Building a Cage.

It is quite common for people to build their own cages these days rather than buy them. This is a fairly simple and straight forward procedure as long as you think things through carefully before you start. Try to have everything ready before you start. Some of the items you require with be easily available from your local DIY centre, others will have to be ordered from specialist suppliers.

The above picture shows one of my breeding cages that was made from a cut down Thickets House cage. Note the Pop Hole for the Polygamous breeding tunnel at the back. If your cage is just intended to house a pet don't worry about including the tunnel, there is no need.

Chinchilla cages are normally built from 3/4" square, galvanised 16 gauge twiweld mesh. This isn't that easy to get hold of. There are a few suppliers such as Moncasters and Blackwood Wire Products, but check the wire carefully. You do not want anything that has faulty welds or wire that isn't attached or holes for that matter. I would not use anything bigger than 3/4" square mesh. This is just small enough to prevent kits escaping.

Before you cut the wire think about the size cage you want to build. Remember chinchillas prefer length to height. Tall cages are only suitable where there are floors splitting the tall cage into separate levels.

Next can you build the cage without cutting the wire ? In other words can you bend the wire to make the walls as you unroll it ? This is very difficult and I would recommend wearing thick gloves and having a couple of long lengths of wood to hand to use to give you a right angle edge to bend the wire against. What is the advantage of not cutting the wire ? For one thing, noise ! Cages made from separate panels of mesh tend to rattle as the chin moves around in the cage. This may not sound too bad, but at 2 am in the morning when the house is deathly quiet the noise from the mesh will carry quite a distance. To make the bend lay the wire on the floor, place the wood along the width of the wire and pull it against the right angle of the corner to create a 90° corner. This is easier than cutting four wall panels and joining them together. What is the advantage of cutting the wire ? The lengths are easier to handle and are less bulky. The combined length of all four walls can be a bit unwieldy.

Use wire cutters to cut the wire. Remember that the cut edge will be sharp so be very careful. Use a file to smooth the sharp edges. Paul Spooner does sell a pair of wire cutters that are not beveled on the cutting edge. This therefore produces less of a sharp point which in turn needs less filing.

Wire cutter from Paul Spooner.

Having made the necessary cuts and filed off all the sharp edges you now have to put the sides together. To do this use C clips. These are thin strips of metal that can be bent around the edge of both sheets of mesh to form a join. C clips and the pliers necessary to bend them can be bought from Paul Spooner. Make sure you join the mesh at regular intervals along the join just incase some should fail. Use enough clips to prevent any gaps in the join.

C Clips	C Clip Pliers

Having now formed the walls it is now necessary to attach the floor and ceiling. The ceiling is simple as it is just a section of mesh the same size as the four walls attached to the edge of the wall mesh by C clips. How you fix the floor mesh will depend on what you are putting under the cage. Are you using either a stand in or slide in metal tray to catch all the droppings or are you using a cage suspended over a shelf covered with newspaper to catch waste. If the former attach the floor wire at least an inch above the edge of the walls to give you room to slide the tray under and allow droppings and urine to drop through and not come into contact with the chins fur, thereby preventing cage staining. To do this fix a section of mesh about the same size as the roof about an inch or two inches above the level of the tray. A slide in tray is the same design, but the cage has to be lifted off and on the base to clean it.

Next attach the shelves. These are best made from kiln dried, solid pine planks from your local DIY centre. Edge the shelf with aluminium to prevent the chin chewing the shelf. This will mean you do not have to replace the shelf in a few years time.

To attach the shelf use long screws through the wire into the wood of the shelf. Use a large washer to provide anchorage and prevent the shelf slipping.

This will also protect the wire. Because the shelf is only attached at two points on each end of the shelf a lot of force is put on the attachment points. If a washer is not used to spread the pressure the wire will snap.

Next attach the food bowl or food trough. Again these can be bought from Paul Spooner. Cut the wire above a horizontal stretch of wire and bend the cut length upwards. Only cut enough to allow you to insert the trough from the inside of the cage. Attach it to the cage wall using the springs provided for the task. Take up any slack by passing the spring above the bent wire. This will also pull the edge of the trough up which will help food drop down into the cage for the chin to eat.

The next step depends on whether you wanted to fix the dust bath to the cage permanently or just put it in the cage when you want to use it. If you want it attached, hold it up to the front of the cage and cut a U shape through the wire to allow the bath to be passed through. The bath will hang suspended from the wire when not in use, but can easily be pushed through into the cage to allow the chin to have a dust bath.

All that is required now is to cut a door way into the cage and attach a door. This will vary in size from person to person. In my own cages the doors hinge downwards, and a lock is made by bending a strip of wire into a Z shape and attaching it to the roof above the doorway. As the edge of the door is bent outwards a catch is formed that holds the door securely closed.

To sum up you will need :

· plans for your cage, or at least a clear idea what you want to build

· 3/4" galvanised wire mesh

· C clips

· Clip pliers

· wire cutters

· metal file

· feeding trough or bowl depending on preference

· aluminium strip (U section) to protect edge of shelf

· slide in or stand in tray

· 2" square length of timber to help bend wire if not being cut

· plasters

· patience of a Saint

All that needs to be said now is good luck.

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