You have two options when it comes to cages for chinchillas. You can build your own or you can buy one ready-made. We've actually done both.
Our first cage was typical of pet store cages. Its dimensions measured 3 feet x 1.5 feet x 2 feet and it had two levels. It seemed to be a decent size for one chinchilla, but it didn't take long before we started to think about coming up with our own design. The main advantage of a store bought cage is immediate availability. Pre-built cages can also be reasonably priced given the economies of scale inherent in mass produced products.
Our second cage was one we designed and built. We wanted to build something as large as possible, but still be small enough to move around our house as needed. This meant the cage had to be no wider than 2 feet so that it could fit through a doorway. The length was determined by figuring out what we could maneuver around the hallways of our home. This turned out to be 4 feet. And the height was also 4' mostly because of the size of the materials that we selected (more about that below).
The custom chinchilla cage we built has a 5-sided base (i.e. 4 walls and a bottom) made out of melamine. Melamine is particle board covered with white plastic that is easy to clean with Windex and a paper towel. To make moving the cage easy, we attached strong caster wheels to the bottom of each of the 4 corners.
The sides and top of the cage are made out of white Elfa shelving you can buy from the Container Store. Holding the whole thing together are 1-inch square pieces of wood that run length-wise or width-wise throughout the cage. These pieces of wood also provide support for wooden shelves (4 levels) that the chinchillas can jump onto. The Elfa walls and ceiling form another 5-sided box that sits within the melamine base. Both the melamine bottom and Elfa have a door to allow for entry to and exit from the cage.
To make the cage easier to clean, we put together a 5-sided wooden box which we filled with bedding as a cue to our chinchillas. The wooden box also has a melamine bottom, but it has pine sides since they're exposed and may be chewed.
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I just adopted two 7 month old chinchilla sisters from a private seller and their cage is so flimsey and small I was wondering if you can send me some detailed instructions on hold to build this cage cause my fianc`e is great at building stuff and this looks very inexpensive compared to some of the prices they want for good quality cages out there. I know my girls would love this too. Thank you
I made a cage similar to the one shown except using the cheaper shelving available at Lowes, Walmart, or Home Depot. Thanks for the idea on the cage. The only issue with using the cheaper shelving is that you need an angle grinder to cut off the L-lip so that the shelving is flat (no lip). Using the tie-wraps to put the walls together worked great and I used that concept to repair my store bought cage. The advantage to making your own cage is that you can make it any size you want.
Door closing question: The top of my door leans out a little bit since it isn't tied and our cage is 6' tall but the chins can't get to that part of the door so no escapees yet.
Otherwise the wood door holds the cage door closed just fine.
If your in the St. Louis area, I'd be happy to make a cage for your chins if all material is supplied.
My only issue with the cage is that the chins like to crawl under it and not come out!!!! I'm thinking off adding the rubber baseboard around the edges to keep them from getting under it and hoping they don't eat it too fast.
Is anyone else having an issue with their chins eating the drywall? My chins have seemed to developed a taste for pealing the surface off the drywall and eating it.
Our Chin-chin hasn't gotten to the drywall as of yet... He seems to enjoy attacking to molding around the house, he just loves to peel the wall paper on the the walls and eat it. But, his most favorite snack of all times is the antique furniture that we have around the house. I guess he prefers the aged wood.
Hello,
I'm trying to find a cage like yours that is for sale online but haven't had any success. I have seen the ferret nation and critter nation ones but they have ramps and holes in the floor; they're not really what a chinchilla wants. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank You Very Much,
Paul Nichols
We have the largest cage that they sold at the pet store, and in comparison to the cage you show above, our is a piece of junk. We have only had it a couple of months, and it is breaking at the welds. Maybe our Chin-chin is just a little too active for it...
If you could send me some more detailed information on how to build this cage I would appreciate it. The Army has made it that I only know how to follow very simple instructions.
I appreciate any help you can provide with this.
Thank you.
How did you attach the top and the door ? How do you keep the door closed?
On the wood edge on the outside of the shelves, how did you attach to the plywood without having any screws or nails sticking out?
Please send me a list of items you used to do this....This is awesome.....
Thanks.....
Good day,
It is a very impressive cage you have there.
Was wondering what is the material used for the cage?
Does the frame of the cage come in stainless steel?
Can provide me with the contact to the supplier?
Thanks
Is there anyway you could send me a link to the supplies you used for that cage ? I would like to build my own cage juset like the one above.