Cage Setup discussions
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Herro,
I just have a general question. I am having some trouble with making the second level of my c and c cage accessible... I bought the soft dryer vent tube... and I have found a way to make it work so that Prickly Pear isnt trying to scale a shear cliff to get up.. but it means i have to turn the tube into a spiral like a spiral staircase. My question is... how do i get it to stay that way..... and how the heck do i encourage her to climb up and down it?? its pretty dark... because it is like gunmetal grey plasticy stuff. Anyway my c and c cage is a 2x2 on the bottom and the loft is 2x1 up top and the opening I pre cut for her entrance is on the side of the chloroplast where i left the "cube" out... anywho I would really really really appreciate any and all suggestions on how to get her loft working. thanks a lot eh!
I just have a general question. I am having some trouble with making the second level of my c and c cage accessible... I bought the soft dryer vent tube... and I have found a way to make it work so that Prickly Pear isnt trying to scale a shear cliff to get up.. but it means i have to turn the tube into a spiral like a spiral staircase. My question is... how do i get it to stay that way..... and how the heck do i encourage her to climb up and down it?? its pretty dark... because it is like gunmetal grey plasticy stuff. Anyway my c and c cage is a 2x2 on the bottom and the loft is 2x1 up top and the opening I pre cut for her entrance is on the side of the chloroplast where i left the "cube" out... anywho I would really really really appreciate any and all suggestions on how to get her loft working. thanks a lot eh!
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You can try making sure it stacks on itself or you need to use something like a cardboard tube to run it around. you can also do an image search on google for C&C cage and look how they set up the ramps for critters and see if you want to do something like that instead. Problem with the tubes is they may not want to come out, there can sometimes be stray metal edges and its very hard to clean (all from own experience).
hope this helps
hope this helps
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I had to get creative last minute because the cage I had for Penelope was just way too small. As a new hedgie owner, I had no idea how much space they truly need, especially with that big ol wheel!
So I upgraded her from a 2x1 wire cage to a large plastic bin I got from Walmart. I bet you're wondering what those cardboard pieces are doing, and for now, they are wall extensions. I don't think she could climb out unless she piled up her liner and used that to get her up a little higher but it's definitely not worth the risk. So I just taped cardboard around the open edges so she can't climb those walls.
Her set up is pretty straightforward- wheel on the open side, food/water bowls and litter box on either side in the middle, and then there's her sleeping bag and my shorts that she likes to cuddle in as her bed/hide-out area. There's also a toilet paper roll in there in case she wants to play around. Her previous owner left me with some fleece liners and I think those are working pretty well for her. I have a lamp that points toward her for the daytime hours. I leave one side closed with the lid because that's where she likes to go burrow and warm up and sleep.
Are there any improvements I can make?
Any other ideas for wall extensions besides cardboard?
Is this escape proof enough?
Thanks!
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120 Posts
instead of cardboard, use plastic sheets... with cardboard they can use their nails to make holes and climb out
i dont think ur cardboard is tall enough, when a hedgehog gets bigger they can just stand on top of things and climb out
everything else looks great though
i dont think ur cardboard is tall enough, when a hedgehog gets bigger they can just stand on top of things and climb out
everything else looks great though
Sorry to say but that is too easy to escape. There needs to be higher sides made of plastic so hedgie can't get a grip. Also hedgie could easily stretch up and get out over the half side. How are you going to heat it?
To be honest, I think a 2 x 1 C&C cage although smaller, was a better option and easier to make escape proof. You can always get more grids and make the C&C larger.
I deleted your other post so there aren't two the same.
To be honest, I think a 2 x 1 C&C cage although smaller, was a better option and easier to make escape proof. You can always get more grids and make the C&C larger.
I deleted your other post so there aren't two the same.
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My tiny friend's palace is constructed with laundry baskets connected by pvc pipes. The bottom of each section is is layered with corrugated plastic with pillowcase-style liners.
The laundry baskets are Rubbermaid soft plastics that are easily cut with a simple X-Acto/boxcutter/razor. I like them for being relatively cheap ($10), widespread (Ronas & Canada Tire carry them), extremely easy to disinfect, too slippery for mealworms to climb if they escape, and have fantastic ventilation (I find solid bins still reek of plastic even after getting holes drilled in them).
[attachment=2:rrchj2ym]cage_overview.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
My tiny friend does not believe in climbing. In his opinion, it is simply Not Done. This means I can leave the open grid exposed at hedgehog-height, and leave the top open. I don't recommend this setup for climbing-hedgehogs. Lighting is attached to the central post (out-of-view). Heating is by ambient space heater, with a spot CHE when necessary.
To the right of the cage is a blue tupperware. This is hedgehog's Emergency Kit: the bag contains kibble, fleece, sleep-sack, water/food dishes, and handwarmers, while the box is modified with a ventilated top to serve as an emergency-carrier. It wouldn't work for a full-scale city-wide catastrophe, but it's sufficient for an apartment fire-alarm evacuation.
Each "room" has a different purpose. The front two are for running-around messy activities that need easy-access.
To the left is a wheel-room (including, at the moment, a fleece-diving sleepy hedgehog). In addition to the normal liner, it has a secondary layer of fleece to allow liner-diving for camping trips. Hedgehog has thoroughly rejected any more conventional attempts at a litter-box, so we've compromised with a smaller fleece square that is replaced each night without generating as much laundry as a full liner would (and absorbs pee so makes "camping" under the liner below the wheel less distressing).
To the right is his water/food/treats area (no treat-dish at the moment). The eating area is an ocasional home to the digbox (oatmeal & mealworms in a low ziplock box), or an open space for rolly-toys (currently a (solid) catball, sometimes a toy truck).
[attachment=1:rrchj2ym]cage_play.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
In the back right is the fleece forest. The "forest" is strips of fleece hung from dowels for easy removal.
At the moment, the forest playroom includes a small tile, intended for splatting on hot days but more commonly used as a slippery-turn-point (hedgehog bolts straight at wall, suddenly stop-skid-turns, bolts off somewhere else), a usually-ignored stuffed rat, and a cuddle-sleep-sack. This room is quite popular for post-breakfast pre-run naps.
The sleep sacks I sew are slightly different from others I've seen on this site. Instead of having closed 3 sides (in a bag), they're closed on 2 sides (like an origami hat). The cage-sacks are cotton on one side, flannel on the other; hedgehog flips them inside-out depending on his personal, highly-variable preference. I make alternate ones for cuddling with me that are that waterproof-baby-fabric on the outside (protecting my pants from pee) and flannel lined.
[attachment=0:rrchj2ym]cage_sleep.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
The back left is the sleeping zone, the darkest corner least likely to be bumped by klutzy humans. It has an extra layer of fleece-liner to permit liner-diving (sometimes diving to sleep under the liner under the pigloo!).
The pigloo is stuffed with fleece scraps (3cm x 3cm squares) to let my tiny friend burrow, as he approves of burrowing to an equal extent that he disapproves of climbing. The entry features another fleece-forest of fleece strips hung from dowels. The mini-forest is where extra food and water dishes are kept when little hedgehog is living solo for a night (in case he spills the primary dishes), or isn't feeling so healthy (so he doesn't need to commute for essential needs).
[attachment=2:rrchj2ym]cage_overview.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
All the sections are connected with 4" PVC pipe tunnels. Most of the connections are tri-junctions, allowing for entry into every cage directly. The longer straight sections are cut off straight pipe, using a pvc pipe wire saw (although a regular saw, heat knife, etc all work fine). The pipes are difficult to fully reach for spot-cleaning, so such an extensive network would not work with a hedgehog who isn't at least gently potty-trained (mine goes in the wheel-room 6 days a week before stomping poop all over his tunnel).
When hedgehog doesn't wish to be disturbed, he takes a nap in the very center of the tubes where he cannot be reached. It's also a cooler surface for when he wants to splat. He also seems to like retreating into the fully enclosed area when he's feeling insecure, probably because it's fully contained.
Tiny hedgehog loves his cage enough that when he's out for supervised playtime, he tries to find ways to break back into his cage. In response, we closed the "front" end of the tunnel with a slotted cap. This allows for airflow, hedgehog-spying, and is easily removable during playtime so hedgehog can find his way back into the cage without resorting to extreme tactics.
My friend rotates through which rooms he uses, particularly in picking different places to sleep seemingly at random. For a while, he had a 5th room, but that was apparently just Too Much space and never used.
The laundry baskets are Rubbermaid soft plastics that are easily cut with a simple X-Acto/boxcutter/razor. I like them for being relatively cheap ($10), widespread (Ronas & Canada Tire carry them), extremely easy to disinfect, too slippery for mealworms to climb if they escape, and have fantastic ventilation (I find solid bins still reek of plastic even after getting holes drilled in them).
[attachment=2:rrchj2ym]cage_overview.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
My tiny friend does not believe in climbing. In his opinion, it is simply Not Done. This means I can leave the open grid exposed at hedgehog-height, and leave the top open. I don't recommend this setup for climbing-hedgehogs. Lighting is attached to the central post (out-of-view). Heating is by ambient space heater, with a spot CHE when necessary.
To the right of the cage is a blue tupperware. This is hedgehog's Emergency Kit: the bag contains kibble, fleece, sleep-sack, water/food dishes, and handwarmers, while the box is modified with a ventilated top to serve as an emergency-carrier. It wouldn't work for a full-scale city-wide catastrophe, but it's sufficient for an apartment fire-alarm evacuation.
Each "room" has a different purpose. The front two are for running-around messy activities that need easy-access.
To the left is a wheel-room (including, at the moment, a fleece-diving sleepy hedgehog). In addition to the normal liner, it has a secondary layer of fleece to allow liner-diving for camping trips. Hedgehog has thoroughly rejected any more conventional attempts at a litter-box, so we've compromised with a smaller fleece square that is replaced each night without generating as much laundry as a full liner would (and absorbs pee so makes "camping" under the liner below the wheel less distressing).
To the right is his water/food/treats area (no treat-dish at the moment). The eating area is an ocasional home to the digbox (oatmeal & mealworms in a low ziplock box), or an open space for rolly-toys (currently a (solid) catball, sometimes a toy truck).
[attachment=1:rrchj2ym]cage_play.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
In the back right is the fleece forest. The "forest" is strips of fleece hung from dowels for easy removal.
At the moment, the forest playroom includes a small tile, intended for splatting on hot days but more commonly used as a slippery-turn-point (hedgehog bolts straight at wall, suddenly stop-skid-turns, bolts off somewhere else), a usually-ignored stuffed rat, and a cuddle-sleep-sack. This room is quite popular for post-breakfast pre-run naps.
The sleep sacks I sew are slightly different from others I've seen on this site. Instead of having closed 3 sides (in a bag), they're closed on 2 sides (like an origami hat). The cage-sacks are cotton on one side, flannel on the other; hedgehog flips them inside-out depending on his personal, highly-variable preference. I make alternate ones for cuddling with me that are that waterproof-baby-fabric on the outside (protecting my pants from pee) and flannel lined.
[attachment=0:rrchj2ym]cage_sleep.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
The back left is the sleeping zone, the darkest corner least likely to be bumped by klutzy humans. It has an extra layer of fleece-liner to permit liner-diving (sometimes diving to sleep under the liner under the pigloo!).
The pigloo is stuffed with fleece scraps (3cm x 3cm squares) to let my tiny friend burrow, as he approves of burrowing to an equal extent that he disapproves of climbing. The entry features another fleece-forest of fleece strips hung from dowels. The mini-forest is where extra food and water dishes are kept when little hedgehog is living solo for a night (in case he spills the primary dishes), or isn't feeling so healthy (so he doesn't need to commute for essential needs).
[attachment=2:rrchj2ym]cage_overview.jpg[/attachment:rrchj2ym]
All the sections are connected with 4" PVC pipe tunnels. Most of the connections are tri-junctions, allowing for entry into every cage directly. The longer straight sections are cut off straight pipe, using a pvc pipe wire saw (although a regular saw, heat knife, etc all work fine). The pipes are difficult to fully reach for spot-cleaning, so such an extensive network would not work with a hedgehog who isn't at least gently potty-trained (mine goes in the wheel-room 6 days a week before stomping poop all over his tunnel).
When hedgehog doesn't wish to be disturbed, he takes a nap in the very center of the tubes where he cannot be reached. It's also a cooler surface for when he wants to splat. He also seems to like retreating into the fully enclosed area when he's feeling insecure, probably because it's fully contained.
Tiny hedgehog loves his cage enough that when he's out for supervised playtime, he tries to find ways to break back into his cage. In response, we closed the "front" end of the tunnel with a slotted cap. This allows for airflow, hedgehog-spying, and is easily removable during playtime so hedgehog can find his way back into the cage without resorting to extreme tactics.
My friend rotates through which rooms he uses, particularly in picking different places to sleep seemingly at random. For a while, he had a 5th room, but that was apparently just Too Much space and never used.
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Er, that last photo should've been hedgehog showing off his tunnel, not a repeat of the cage-overview:
[attachment=0:1izt4mgn]cage_tube.jpg[/attachment:1izt4mgn]
[attachment=0:1izt4mgn]cage_tube.jpg[/attachment:1izt4mgn]
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I would be worried about an escape. Some hogs won't think of climbing for months or years then decided it time to escape. My thought is its better to be safe than sorry when it comes to hedgies escaping. Its easier to put a lid on now than try to find them after they escape and possibly get hurt. I can't count how many times we here "my hedgehog has no interest at all in climbing", then a few months later they're posting that their hedgehog has escape and they need help finding them.
Hey guys new to the site, I have been a hedge hog owner years ago, and just recently gotten 2 hedgies, male and female. well about a month after we got them the girl went crazy so we moved her to her own place just in case. Well we are now owners of 6 hedgies. the babies are doing great, they are almost 4 weeks old, anyway, back to the topic. I built a C&C cage, so far I hate it. couple of questions. the clips they come with get in the way of the plastic tray thing. (it is chloroplast, but am not sure how to spell it properly), so they teeter totter. The male is not liking it right now, he keeps trying to stick his head through the squares, so what plastic are you guys putting around I still want it somewhat visible thru there. The girl apparently is a digger as the fleece liner is wadded up all over the cage, question there is how do I keep her from moving the liner around? I am not sure if wrapping the liner will be enough. any help would be great.
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You might get more views and responses if you make your own thread to ask your questions on.
For C&C cages, most people do use coroplast. Personally, I only used the clips that came with the cubes for the top - I just used zip-ties for the rest of the cage (and reinforced the top with zip-ties as well). How high up the sides does the coroplast go? It should go up 8-10" in order to keep a hedgie from climbing or getting their head caught in the squares. Size of the squares is another concern - the ones making up the walls of the cage should have 9 squares, so they're small enough to avoid hedgie getting stuck. The male trying to get his head through makes me think maybe they're the ones with only 6 squares?
I would inquire on the breeding forum as far as the female's cage - even if the babies are 4 weeks old, she could still potentially attack and hurt them if the cage is messed with too much. So it'd be best to get opinions from a breeder on that. If she's in a C&C cage though, you might need to do careful modifications as a temporary solution until you wean & separate the babies in the next week or two - if they climb or try to explore, they can get through the C&C cubes pretty easily. But like I said, best to ask a breeder about the risks of that and what to do exactly. Once you do separate the babies, it'd probably be best to put them in something like Sterilite tubs until you get things set up for them or rehome them - cheap & more secure than most other cages (though Nancy has mentioned she had a baby boy climb out of a sterilite tub with nothing to climb on!).
For C&C cages, most people do use coroplast. Personally, I only used the clips that came with the cubes for the top - I just used zip-ties for the rest of the cage (and reinforced the top with zip-ties as well). How high up the sides does the coroplast go? It should go up 8-10" in order to keep a hedgie from climbing or getting their head caught in the squares. Size of the squares is another concern - the ones making up the walls of the cage should have 9 squares, so they're small enough to avoid hedgie getting stuck. The male trying to get his head through makes me think maybe they're the ones with only 6 squares?
I would inquire on the breeding forum as far as the female's cage - even if the babies are 4 weeks old, she could still potentially attack and hurt them if the cage is messed with too much. So it'd be best to get opinions from a breeder on that. If she's in a C&C cage though, you might need to do careful modifications as a temporary solution until you wean & separate the babies in the next week or two - if they climb or try to explore, they can get through the C&C cubes pretty easily. But like I said, best to ask a breeder about the risks of that and what to do exactly. Once you do separate the babies, it'd probably be best to put them in something like Sterilite tubs until you get things set up for them or rehome them - cheap & more secure than most other cages (though Nancy has mentioned she had a baby boy climb out of a sterilite tub with nothing to climb on!).
Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and a soon to be new hedgie owner. I've had rats for a long time and thankfully, I think, a lot of my items will transfer over well. I have an extra SCN (single CritterNation) cage that I'm planning on modifying for my new little guy. They have a 36"x24" footprint, which seems as if it would be really nice and roomy. I wanted to share my plan and see what everyone thought.
I'll be picking up Coroplast today or tomorrow. I was excited to find a place that sells the 8'x4 sheets, nearby, for only $15. They will also cut the sheets in half for me, to make them easier to get home in the back of the truck. So, my plan is to use the coroplast to make a tray with sides to prevent climbing up the wires.
Initially I'm just going to make it one level and use the top shelf for storage. I may work on using the coroplast to build a second level and enclosed ramp in the future.
I already make and use fleece liners for my rats, so that will be easy. I'm considering making them in such a way that they will open so that I could insert a sheet of coroplast inside to make it more challenging to burrow underneath. Does this sound like a good idea?
I also thought I would make something similar to the Cavy Bistro Kitchen. I could then have the wheel in this area with bedding. I'm not sure if I should use bedding in this area or just put a potty under the wheel and use fleece there too. Also unsure of whether it would be best to put food and water in the kitchen or just outside. Any thoughts there would be appreciated. I have the feeling though that it will just depend on my specific critter and how he uses the space.
I currently only have Silent Spinners. So, I'm going to use tape on the little slits until I can get a bucket wheel. Would that be OK?
The only area I'm really unsure about is heating/light. The cage will be in our office/pet room which stays quite warm on it's own. I can use a space heater set to the correct temperature to come on if it gets chilly in there for some reason. But do I need lights on a timer. If I'm going to do that is it better to just get a timer and hook some sort of heat light to it to kill two birds with one stone. Just not sure how to go about this, so suggestions on the most cost effective way to go would be much appreciated!!
Anything else I'm not thinking of??
Thanks so much in advance! I'm delighted to have found such a great forum.
I'll be picking up Coroplast today or tomorrow. I was excited to find a place that sells the 8'x4 sheets, nearby, for only $15. They will also cut the sheets in half for me, to make them easier to get home in the back of the truck. So, my plan is to use the coroplast to make a tray with sides to prevent climbing up the wires.
Initially I'm just going to make it one level and use the top shelf for storage. I may work on using the coroplast to build a second level and enclosed ramp in the future.
I already make and use fleece liners for my rats, so that will be easy. I'm considering making them in such a way that they will open so that I could insert a sheet of coroplast inside to make it more challenging to burrow underneath. Does this sound like a good idea?
I also thought I would make something similar to the Cavy Bistro Kitchen. I could then have the wheel in this area with bedding. I'm not sure if I should use bedding in this area or just put a potty under the wheel and use fleece there too. Also unsure of whether it would be best to put food and water in the kitchen or just outside. Any thoughts there would be appreciated. I have the feeling though that it will just depend on my specific critter and how he uses the space.
I currently only have Silent Spinners. So, I'm going to use tape on the little slits until I can get a bucket wheel. Would that be OK?
The only area I'm really unsure about is heating/light. The cage will be in our office/pet room which stays quite warm on it's own. I can use a space heater set to the correct temperature to come on if it gets chilly in there for some reason. But do I need lights on a timer. If I'm going to do that is it better to just get a timer and hook some sort of heat light to it to kill two birds with one stone. Just not sure how to go about this, so suggestions on the most cost effective way to go would be much appreciated!!
Anything else I'm not thinking of??
Thanks so much in advance! I'm delighted to have found such a great forum.
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Here's our 1st cage, which has dramatically changed after getting two more hedgehogs. And our chubby Malcolm wouldn't climb back up to his upper cage with the food and water once he got to the bottom cage.
1st time hedgehog owner cage HELPP!!
So I'm picking up my new hedgie in about a week. FIRST one ever and I'm SO excited I've spent hours on HHC learning as much as I can and I just have a few questions. I'm using fleece liners, I have bought 3 or 4 different ones to use at different times and measured them out to my cage so I can double them up. Is this enough or should I add something in the middle? The breeder I'm buying from uses water bottles but I've read a lot of mixed reviews so I think I'm going to offer bowl and bottle to see which my baby prefers.. Also I'm getting my cloroplast this week, how high up on the edges should I get it? Last but not least, I was wondering if anyone has bought from Millermeade farms and if so if what they can tell me about them. I've read a lot on their website and they seem reputable but I'm not sure... Thanks so much!! I'm posting pictures of my cage below so feel free to give advice, anything is welcome!! Note that I do not have my wheel yet my parents ordered me the carolina storm bucket wheel for Christmas also I do have a 150 watt CHE with a repti temp 500r that will turn on the lamp if it's too cold it's just not shown here.
So I'm picking up my new hedgie in about a week. FIRST one ever and I'm SO excited I've spent hours on HHC learning as much as I can and I just have a few questions. I'm using fleece liners, I have bought 3 or 4 different ones to use at different times and measured them out to my cage so I can double them up. Is this enough or should I add something in the middle? The breeder I'm buying from uses water bottles but I've read a lot of mixed reviews so I think I'm going to offer bowl and bottle to see which my baby prefers.. Also I'm getting my cloroplast this week, how high up on the edges should I get it? Last but not least, I was wondering if anyone has bought from Millermeade farms and if so if what they can tell me about them. I've read a lot on their website and they seem reputable but I'm not sure... Thanks so much!! I'm posting pictures of my cage below so feel free to give advice, anything is welcome!! Note that I do not have my wheel yet my parents ordered me the carolina storm bucket wheel for Christmas
also I do have a 150 watt CHE with a repti temp 500r that will turn on the lamp if it's too cold it's just not shown here.Attachments
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Usually 8-10" of coroplast is recommended, if I remember correctly. Sounds like you're all set for your new baby! The cage looks great. The only thing I can think of is that you may end up wanting a smaller igloo - hedgehogs tend to like tighter spaces to sleep in and a smaller igloo would take up less space as well. It looks like you have the largest size, giant or something like that? A step down to the large would probably be just fine, I think it's the size most people use.
The cage looks great. The only thing I can think of is that you may end up wanting a smaller igloo - hedgehogs tend to like tighter spaces to sleep in and a smaller igloo would take up less space as well. It looks like you have the largest size, giant or something like that? A step down to the large would probably be just fine, I think it's the size most people use.441 - 458 of 458 Posts
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