Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Cages => Topic started by: Snickerdoodlesmom on January 15, 2013, 01:04:31 PM
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Need to replace plastic shelves with wood. Does anyone make these?
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TJ's chinchilla supplies sells them. I've made my own using 8" x 3/4" unfinished pine planks from the hardware store, sawed them to length then I drilled holes and put 1/4" stud bolts in and used fender washers and wing nuts to fasten to the cage.
I wanted to use 12" pieces but the way the cage is designed it worked out better. Also because of the way my cage is constructed I only had to do that to one of them. When my chin gets bigger and jumps on the higher shelves I may add more.
I'm not sure how cost effective it is compared to ordering them pre-made. You're probably looking at about $20 for an 8 foot plank and about $15 worth of metal hardware.
I also bought a "Lava ledge" brand ledge at Petsmart today and my chin was chewing on it and using it as soon as I had it bolted in. He really likes to chew pumice and I figure this will be better for him at night when I take all the loose toys away from him so I can sleep.
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Grayrodent, beware of Lava Ledges. Ours is the reason that we're getting a new cage: Snickerdoodle loved it so much that he jumped on it all the time and it broke the wire, leaving a huge gap in the cage setup. He can easily escape, so we had to modify the cage... *sigh*
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I remember that now that you mention it. My chin resides in a cage that is designed to withstand the abuse of large parrots. There is no sign of flexing or bending so I'm not worried about it. If it were my Super Pet cage I can see how that could be a problem. For in-between qualities of cages I would mount it so it's near a horizontal bar to minimize the potential for breakage.
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TJ's chinchilla supplies sells them. I've made my own using 8" x 3/4" unfinished pine planks from the hardware store, sawed them to length then I drilled holes and put 1/4" stud bolts in and used fender washers and wing nuts to fasten to the cage.
I wanted to use 12" pieces but the way the cage is designed it worked out better. Also because of the way my cage is constructed I only had to do that to one of them. When my chin gets bigger and jumps on the higher shelves I may add more.
I'm not sure how cost effective it is compared to ordering them pre-made. You're probably looking at about $20 for an 8 foot plank and about $15 worth of metal hardware.
I also bought a "Lava ledge" brand ledge at Petsmart today and my chin was chewing on it and using it as soon as I had it bolted in. He really likes to chew pumice and I figure this will be better for him at night when I take all the loose toys away from him so I can sleep.
I did the same thing; one eight foot board and a cut off saw equals easily replaceable shelves.
My chin also loves the Lava Ledges; we go through around three a month.
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Three lava ledges a month?! Do you have other toys like wood blocks or pumice stones in there? My chin has a lava ledge and it looks like it will last way longer than that. That sounds like it would be very expensive.
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How much does he chew the Lava Ledge? I find that after it gets worn down, if I remove it from the hardware and put it on the bottom floor, Snickerdoodle rests on it as if it were an island in a sea of sharks :D Although this may be because he doesn't like the feel of the bedding; is that possible? We use Carefresh Natural.
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Three lava ledges a month?! Do you have other toys like wood blocks or pumice stones in there? My chin has a lava ledge and it looks like it will last way longer than that. That sounds like it would be very expensive.
My chin has plenty of things to chew on like apple sticks, wooden blocks and a dust stone, but he really likes the lava ledge. The apple sticks are his favorite treat. He could care less about raisins or yogurt, but he'll do anything for an apple stick.
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I do know most chinchillas won't tolerate yogurt but its strange yours won't eat raisins.