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The Big Degu Cage Build - Part Ten

It's almost 7PM and I'm not finished. At 5:30PM, while hanging the doors, I realized that there were no more screws of the correct size left and the shop would be shut before I got there. So I have only the top doors hung.

Before bed I'm going to finish the inside by adding branches, bridges, ramps, ladders and other accessories. Then I'll fill it with wood shavings and hay ready for my new family members. Tomorrow I'll be outside waiting for Wilkinsons to open so I can get some more screws before I go to the pet store and my dad will kindly hang the remaining doors while I'm out.

Hopefully they won't have sold out of degus before I get to the pet store.

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Comments

  1. Sophie Anne12 December 2012 at 17:11

    OH MY GOD! I <3 your cage. It's HUGE! Your degus must love it in there. I don't think I'd be able to make something like that myself... woodwork is so not my thing LOL

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  2. Unknown12 December 2012 at 17:14

    Thanks Sophie Anne! To be honest I didn't think I'd be able to build it either but it's amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it. :)

    Woodwork isn't exactly one of my fortes either!

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  3. Unknown25 February 2015 at 13:38

    Hi I was just wondering what paint you used to seal the inside of your cage and how well its lasted I plan to build a cage for my kids degu based on you plan

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  4. Unknown25 February 2015 at 13:57

    Hi William. I just used a standard water based white emulsion, it's not completely non-toxic but it is far less toxic than an oil based paint. I figured that as long as they didn't figure a way to chew the flat surface, which shouldn't happen, then it would be fine, and even if they did get maybe a small amount it would be non-toxic enough not to hurt them.

    Myka did manage to take a chunk out of the purple on the outside, which is water resistant bathroom paint, and she was fine. If you're worried you could try and find a child safe paint but it could be very expensive for the amount needed.

    The cage is still holding up after almost 3 years. There are a few issues which I would change, like the mdf bows outward slightly on the bottom of the top section at the front and I get bedding stuck in the gap, but this was my first woodwork project so to be still standing after this amount of time is quite an achievement. If I could have afforded it I would have used proper wood but MDF is a good alternative. Just remember that MDF is toxic because of the glues used to make it so make absolutely sure they can't get at it to chew it.

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