How to Make a Chinchilla Cage Out of a Dresser

Finding the perfect chinchilla cage can be a challenge. Chinchillas are active animals, and require more space than other small animals such as rats and mice. They enjoy climbing and leaping from one elevated platform to another and they can develop health problems if their litter is not stored in a separate tray underneath the cage. Fortunately, you can have a cage that meets all these requirements by building it yourself out of an old dresser.

Things You'll Need

  • Screwdriver
  • Prybar
  • Saw
  • Hammer
  • 1 1/2-inch finishing nails
  • 3/4-inch galvanized cage wire
  • Staple gun
  • 1-inch cabinet hinges, 4
  • 2 hook-and-eye closures
  • Screw gun
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove all the drawers from the dresser. Unscrew any metal rails or rollers from the drawer tracks and remove them. Remove the top of the dresser using a prybar. Be careful not to break any of the boards in the dresser.

    • 2

      Saw the top of the dresser into six to eight rectangular boards. These should be long enough to span the space between the boards which supported the drawers and wide enough to fill half the space between the front and back of the dresser. Nail these boards to the crossbars inside the dresser using 1-1/2-inch finishing nails. Pound the nails flush with the surface of the wood and place the nails 2 inches apart at most. Place two of these platforms at each level of the dresser, staggering them so no two platforms are vertically aligned.

    • 3

      Cut a sheet of 3/4-inch mesh galvanized steel cage wire large enough to cover the bottom of the dresser. Spread the sheet flat on the bottom of the dresser and fasten it into place using a staple gun, placing a staple every inch or so around the perimeter of the sheet and along all crossbars. Flatten any sharp protrusions of wire along the edge of the sheet by using a hammer to pound them into the wood. Repeat the procedure to cover the top of the dresser.

    • 4

      Remove the fronts of two of the drawers using a prybar. Cut the center out of each board using a jigsaw, leaving a rectangular frame. Cover the front of each frame with a sheet of 3/4-inch cage wire and a staple gun. Attach a pair of 1-inch cabinet hinges to the bottom edge of each frame using a screw gun. Mount the frames in front of two of the dresser's drawer holes, hinges down. Mount a hook-and-eye closure on each of the frames to hold them closed. These will act as the doors to your cage. Cover the remaining holes in the front of the dresser using 3/4-inch cage wire and a staple gun.

    • 5

      Cut down the sides of the bottom drawer of the dresser until it can fit underneath the dresser with about half an inch to spare. Mount a drawer roller assembly at all four corners so the drawer can roll forward and backward on the ground. Fill the drawer with chinchilla litter and place it underneath the dresser.