Project homemade cage

[jessiebelle]

So after seeing all the amazing pictures of cages on here, I have decided to give it a go for myself. Because I am terrible at DIY, I have decided to buy a pine display cabinet to use as the main part of the cage, which will be delivered this weekend hopefully!
This is the cabinet in question:
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170720384512

It's dimensions are 99cm wide, 55cm deep and 164cm high. I plan to have three full levels of about 40cm each from the top down, and then the bottom 44cm will have a tank in the bottom with a tunnel into it for the girls to dig in. There will also be lots of sub-levels, hammocks, ropes, toys, branches and all manner of fun things to keep the girls occupied!
I still haven't decided whether the keep the doors as glass as they are at the moment and add ventilation into the top, or to replace the glass doors with mesh. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?

I will keep this thread updated with the cage as it progresses, as well as asking for advice.

[deguconvert]

I am not sure which one, of the many featured on that page, is now yours?

[Maravilla]

@ deguconvert,
you find the bought article at the end of the page, just scroll down.

@ jessiebelle,
I am sure you will be able to do something nice out of this cabinet.
I would replace the doors with mesh, and especially build in smaller doors which only open 1-2 levels. It would be the easiest way I think because if you keep the glass doors you have to cut out ventilation holes in all levels. Ventilation only in the top is not enough, there has to be ventilation in all levels.

[fred]

While I was typing, Maravilla beat me to it. I agree that you will be able to make a very nice cage of this cabinet The one minor issue I would have with it is that you need to protect quite a few corners from you goos' teeth. Not a problem at all but you will be best off to give this some consideration at the planning stage. I would look at the glass or mesh door and ventilation questions in this context. I would suggest that you post a few detail pics once you got the cabinet, and we may be able to give you some more practical advice.

[jessiebelle]

Thank you for your advice, what would be the best way to make the doors then? I can't get the cage delivered until next week, but I will post some pictures when it is here. I want to make sure that I get this right first time!

[fred]

In general it is a matter of personal preference whether you want to have glass or mesh doors. However, in your case - with second hand furniture and the wish to do as little DIY as possibility (which is very familiar to me ) - the practicalities may be the overriding consideration. For example, how easy would it be to provide ventilation openings at the site or top; how best to protect the door frame. If you are not too desperate to get your girls into their new home, I'd recommend to wait for advice from our numerous DIY specialists here once they have seen more pictures.

[jessiebelle]

Ok, so I got the cabinet today and it's in a bit of a rough condition with a few gaps between the wooden panels at the back, so I've decided that I'm probably going to cover the back and sides with sheets of MDF for protection.

Here are my plans for the inside which is the job that I'm going to try and get sorted this week, what do you think?



The gap between the two shelves at the top is where their hammock will go. Each shelf will be made of MDF, but will have a lip of kiln dried pine to stop the bedding going everywhere.

For the doors I have decided I will have wood and mesh, and will have some designs for these once the inside is complete.

[NightwishRaven999]

Hello Jessiebelle
Hope you are well

Very glad to see you were able to get the cabinet you wanted !
One thing I will point out is the cabinet's small base (85x41 cm). You will need to use the cage to its full potential if it is to become a suitable degu home. The cabinet is very tall, so it is good to see that you will be adding several large levels.

I understand your wish to add a hammock and there is nothing wrong with this. But is there a way you could hang the hammock to the top of the cage or underneath the first level ?
Rather than having two 30x40 cm platforms at the top of the cage, you could have another complete 85x40cm level, by placing the hammock elsewhere.

I also notice the second level will only be 30cm deep. Adding the extre 10cms would create another complete level and although this is not big by our standards...the extra 85x10 cm space does make a difference for the degus.


What do you think of this ?

[jessiebelle]

Nov 12, 2011 21:57:34 GMT NightwishRaven999 said:

Hello Jessiebelle
Hope you are well

Very glad to see you were able to get the cabinet you wanted !
One thing I will point out is the cabinet's small base (85x41 cm). You will need to use the cage to its full potential if it is to become a suitable degu home. The cabinet is very tall, so it is good to see that you will be adding several large levels.

I understand your wish to add a hammock and there is nothing wrong with this. But is there a way you could hang the hammock to the top of the cage or underneath the first level ?
Rather than having two 30x40 cm platforms at the top of the cage, you could have another complete 85x40cm level, by placing the hammock elsewhere.

I also notice the second level will only be 30cm deep. Adding the extre 10cms would create another complete level and although this is not big by our standards...the extra 85x10 cm space does make a difference for the degus.


What do you think of this ?

Hi,
I was hoping the base was a bit bigger actually. The measurements I was quoted was 99 x 55cm, but the inside measurements are much smaller than that which I'm slightly annoyed at. Still, it's here now so there isn't much I can do about it :s

I will have to have a re-jig see if I can fit the hammock somewhere else and try to make both the shelves longer. It was my boyfriends idea to have the shelves the different sizes, but when you say it like that it definitely makes more sense to have the extra space and to cut holes into each level for access.

Is the height of all the levels ok? The problem I have with the shelf size is that the first shelf (50cm up) is completely fixed into the cabinet so there is no way I can change the height of it. It leaves about 95cm above it, and I figured the best way would be to split it into 3 roughly equal levels to maximise space without cutting down too much on height.

Thank you for your advice

[fred]

What a shame you were so misled by the seller. As nigthwishraven said, it is now important that you make the best with the space you have. I agree that it would be good to have three full levels. What would you think about having the levels (upwards) at something like 30, 20, and 45 cm? In that case you could easily hang the hammock above the top shelf and also have space for a few branches. In nightwishraven's cage ( octodondegus.weebly.com/ ) there is one level with a reduced height and I think this works very well. Just an idea, I am sure there are other ways to maximise running space.

[amie]

Just a thought, but perhaps there's a way to flip the cabinet onto it's side and build it like that? Giving the degus the height as the running space and the lengh as the height? Just a thought!