing all the cleaning again thru those small doors. Since the tray slides out the front, one cannot just remove the wire floor or the chin simply pushes the tray slightly forward and escapes out the back or even chews a small hole and escapes (they are that smart). On these cages, the side wire is also typically thinner gauge wire (it was designed to keep birds from flying) and does not typically have the strength to hold up long when wheels and wood shelves are attached (definitely use 2″ fender washers on both side of any shelf bolts/screws used spread that weight across several cage wires – think snowshoe support).  Any included plastic shelves should be removed so chins do not chew them and wire mesh shelves should be at least covered with anti-pill fleece to avoid chins form having to stand on them all the time (but in covering them you need to remove the covers in roder to wash them). We would recommend removing both versions and only using wood shelves mounted around the side (think rock climbing wall).

Basically, these cheap cages can/do work with plenty of workarounds, hacks, etc but, there are better bang-for-the-buck, easier, and lower maintenance options avaialble.

Pans

While the plastic pans the come with the CN cages work, they are only 1/2” in height so bedding/poop tends to get kicked out all the time as well get chewed up. While the CN tray is nothing special, the cages themselves were popular enough for 3rd party vendors to make replacement metal trays. Hence we consider the best pan for the CN cages (and the Ferret Nation cages) is the 3” Stainless Steel (SS), non-chewable, rustless pans from Bass Equipment (the bottom pan is what we use in all the rescue cages).

The 3-inch depth helps keep the bedding/poop in the cage and not kicked out. While galvanized pans may be available at a cheaper price points those pans will eventually rust out in ~5-7yrs as the pan is still a wet environment. The advantage of the plain stainless steel pans is that they will not rust and can be scrubbed and disinfected easily (chins do not care about swirl marks) and again will last as long as the chin and the cage (or longer). We have SS pans that are approaching the 15yr mark and still look almost new when cleaned.

Wheels

Chinchilla Wheels should be all metal (never plastic), at least 15” in diameter to keep chins from having to bend their backs while running and a roughly 6” deep running track giving the chins plenty of room to run without hitting sides, bouncing against the back and falling out (ala like trying to take a shower in a too small shower and trying to raise your elbows to wash).

Some chins just love to use the wheel as a front porch swing (sitting, napping, etc) since it is curved, cozy and cool. Technically, it is a cave which by definition only has a single entrance and all other side coved (it just has a “really” big front door). The three recommended wheels also have easily replaceable ball bearings which means that the wheel itself will last as long as the chin and cage. We have some older Chin Spin wheels that are approaching 20yrs old and with new ball bearings spin just as good as the brand new wheels.

Hay Bins

Never use those round metal hay balls that are sold. Chins have gotten fingers and toes caught in the between the tines and besides they tend to be small and a pain to put hay into them all the time.

Any Hay bin that hangs on the side of cage will spill up to half its hay on the floor just because it is next to or on the outside of the cage. Chins are messing when they pull out hay and do not care where it goes as they are not the ones that have to clean up.

For a simple Hay bin (and again what we use in our rescue cages) is one that hangs in the middle of the cage, thereby keeping hay inside and not outside on the floor. The Perky Pet Feeder has a removable plastic tube that when removed leaves a great all metal bin for hay. This Perky Pet hay bin has 1 inch square wire which means no trapped fingers or toes and the chins can climb in or out without issues. When adding hay to this bin, tightly compress the hay inside it so, the chins really have to work to pull out strands of hay. If one needs to hang it farther down from the top of the cage, we recommend a good dog chain as they come in different sizes(heights), hold up to chin chewing, a tight chain weave (no caught toes) and rust-proof.

Shelves/Tunnels

In our rescue, we never use the shelves that comes with cages as they are typically either plastic (not good for chewing), wire (not good for standing on) or so big that they become another pan to clean. Instead we recommend using all wood shelves which become more chew toys for chins. Chins also do not need ramps (since they can easily jump 4-6 feet up and with opposable thumbs can climb sides like ladders), unless it is medically needed or older chins that may be arthritic. If ramps are if truly needed, one can just mount a wood shelf at an angle which makes an instant ramp, slide or just another different parkour surface. Chinchillas are parkour experts.

Shelf Construction:

Shelves/Tunnels for chinchillas

Chinchilla Shelves are an easy DIY project. These items are made with Kiln-Dried (KD) lumber. Kiln-Dried lumber is Pine/Whitewood dried in a kiln which makes it dimensionally stable (no warping) and more importantly for Chin Owners; KD wood is sterilized and with little/no sap left (no one wants maple syrup in their hair). Head to the local lumber yard (Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, ACE, etc) and buy 1×4 or 2×4 kiln-dried (KD) pine boards in whatever length (4’, 6’, 8’) you might need for all your shelves (and whatever fits in your vehicle) or have them cut to size if you don’t want to cut it yourself. I tend to make our shelves any where between 4-8 inches in length (no longer than a chin). Keeping them small allows for more in the cage and chins won’t pee on them since no one ever likes to sit in their own wetness.

Tunnels:

Tunnels - Chinchillas

If you can make shelves, Tunnels are a snap.. just use 1”x6”x8” for all four sides and some 2-1/2” cabinet screws to attach the pieces together (I use one per side in the middle) You can even use food coloring (FDA Approved ) to make tunnels and shelves in different colors.. 😁

Installation:

For connecting shelves to the side of the cage. I would recommend basic screws over Hanger bolts. Commercial Sellers (including us – See our Chin Store for shelf/tunnel bundles) of Chin Shelves will use hanger bolts and Wing nuts since this requires no tools for Buyers to install. But for DIYers, screws are a better choice as hanger bolts require pre-drilling, special tools and can be a PIA to take out and reuse. I like to use GRK cabinet screws (wafer head and no pre-drilling) and 2-1/2” in length which reaches over halfway thru a 1×4, 2×4 making for great support (not that a chin is that heavy 😁) and 1/4”x2” Fender washers (from Ace/Amazon Hillman 290021 Zinc 1/4″ x 2″ Fender Washers, 100 Pieces – HD and Lowes don’t carry them that big) so the support and weight is spread across multiple wires (think snowshoe).

When a shelf or tunnel is attached to a cage wall, use one washer on each side of the cage wall as this sandwiches the cage wire between the washers. On a 1/2” spaced wire cage, one should be able to cover four wires with each pair of washers. By doing this, cage wires will not be twisted, stressed and broken by the chins playing on the shelves/tunnels. In over a decade of using this technique, we have never had cage wires broken and in fact, I have repaired a few broken wires on some cages that came into the rescue using this technique.

Fastener cabinets - Chinchilla cages

Fender Washers - Chinchillas

Shelf/Tunnel Placement Tips:

Chinchillas naturally pee in corners. By placing shelves/tunnels at least 1-2” away from corners, we naturally guide them down to the bottom pan to pee and discourages them from peeing up high which helps shelves, cages walls, and outside walls stay cleaner. Keeping the shelves/tunnels to only about 6-8” long (close to the same size as most chins), chins will not pee on them as no one wants to sit in their own wetness which also naturally guides them down to the pan while also keeping shelves cleaner for chewing. And with shelves being short, one can place several shelves around the cage wall (think of a rock-climbing wall where there is always a hand/foot hold within reach). This allows the chin plenty of in-cage exploring, exercise hopping from shelf-to-shelf, hiding places, and lots of different chewing opportunities.

Chins love sculpting (chew) their new wood shelves and personalizing them to their artistic tastes (pun intended). When a shelf is chewed up, just unscrew, swap out the wood for a new shelf and put the screw/washers back in. Presto, a new shelf/chew toy. Heck, the chin may even try it out before you even get those screws back in.. 😉

Summary

While our recommended single-story cage/pan/wheel combo is fairly expensive (expect around $450) this cage, pan and wheel will last the life of a chin (15+yrs) which makes this really a one-time purchase investment in your pet chin(s). And if setup similar to our rescue cages, it is a low maintenance (maybe ~10 minutes a week) cage as well.

Good Metal Chin Carriers
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