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Post by zenaida on May 11, 2017 20:18:07 GMT
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Post by deguconvert on May 11, 2017 20:36:23 GMT
It looks AWESOME and definitely looks approved!! Well done, Zenaida!
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Post by moletteuk on May 12, 2017 10:12:04 GMT
Great, that looks really simple to make  Do the same bolts go through the cage wall and into the wheel spoke holes? And then one bolt through the centre of the skateboard wheel and cake tin? |
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Post by zenaida on May 12, 2017 10:58:48 GMT
Yes, that's exactly how it goes. It also has a number of washers and nuts to space it all out so nothing touches. I spent like 45 minutes in the hardware store with the rollerblade wheel figuring out exactly which nuts and bolts to buy to make it work. The most important one is the center bolt needs to be a tight fit with the pan and the rollerblade.
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Post by zenaida on Jun 15, 2017 22:11:00 GMT
I'm just posting updates about how the enclosure is holding up. Hopefully it will help others who are planning a build or need solutions for their own cages. At this point the feministas have been here about 11 weeks. First off, my girls are CHEWERS. In the range of typical, but definitely on the high end of the spectrum. Almost all of the "damage" and modifications I've needed to make are directly related to how much these girls like to use their teeth. Case in point, it took them about 2 weeks to get this front board to this point. I did replace that a few weeks ago because they got so low they started to chew up the vinyl floor. I replaced that tile at the same time I replaced the board.  I've had to make extensive modifications to the front of the bottom level to give them wood to chew, but a system that I can easily replace. At first I was just nailing scrap wood to the wall and front board, but it wouldn't last long and I had concerns about the long term effects about making so many nail holes in the wall.  I started looking at longer term solutions and came up with a bracket idea. With these brackets, I can simply slide in new boards when they have chewed it down. Also in case they get through, there is now metal guards on the front board and the slider tracks. I'm almost amazed at how well it works because the boards are just held in by their own weight, or maybe a little wedging if they are a tight fit.    With the front appropriately guarded, they have started tacking the wall in the past month or so. At first they just chewed where some nail holes were, I patched that. This week they started attacking the other side on an apparently flat wall. I've staple gunned some metal in place. They have shown some propensity to chew at the metal already... Also note how vigorously Trixie is chewing at the front in the first picture. That is fresh wood as of 5 minutes prior to the photo.   Finally the only other "damage" is a little around the base. When we do playpen time, we wrap the pen around the front and they have access to this painted part. We always are with them for playpen time, so we actively shoo them away when they are chewing, but the cumulative damage from little nibbles a few times a day is definitely showing.  The cage is is good shape otherwise. I have a door that I'm watching because it is slightly mis-aligned. I think long term I need to re-install the front pieces to get them to line up better, but it is fine for now. |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 17, 2017 10:17:59 GMT
I don't think that's too bad, like you say, high end of normal, and I think you are doing great running repairs |
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Post by goolover on Jun 17, 2017 21:39:09 GMT
zenaida - can I ask what the white and blue gadget on your wheel is. I know its to spin the wheel but where did you get it? We made a wheel from a cake tin but its so noisy and bangs so we took it out as we didn't have the correct attachment. If we get what you have used we can use it again. Thanks.
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Post by zenaida on Jun 18, 2017 18:48:02 GMT
goolover It is a plain old rollerblade wheel. I got mine from amazon, but I have heard of other people salvaging them from a second hand pair of skates. I think technically I ordered a "razor scooter" wheel because then I was only ordering 2 instead of 4. I found that mine wobbled too much initially (when I did it on the saucer), that also could make noise. The way you correct for it is you need to get your hardware pieces (particularly the bolts) to fit as tightly as possible in the wheel. Look at the difference between the bolts between the saucer post: deguworld.proboards.com/post/153099/thread and the running wheel post: deguworld.proboards.com/post/158574/thread and you'll see what I mean. (I later went back and put in thicker bolts on the saucer so it is better now.) When my girls go top speed on the wheel it does make some noise, mostly just their own feet, but there is a little bit of a "woogle" noise from it from some of the wiggle I just can't quite get out of it. It is comparable to the noise the tic-tac wheel makes though so I figure it is about as good as it gets. If the girls will oblige, I'll get some video for you to hear it.
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 20, 2017 12:45:36 GMT
What were you using for a bearing, goolover?
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Post by goolover on Jun 20, 2017 16:20:29 GMT
We didn't use a bearing moletteuk , just a huge bolt through the tin with 2 thick washers on each side of the cage! No wonder it was banging and clashing duhh!!! |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 21, 2017 9:41:03 GMT
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Post by goolover on Jun 21, 2017 19:04:37 GMT
Thanks for the link moletteuk, I will order one |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 21, 2017 19:41:00 GMT
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Post by zenaida on Jul 5, 2017 22:28:01 GMT
HELP! They are officially chewing through the cage! See pictures in my hideout thread.
So I need to problem solve what I'm going to do long term about this. I can continue slapping little bits of aluminum up on the walls, but the way this crew is, it would mean that eventually I end up with patchwork walls because they won't give up until they go through. They won't get through this week or anything, but I need to stop this.
So I want to make a long term plan. I could...
- Just staple mesh along all the inner walls. Simple, effective, sort of ugly.
- Look for sheets of aluminum or something to put along the back. I'm thinking like the little pieces I already have up, but a big sheet of it.
- Maybe something like the decorative tin back splashes for kitchens? NOt sure how they would hold up, but would probably look nice.
Anyone have other ideas? I'm going to start browsing the hardware store website.
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Post by zenaida on Jul 6, 2017 17:21:35 GMT
With some initial browsing, I'm considering ceramic tile with grout for the whole floors and walls. I'm going to think more, but that's the idea right now...
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Post by deguconvert on Jul 6, 2017 18:14:43 GMT
I like the ceramic tile idea, but I would avoid the grout. It will hold the smell of urine like you won't believe! Although . . . you might be able to get a harder grout, or even a cement that might not stink, or be gnaw-able.
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Post by zenaida on Jul 6, 2017 18:26:12 GMT
Hmmm... it holds the stink? That's no good. I'm fine to do cement or any other material that would be safe for them and not absorb urine. Now time to go down a rabbit hole of materials research on tile, grout, and concrete...
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Post by zenaida on Jul 10, 2017 1:12:09 GMT
So after some research it seems that if I properly seal the grout it is much more resistant to fluids.
I think that this is the long term solution I want to go with, but this lends to other problems...
First of all, this isn't cheap. We can do it, but I'm just really annoyed that it will probably cost another $200+. That's pretty conservative based on just 2$ per square foot for tile alone and needing to cover about 75 square feet. I also would need the adhesive and the grout and the sealer... I really think I need to do pretty much all the walls and floors. They haven't done too much to the linoleum floors, but I bet they go for those next once I take away wall chewing.
Second, I have to figure out how to do it safely. This is a multi day project and all the guides say it needs a "well ventilated area". I can block off their cage section by section, but they would have to be confined for at least a few days while it is in process and I worry about fumes. We might need to figure out some temporary housing or something...
Third, I'm just tapped out. Life is hard enough right now. I'm honestly getting very frustrated with them, bordering on me yelling at them and calling them names when I see the chewing. I just want to play and enjoy watching them, but it is really hard to do that when every time I look into their cage they are chewing something that I know isn't safe (plywood walls). That doesn't even factor in finding the time and energy to embark on this project.
Edit: I should have noted. I've needed to add another two patches since I last asked questions and I see another two areas that they are starting to work at. The pace of their escape attempts is starting to outstrip my will to carry on.
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Post by zenaida on Jul 10, 2017 1:16:08 GMT
Given that I'm just done... Should I just slap mesh up on the walls to buy myself a few weeks before doing something more permanent? Could they magically make trouble with that?
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Post by misscatafer on Jul 10, 2017 10:27:14 GMT
So sorry to hear you are having a difficult time at the moment. Do you think they have enough space in there? Maybe expanding the cage somehow will stop the escape attempts and constant chewing to get out. I understand that may not be possible and may be an even bigger task than tiling... But with 6 degus in a cage designed for 4, maybe they are feeling a bit cramped? I only suggest this as it sounds very much like bar chewing, which I experienced and which stopped when I doubled the cage size. Did you get a chance to try some heavy duty parrot toys or the like to distract them from the walls? They might be a bit cheaper than tiling too!
I have another idea, but people may think it is ridiculous, but maybe they are trying to expand their view point around the room? When I put Boo in the big cage, she found that she went from having 4 open sides to just two... Well she didn't like that and proceeded to quickly make herself a window on one of the solid sides of the cage in order to give herself more light and so she could see us in the kitchen area. If you think about it, at the moment they can only see out of one side of the cage, yet can hear and smell lots of things going on around them from other sides. Maybe perspex or something needs to be considered for the sides being chewed so they feel less caged in and gives them the illusion of more space and light.
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Do the same bolts go through the cage wall and into the wheel spoke holes? And then one bolt through the centre of the skateboard wheel and cake tin?
