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The Big Degu Cage Build - Part Five

Wednesdays are usually a day where I never seem to get a lot done for some reason but not today. The degu cage build is moving along at a steady pace.

This morning my brother, and myself, nailed and glued the back and sides of the top section together and then began work on the kiln-dried pine frame which will eventually become a wire mesh top.

Top section half complete

The pine we used is 32mm x 32mm. The frame isn't all that great a fit because we thought a hand saw would do the job, but no. I think we spent about 2 hours just trying to get the ends straight. With a little bit of filling and sanding it should be okay.

The screws we used were overkill too. It was cheaper to buy a bag of 100 x 75mm screws for the doors than it was to buy 2 packets of 10 so we just used them. Ideally they should have been about 50mm but if it works don't fix it.

The finished frame was then attached flush with the upper edge of the top section using some shorter screws which we had to raid the 'man' drawer for. Just have the 13mm x 13mm wire mesh (which you can just see in the top photo) to attach with a staple gun and the internal shelves left.

When together enclosure stands at 190cm tall

After the pine frame had been attached we placed the top section on the base and suddenly realised just how big this thing actually is! The photo shows the cage without the first and third levels (still have those to cut) and the, now attached, shallow mess guard on level two.

I also managed to prime one of the outer sides ready to be painted a nice shade of 'ahoy' to match the decor of the room. I want some extra pee protection on the interior walls so I'm reading up on whether it's a 'yay' or 'nay' to seal the inside against unwanted moisture. MDF hates the wet so I, at the very least, want to seal it with a few layers of a water & PVA glue mix. I might paint it white first to reflect the light and give the illusion of it being brighter in there. Should be safe enough… don't think the 'goos' will be licking the walls!

Construction wise I only have the doors and internal shelves left to do. I've also solved my problem of preventing falls from the 2nd floor opening which is at the front of the cage.

Only 9 days left until my new furbabies move in!

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