Doubling the Size of your Chinchilla Cage

Hi all! I'm so thrilled to be able to share with your how I combined our two duos' cages; Finn & Knox's two Critter Nations and Henry and Chip's two Ferret Nations! Both are double unit, so a stacked two story cage, and now they are side by side with the sides removed so their whole cage space is doubled! Basically four quadrants now :) So here are the written steps for doing this yourself, it's really quite easy, and even easier with two people. I'd plan for about 3-4 hours of time to do everything from start to finish. Also, I will list the items I used for connecting the cages down below in our Amazon "Cages" List. But most of these things you can just find on your own! Steps: Set up new FN without two side panels; I have the jump through entrances in the front left, and the back right. Put pets in carrier (after having your new cage planned out to reduce time spent in carrier Remove all cage furnishings and accessories for the time being, but you can leave ones that are going to stay put. Remove side panels from existing single stack cage; Start by removing the entire top half Slide out the side panel on the bottom (put the hooks outside the slot so you can have it lined up and just pull up for least resistance) Remove the lid while it’s on the floor Slide out the other side panel (sometimes you have to wiggle it around a bit especially with older cages) Replace lid (Switch around middle grid if needed) Lift cage back onto bottom half. (Way easier with two people, but if you’re alone or stubborn like me, its doable! Remove anything to make it lighter. Again, I’m stubborn.) Easiest is having both cages mostly empty while combining them Push cages as close as possible so they’re touching Twist the wheels so they can be as close as possible. Start with a loose zip tie on the fronts (start with open doors for easy access, then close to push together), you can put the bottom front zip tie below the actual cage!) Then the backs. If everything looks lined up, tighten (you can always cut and try again!) I ended up putting an extra on the top front because Henry and Chip’s cage is very old and leans a bit, but its perfectly fine! Next add your metal pee guards to the open seam between the cages Secure first with a zip tie Place another layered on top, and zip tie it I don’t cut these because it creates a sharp edge inside the cage. Instead, you can just hide the zip tie tail under the pan. If you have a pet using a large wheel, you can attach it overlapping the two cages for a bit of extra support and security. Now begin adding your largest pieces of cage furnishings I like to create bridges and lines for them to follow with small jumps and ledges connecting larger items. You can now also add in hammocks and other items attaching to the “ceiling” of the bottom half before you put the pans down. When finished, put your pans back in (I like to lay down some fleece to quiet the metal pans If you have two higher edged metal pans, you can always stuff some fleece in between them or bridges going across to keep it from being too awkward a gap. Add your toys, accessories, food, and other items back in. Your pets are ready for their new mansion! Here are our products used: Double Unit Ferret Nation: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054U8UGW?linkCode=ssc&tag=thechinfluenc-20&creativeASIN=B0054U8UGW&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.2XTMY6H0TQ2R3&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin&th=1 Metal Zipties: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086265WH2?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1 Pee guards (I’m not sure these are the exact right ones, the ones I’m using were a gift!) https://bassequipment.com/ferret-nation-and-critter-nation-urine-scatter-gaurds/?sku=FP4-UG-SS&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19620937640&gbraid=0AAAAADhyWLhxA31B-SsTp7ui5Lb8xnLL1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiJvQBhCYARIsAMjts3IHHTIcXynJ6g2NqHldKre4Y4f1xxeT5Re1qiBawIoiEi2yLw6KjmgaAhGGEALw_wcB Fencing around the bottom of the cages: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B12ZFTXX?linkCode=ssc&tag=thechinfluenc-20&creativeASIN=B0B12ZFTXX&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.23MHVZFKYVTCQ&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin&th=1 All Our Toys! https://www.littlepalspets.com Thanks for watching everyone, I'm excited to continue doing the very best I can for the chinchilla and small pet world 💖 Check out Little Pals for some of the best, safest chinchilla and small pet enrichment 💖 https://www.littlepalspets.com Support the Chinpals! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chinpals Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Chinpals