Members Show Their Custom Built Cages

	Here is a picture of Chili's handmade cage. The cage is about 2X21/2X3ft high. There has been alot of stuff added/removed thru trial and error. He seems to love it and has alot of room to play all night. We use newspaper for the bottom, put a kitty liter box in the back half with bedding in it for pee-ing, he actually uses it..:}..Then we also put bedding on top of the newspaper, clean it all out every 2 days.
When we got Karma and Kinjin, the previous owner gave us a bunch of precut wood that she had used to make their cage, only it was in pieces, so we had no idea what went where...so my wonderful SO along with my sister and I went over to his dad's shop and we used some of his scraps along with what I was given and we created this cage!!! The girls absolutely love it!!! ~Christi Lewis (This cage is for sale) www.chinchillin.homestead.com/main.html
	Here is a picture that was sent to us by a customer. This cage goes all the way to the ceiling. The doors fold back to expose the entire cage which makes it great for cleaning. Pine goes in the bottom and he uses a small wet/dry vac. to clean it out. ~Jamie Huggable Pets Farm Chinchillas

More Cage building ideas We're starting our own little chin family and decided to check-out the local pet stores for cages ... they ranged from $129 (small 2-level) to $369 (a 3 foot-4 level). They were all "plastic coated" (the plastic is not good for the chins) and, after a short while would look very ragged ... they were out! We were lucky and found a pet shop that was going out of business, selling off every thing. We found four flight cages ... $50 each. For those who are not familiar with flight cages: (1) they are usually used to house birds in a pet shop, (2) they are about 24" deep, 26" high and 38" wide with a divider wire in the center, making two cages in one, with a door for each side, and a slide-out tray at the bottom, (3) these are usually not plastic coated, (4) the wire is usually 1" by 1/2" (great for baby chins). You can purchase matching wire at most hardware stores. It is best to make a landing (or level) about 10" from the bottom, starting at the back of the cage extending forward about 12." This can be attached by using wire ring crimps, especially designed for securing wire together. Underneath this level the chin's wooden hiding box can be placed, for the safety of the baby chins when the Mom Chin decides she needs to "bounce off the walls" or "run around in circles -- top to bottom" ... little ones often do that to moms who are confined. To add a "run" for the daddy chin, so that he may go to visit both females (if you plan on breeding), Just take out a 9" square (with wire cutters -- carefully file off any sharp edges) from the top back half of the divider, then, using matching wire, bend and form a run (passageway) along the back. Make appropriate entrance holes in each side ... You're done! ~JoAnn