[nessariel]

I'm preparing for the arrival of Winston in April, and someone mentioned in a previous thread that I made that my cage was almost too small. I've since added a loft, and am wondering if it's big enough now?

The main cage measures 40.5" by 18", and the loft is 15" by 15", but a lot of that is taken up by his little hedgie dome. I'm attaching pictures. Sorry if they're a little difficult to see properly. I can't figure out how to get a good picture where the bars don't totally obscure everything. :|

Please note: I know that I need plastic up around the bars in the loft. I'm going out today to get more supplies. Also, is there anything else that I should add? I want to make sure that everything is ready before he gets here.

 

[tscanio45]

It looks big enough to me. I have seen some people with cages half the size of that. I think you should be fine.

I was wondering how you made the loft? I would like to expand my cage if possible, but I don't really know what people are using to build them.

 

[LarryT]

Looks good but you may need to raise the sides of the loft up some more so your hedgie can't climb over it.
Is that a Giant Comfort Wheel?

 

[nessariel]

Raise sides of loft. Will do.

Yeah, it's a giant comfort wheel. I tried to find a flying saucer, but the petsmart in my town only had the little ones. :? Is it okay? If Winston gets too big and starts rubbing against the middle bar I'll upgrade, but I figured it'll be okay for now.

I just typed up the entire process for making that loft and my computer decided to randomly delete it. :x I'll retype and post in a little while after I've gone for more hedgie supplies.

 

[tscanio45]

Thanks I appreciate that. And I wouldn't get a flying saucer because it has little slits where your hedgie will run and his toes could get caught on them and it could hurt him. Thats what I've heard, so I thought I'd let you know. And if he gets too big and touches the middle part, they have the giant cake wheels that don't have a middle, and they are silent, and nonstick so its easy to clean. For right now I still have a Comfort Wheel, I may change it later.

 

[Nancy]

The flying saucers doesn't have any slits in the running surface. It has little raised areas for traction but no slits.

 

[tscanio45]

So are the okay??? I saw on other posts people said not to use them.

 

[nessariel]

Ok, so, how did I make the loft? With a LOT of frustration. I bought some of the cube shelving and coroplast with intent to make a loft in the style of C&C cages http://guineapigcages.com/ but discovered, upon getting home, that the squares of grating were WAY too big to do what I originally intended to, so I had to improvise.

First, I secured one square of wire grating into the bars of the cage using a TON of zipties. (probably around 70). I suspended the corner that's not against any bars with a large piece of string tied to the grating and the roof of the cage. Then I cut, scored, folded and taped the coroplast to fit on top of the grating. It explains how to do that in the link above. I also cut the hole for the tube at this point as well. I secured the coroplast to the grating by poking holes every inch or so, and using yet more zipties.

The tubing is just simple vinyl ducting. I squished it through the hole I cut for it in the coroplast, and then poked holes around the edges and secured it in place with… (guess) ZIPTIES! (I used a LOT of zipties&#8230

I'm currently in the process of adding plastic around the edges so that Winston won't be able to climb up and hurt himself. I'm just using vinyl from a fabric store.

The whole thing took me a LOT longer than it should have, because I screwed up. Twice. :x First I accidentally attached the grating to two different bars, so it was all crooked, and then I realized that I had made the whole thing too high up, and had to start over. One of these days I'll figure out the whole concept of "measure twice, cut once", I swear…

 

[Stephanie76]

tscanio ~

You are thinking of the "Silent Spinner"....

 

[tscanio45]

lol I know how you feel. I actually made a loft area out of the cardboard box the Cage came in. I thought it was cool. It had stairs and everything to get up. But Edge didn't ever want to go up there. I plan on making another one and this one will be lower. I appreciate you telling me how you built your, I want to get more ideas before I start creating.

ALSO...

tscanio ~

You are thinking of the "Silent Spinner"....

Thank you

 

[ProjectParanoia]

Actually, I heard the flying saucer wheel fell apart really easily. If you're willing to spend the money, I'd get one of the cake bucket style wheels in the for sale section.

But, my cage is a 40x24, so it's not ridiculously larger than yours, and Delia is more than happy with it.

 

[hedgielover]

The flying saucer does not fall apart. It comes apart on purpose for cleaning that is all. I guess if the hedgehog was really determined he could push the saucer part off the base but I kind of doubt it.

 

[nikki]

none of my flying saucer wheels have ever fallen apart and I've been using some for 3 years now. The silent spinners DO fall apart though.

 

[Mallasfamily]

Is it just me or is the tubing too steep? I thought that at most it should be at a 45 degree angle or smaller. that looks almost like a 75 degree or more. corrections? comments? Thoughts? Something you may want to think about also is that a large number of hedgehogs don't like going into lofts at all. So relying on it to increase your size may not end up being the case. You may want to keep an eye on it since you are trying to put the sleeping area up there. It may never get used if that ends up being the case. Just something to think about.

 

[nessariel]

I've actually altered the tube. I knew that it was too steep, and had plans to alter it before I even took the photos. I can post a picture of what I did, if you like.

As per some hedgehogs not wanting to use lofts, I know that's a possibility. (Though I hope Winston will like it! ) The original cage without the loft is still 18" x 40", and therefore has plenty of room for his bed if he decides that he doesn't like his loft.

 

[hedgielover]

Lots of people make do with smaller cages because of space availability. My rule of thumb is that if a good sized wheel fits in along with a hiding blanket and food & water dishes you are good to go. Of course a bigger cage is preferred and recommended but it's not the end of world to have a cage on the smaller side. (In my opinion) Make sure you provide time outside the cage to explore though. Play pens are great, hallways that you can close off, anywhere there is floor space (just make sure the room is hedgehog safe).

 

[nessariel]

Well, I have my hedgehog, and I wanted to update... He's using the loft! I put his house and dishes back on the main level, and just put a couple toys and a pile of fleece scraps up top. Well, I brought him home yesterday, and this morning all of the fleece scraps were strewn about! He's been up there! So: Loft = Success!