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Post by taozhyn on Jul 9, 2010 1:25:47 GMT
Hello all! A newbie here and some questions about wood to use for a cage. I realize that this question probably has been asked, but there is so much conflicting information that I am thoroughly confused. You see, we will be inheriting some baby degus (not sure how many as they were Surprise! babies born of two "male" degus a few days ago and have not looked to see what sex they are) in a month or so and we need to build a cage pronto. We saw the wooden cage that is featured here and decided that this was the best way to go. The thing is, we live in Northern Alberta in Canada and cannot seem to find ANY kiln dried pine at all. We may have some luck if we go to the bigger cities (5 hours away) but that won't be happening anytime soon. We plan on making the main structure from 1/2" MDF. My question is, is there any other types of wood we can use for the levels? (since they may get chewed upon) We thought that we cold maybe make the levels from the same wood as the main structure and put in a lip of maple (baseboard) instead of the pine since according to this list: www.deguworld.com/degucare/wood.htmlmaple is safe for degus. Any advice would be extremely appreciated. |
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Post by smux on Jul 9, 2010 1:53:33 GMT
happydegu.wikia.com/wiki/Wood_for_Degus goes into a bit more detail about the types of wood that are suitable for degus...there's a lot of conflicting information out there, and this list was added to the wiki by Emz (trusted member here, knows her stuff :-)) and I have been improving on the list slowly and adding corroborating info on each wood type where I can. The list was compiled by german degu owners, and degus were being looked after in Germany as pets long before most other countries so they're more likely to have experience in such matters :-) Also, it's not been mentioned, but if levels are metal-edged then any kind of wood would be safe for levels technically as then the degus wouldn't be able to gnaw at them...that's as LONG as the wood in question has no knots in (degus seem to be able to gnaw at knots). However, your best bet is to find safe wood as they do like to gnaw so why stop them :-) The site lists Maple as due suitable, this basically means there is evidence to suggest it may not be suitable but no-one is definitely sure (reason given is it's a respiratory sensitiser (so if they gnaw at it they might be affected...but not definitely, it doesn't affect all degus the same). I personally would use one of the other woods listed as safe if you can get it (or do as I said and metal-edge it). Your idea about using a lip of safe wood at the end of each level is a good one, but you need to be careful to ensure they don't get down to the MDF...You also need to consider how you'll be attaching it, glue is a no-no and nails aren't good for gnawers :-)
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Post by taozhyn on Jul 9, 2010 2:17:10 GMT
That is an awesome list, thank you! I have a question though (oh so many questions). Under the "non-suitable" list there are a few woods listed such as Fir. It says "The bark and needles are toxic, the wood mounted is suitable." What does "wood mounted" mean? Does that mean that I can use Fir panels for the structure? Or is it best that I just avoid this wood completely?
Thank you so much for the quick reply!
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Post by smux on Jul 9, 2010 10:48:20 GMT
Mounted would probably mean in a location where it would not be chewable, but I would avoid it to be on the safe side...hopefully someone else will confirm about fir, and I'll update the wiki :-)
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Post by Kins on Jul 9, 2010 11:12:07 GMT
We used mdf for the shelves as well as the outer box and used kiln dried pine (I'm sure you could find something else to use instead) to overlap the top and bottom of the shelves to stop the boys being able to chew the mdf. We then used self adhesive floor tiles to cover the mdf so that it doesn't get ruined when the goos wee on the shelves and you can just wipe it clean. We screwed the wood edging onto the shelves and can just take it off and put new bits on when they get chewed too much.
There are so many different ways to do it you just need to find the best way for you, at least there are lots of ideas on here!
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Post by emz on Jul 9, 2010 13:52:17 GMT
As a note to anyone, aluminium is too soft for a degu! I am busy trying to find a steel replacement for the double U channel in my cage as there is small grooves chewed out in it lol. Luckily I found a site where I can at least by a strip of steel to protect it. I should be getting some cash this week or next week, so I can re-enforce the cage entrance soon.
My two also seem to miss chewing the mesh even though there is wood everywhere! One was addicted to it. So I am going to add a little climbing frame into the cage with some steel galvanised mesh (found a site that sells a smallish square for a fiver) so they can chew it as much as they please lol.
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Post by w8152 on Jul 12, 2010 10:21:38 GMT
Emz,
I ran into a similar problem, they chewed the overlap i use to protect the door slider. I've now bought some steel cornering and i'm using that to protect the doorway over the top edge of the wood. they got really confused when i did it cause its cold lol
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Post by emz on Jul 12, 2010 12:54:42 GMT
Haha! ;D
Well I intend to do the same, waiting for a cheque to clear then getting a replacement channel and putting some steel along it (and replacing my plastic doors with glass.)
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Post by lorrainekuk on Nov 25, 2010 8:21:27 GMT
Well we have been busy the last few weeks building our cage and are really pleased with the results ( and so were the boys!) Base was 85cm Height 100cm but designed to remove the top grid (which was the original base from purchased cage) so we can put the cage on top to make a 'sun deck'! Only problem we found was the goos wanted to jump over all the ledges so we had to increase the depth of the shelves to meet the glass. Approx costs as follows: - MDF sides £24 (rounded edge from homebase) MDF Sheet £15 ( cut to sizes free @ B&Q Glass £27 (100mm x45mm x 2 (4mm thick) Runners £5 (ebay) Wheels £9 B&Q Wood strips £6 (for shelves etc ) Screws £8 approx So for less than £100 we have a huge cage.  |
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Post by degus123 on Dec 30, 2010 12:32:54 GMT
wow been looking for a website like yours. Really helpful and has made me more confident in building my own in the future.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Jan 15, 2011 23:53:53 GMT
Nice cage lorrainekuk ! Thanks for sharing and thank you for including a list of the various materials and their prices. I am sure it will come in handy to others who plan on undertaking a cage building project in the near future. Well done  |
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Post by nattynoo on Jan 31, 2011 21:00:36 GMT
Hi all, I know this is how to build a degu cage, but some people on here pointed me in this direction to ask about building a cage for chins.
Whats the best wood to use? and whats the best way of building it?
Any help would be great.
Thank you x
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Post by rammsteingrl on Mar 10, 2011 10:48:14 GMT
Hi all, I know this is how to build a degu cage, but some people on here pointed me in this direction to ask about building a cage for chins. Whats the best wood to use? and whats the best way of building it? Any help would be great. Thank you x I'm also wondering what is the safest wood to use, my degus will be moving into a huge 5ft cage, but we need to put levels etc.. inside, can someone please advise thanks Lucy |
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Post by Kins on Mar 10, 2011 11:05:17 GMT
I have now built 2 cages for my 2 pairs of goos. In both of them I used MDF for the shelves edged with kiln dried pine and covered with self adhesive floor tiles.
That way they cannot chew the MDF as it is not good for them, but can chew the edging which they love and is good for keeping their teeth trimmed. The tiles covering the whole of each shelf mean that when it comes to cleaning them out I can just scoop out the substrate with a dustpan, hoover any little left over bits up and then wipe/scrub (depending how messy they've been) the shelves down with some pet safe disinfectant. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy
It also means that if/when they chew the edging down so far that they are getting close to the MDF you can take the edging off and just add a new piece.
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Post by candy07 on Jun 12, 2011 16:32:48 GMT
I'm thinking of building a wooden cage and I have a few questions which I don't think have already been answered. If they have been answered then I'm sorry and please could someone point me in the right direction! 1. Is there a good website on which I can design my cage? I saw Emz has a really good pic of a cage to build and I was wondering what website? 2. Where could I get sheets of glass suitable for making the front of largish cage from? And 3. Could I use Perspex or clear acrylic instead or glass? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 13, 2011 14:58:53 GMT
Yes, you can use Perspex instead of glass. If you look at NightwishRaven's original post here, I think he has a link to his website for building a cage. Not sure about locations for buying either Perspex or glass. |
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Post by candy07 on Jun 13, 2011 16:50:44 GMT
Thanks deguconvert, I'll have a good long look at NightwishRaven's website and I'll try and find some perspex from somewhere |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 17, 2011 17:45:29 GMT
I think the perspex is difficult to cut, but if you fish around in this bit of the forum, there are some suppliers mentioned who will send it to you the exact size you need.
If you want glass, then I think you probably need to find a glazier in the phone book.
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Post by emz on Jun 17, 2011 22:22:20 GMT
Cutting perspex is a nightmare, from experience with my own cage.
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Post by NightwishRaven999 on Aug 22, 2011 2:02:13 GMT
Important Update posted on Youtube !
A Big Thank You to; Deguconvert, Fred, Emz, Dingle87, Amie, Woodchip, Phoenixm, Maravilla, Apology, Harpic01, Carlosii, Mja241281, Boz, Bjames, Tanyajk85 and Degupeere for contributing to the project.
Also a note to; Emz, Nuttz, DorsetDegus, Danandamy, Heather, Martinvic and Moletteuk, photos of your cages have been uploaded to Youtube for public viewing, as examples of model cages that have been built this past year.
Please see the Youtube update video above.
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