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Post by silversam on Sept 2, 2008 15:31:29 GMT -5
This is an 8' x 4' cage thats just over 3' tall..My husband and I built it in just one day and we are still making changes but this is the start. We are trying to figure out how to add the tubes to the chicken wire so it wraps around the outside of the cage and back in. I will post a pic of the tube ends if anyone has a suggestion please do share....       The hose does have slot through out the whole thing and we were thinking about drilling extra holes for more air flow because the hose is 10' long and we have 2 of them to attach....I will post updated pics... The floor is lanolium and the digging box is just a removable frame made with 1x6 pieces of standard board so all I have to do is lift it out sweep and wipe off the floor. Also the shelf and ramp lift right out as well and was made out of wood from an old shelf. I currently have cedar chips in the box and have read that they are no good so I'm looking for an alternative but my Ferrets love to dig and burrow so I don't want to stick with just carpet. All in all clean up is easy, access is great, and the Little Ones seem to love the space |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 2, 2008 17:46:31 GMT -5
Awesome cage! Your ferret cage looks nicer they MY bedroom! I'm jealous. Can I come live in their cage? j/k LOL!  |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 2, 2008 17:48:08 GMT -5
Oh and its a good idea that you are planning on removing the ceader chips, the oils in them can cause respitory problems in small animals. If you want something for them to dig in, try Carefresh Bedding (google it) its little bits of soft, recycled paper. make sure that they dont start using it as a litter box  |
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Post by suds on Sept 2, 2008 18:44:41 GMT -5
nice cage .. You can use long grain rice , roled up paper, in place of ceader chips for digging in the enrichment threads you can find more ideals for dig boxes For attatching the tubing you can get flanges at home depot , lowes . hardware stores and cut a piece of wood bolt the flanges and wood together sandwiching the screening and attach the tubing to the flanges it . I also seen a few use hose clamps cut the holes as close as possible to the pipe side and put 3 hose clamps tight on each side to keep the tubbing from sliding out . |
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Post by tsslilsis on Sept 2, 2008 20:36:15 GMT -5
I was going to say, I thought that was cedar!
If you really want them to have fun I'd put top soil in place of the cedar. You can get it oober cheap in huge bags at Home Depot. Just bake it or nuke it for a bit to kill any germies.
I plan on making my ferrets a dirt dig box for their anniversaries.
AWESOME cage!!! Too bad not everyone has room for something like that!
Do you have a rough estimate of how much it cost to make?
-~Ketlin
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Post by silversam on Sept 2, 2008 23:45:53 GMT -5
Thanks for the ideas for the dig box and the hose attaching. We decided for right now to suspend one hose from the top of the cage and we are going to hold off a few weeks on the outside hose. Here are some new pics with the hose...and at the bottom I will list the cost for building a cage like this.....    FYI at the bottom of the hose I have a GRASSY MAT I bought for a dollar at PetSmart and it is made of all natural material and safe to chew...They Love It!! O.K. as for cost of the cage we estimated it to be about $130.00. It did not cost us quite as much cause we had a lot of left over wood from the fish tank stands my husband built. If you were to make a smaller version it would not be so much. the most expensive parts were... 25' Heavy Duty Chicken Wire ......$35.00 8' Linoleum flooring plus glue.....$25.00 15 8' 2x2 at $1.44 a piece...........$22.00 4x8 1/2" press board...................$10.00 Just changing the size cuts most that cost in half and everything else is $5.00 and under. (even the 10' hose was only $3.00) My husband came up with a very simple plan for putting this together and it is very sturdy and secure. If anyone is interested in details please let me know I am more than happy to share. |
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Post by razzlette on Sept 3, 2008 7:34:25 GMT -5
The cage looks GREAT!
I have a question about the wood. When the babies have accidents doesn't the smell stick in the wood? The only reason I ask is because we are in the proses of building a cage. Ours is out of PVC and a plastic hardware cloth. Also at the Buckeye bash I saw some clear dryer hose. Anyone know where to get this? My Lowe's & walmart didn't have it.
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Post by silversam on Sept 3, 2008 12:31:51 GMT -5
This is my first week with the wood and I would imagine it would start to stink once "accidents" soak in however....the only wood is the framing. even in the box it is just a square frame sat down on the linoleum. So the hope is that we won't have that problem.
As far as dryer hose goes...I looked at it and I personally would not use it do to the fact it is easy to rip and then you are dealing with metal wire flopping about and I'm not sure if that is so safe but I have heard of people using them. If you do I would be careful about leaving it in their cage unsupervised....just my opinion. And you should be able to pick it up at most hardware stores.
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Post by suds on Sept 3, 2008 16:24:13 GMT -5
if you seal the wood with a good paint or stain and use a good coat poly urithain there should not be a problem with accidents getting on the wood |
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Post by silversam on Sept 3, 2008 23:06:31 GMT -5
Is that safe?? My husband wanted to stain the wood (i would have liked that) but I told him no because I thought if they chew on it they might get sick....so again i ask is it safe???
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Post by velvetfuzzbutt on Sept 4, 2008 11:13:04 GMT -5
Always seal the wood or it will stink eventually, My cage was sealed and painted black- and the new one is painted too. Ferrets don't really chew like rodents, I've had my cage for almost 6 years and no problems. If you paint or stain your cage, do so an allow it to dry in a well ventilated area. the fuzz would need to spend the night in another cage or closed off room.
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Post by stinkweasels on Sept 4, 2008 11:37:53 GMT -5
You can used water based stains and finishes.
But if you do use solvent based, it shouldn't be much of an issue as the toxic part of the product evaporates as it dries.
You could use just about any stain you get from Lowe's or Home Depot if allowed to dry properly. You can use differents oils to seal/waterproof the wood. I prefer tung or teak oil*. Then again you can just use your usual poly finish.
*Using oil allows the surface to be more easily repaired.
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Post by ferretpalooza on Sept 14, 2008 12:34:53 GMT -5
Great cage!!! I attach tubes with long zip ties. You can just cut them loose if you want to move them. They must really be happy in the new cage!!!
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Post by skitza on Nov 9, 2008 21:31:10 GMT -5
wow! that is a HUGE cage! you did a really good job with it!
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Post by luxuriousferret on Nov 26, 2008 17:07:19 GMT -5
Humongo cage!!! ASWOME!
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