The New Cage Design

I have had my current cage for just over a year now and it has served me well but the sawdust falling out is a problem and it's just starting to look a bit worn. I decided I was going to build a new cage with better ceiling heights for the girls and the glass doors raised off the ground so as to hopefully reduce the amount of sawdust that falls out when the doors are opened.

As mentioned in my previous post I have 4 girls that are currently separated into two pairs of sisters. One pair who are 1 year and 8 months old and another pair who are 11 months old. I decided to make two cages that can stack on top of each other so if/when we need to move the cage it should be a lot easier than moving a giant cage - like we have at the moment.

I decided the floor measurements of 120cm by 60cm for each cage with a base and 2 levels. My current cage has a depth of 50cm and I think 60cm will be better. This gives each group a CARA of 21,600cm2. (recommended minimum for 2 is 18,000cm2).

Here is the design for each cage - drawn using Sketchup.

I will be using conti melamine faced board as the main material for the cage as this is basically waterproof which I am hoping will be much easier to clean.

The heights of the levels are:
Bottom - 30cm
Middle - 30cm
Top - 40cm to accommodate the 35cm diameter wheel

I would have liked the top level to be 50cm high ideally but overall the cage would have been too tall for me to actually see into or clean.

Each level has a 30cm by 10cm vent on either side which will be covered with wire mesh and held in place using builders band. On the front of each level is 10cm high edge, on top of which will sit the sliding acrylic doors. In the middle of the level at the front there is an aluminium tube which will prevent the level above sagging in the middle and stop any pressure being applied to the acrylic sheets.

How the whole cage will look - yes it's pretty intimidating!

 I have put together a materials list which I have detailed below so I could keep a track of the exact cost of making this giant.

Shop	Material	Price	Quantity	Total
B&Q	Melamine board 2440 x 1220	£30.00	4	£120.00
B&Q	Softwood Rough Sawn Timber (T)22mm (W)50mm (L)1800mm	£1.98	1	£1.98
B&Q	Diall Gloss Melamine Edging Tape (W)18mm (L)5000mm (T)0.03mm	£7.00	2	£14.00
Cake Craft Shop	Cake tin 14"'x4"	£22.03	2	£44.05
Cutplasticsheeting	Clear Perspex 620x190x4mm	£3.24	8	£25.92
Cutplasticsheeting	Clear Perspex 620x290x4mm	£4.95	4	£19.80
Ebay	120cm FULL LENGTH VIVARIUM PVC 4mm GLASS RUNNERS track for 4ft wide vivs WHITE	£9.95	6	£59.70
Wickes	Wickes 6mm Galvanised Mesh Panel 600mmx900mm	3.59	2	£7.18
B&Q	White PVC Corner (H)15mm (W)15mm (L)2m	£2.98	6	£17.88
Ebay	ALUMINIUM ROUND TUBE 30mm OD x 300mm LONG 2mm WALL	£2.63	4	£10.52
Ebay	ALUMINIUM ROUND TUBE 30mm OD x 900mm LONG 2mm WALL	£7.02	1	£7.02
Wickes	Wickes Multi Purpose Builders Fixing Band 20mmx10m	£9.92	2	£19.84
B&Q	Loctite Hot Melt Glue Sticks	£4.91	1	£4.91
Seapets	Silicone	£10.25	1	£10.25
B&Q	200 Wood Screws 40mm	£6.08	1	£6.08
B&Q	Screw Cap (Dia)4mm, Pack of 20	£1.00	2	£2.00
Total
£371.13

I admit that this not a cheap project but hopefully by building this cage in the most degu-proof way possible it will last for years and it will be worth the initial expense. I have ordered all the materials now but I have to wait until next weekend for the wood to arrive so I can start the build.