Skip to main content

The Big Degu Cage Build - Part Three

The weather held out for most of the day so the cage is progressing nicely. I have all of the pieces which make the shell cut (minus the 2 mess guards) and the bottom section pieces are partially assembled. I still have all of the internal shelves to cut.

MDF pieces which make the bottom outer section of the cage.

There was a little bit of weather drama early afternoon. 2 pieces left to cut and it was approaching 1PM so work stopped for lunch as the weather predicted thunder storms after 4PM. Not so. By 2PM it started to rain but thankfully a half hour dry spell before the real rain started meant the remaining side panels could be cut.

Bottom section outer shell assembled (minus mess guard).

For a pair of novices with next to no carpentry skills (and a little fatherly help) the cage isn't looking too bad. MDF, while relatively inexpensive, is notoriously hard to join as it can split when screwing down into the edge. To combat this we nailed and glued the panels together.

  • First pilot holes were drilled through the 2 narrow sides of the bottom piece. The holes help guide the nails. The MDF I'm using is 18mm thick so a line was drawn 9mm from the outer edge and the pilot holes were drilled along this line at regular intervals. I think there's a bout 7 in total.
  • A generous amount of wood glue was applied to the bottom edge of the side pieces and then nailed to the bottom piece. The sides sit on top of the bottom piece so that the nails are on the underside.
  • Next, pilot holes were made in the back piece along it's sides and bottom edge (9 in each). Again, using nails and glue, the back piece was attached only this time it doesn't sit on top of the bottom. It's nailed to the backside edges of the 2 side pieces and the bottom piece to give more strength.

I'll have to see if I can make a few diagrams showing which way I attached the pieces. Hoping to have it finished by the weekend so that I can paint the outside to match the decor and give it plenty of time to dry before the degus move in.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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.
4 comments
Read more

Degu Versus the Wooden Wheels

When I bought wooden exercise wheels for my 3 girls I knew I was taking a gamble. Degus love to chew wood but in the back of my mind I was hoping that they'd realize that wheel destruction meant no running. After all, they are rather intelligent little rodents. Close up of damage After 6 months of little to no interest in chewing the wheels I thought I was on to a winner and had the only non-destructive degus in the world. This afternoon, after a morning out walking I came home to wheel destruction. Degu damage to Wooden Exercise Wheels 4 hours earlier they weren't particularly bad. Just some light gnawing around the edges and on the stands. Now they resemble something that's been, quite literally, blown apart by a grenade. It's like they woke up this morning and thought, "Right, degus. We're going to start chewing these wheels and we're not going to stop until they're gone!" It's a good job I didn't pay full price for the ...
1 comment
Read more

Degu Home Decor

The girls have settled down a little since I got them on Friday so while they were snoozing earlier this morning I took the opportunity to take some photos of their degu home decor. Bottom Section - Grass Hammock If you've read some of my Cage Build Posts you'll know that the cage is built in 2 parts, a bottom & top section, for easier moveability. The bottom floor of the bottom section is the digging pit. My aim is to make this as natural looking as possible. It is filled with around 15cm of wood shavings and some hay. I've used horse wood shavings as the shavings are large and allows the degus to burrow when mixed with the hay. Underground Hideout They have an underground area which is a hay tunnel sunk down in to the wood shavings. If you can't find one of the girls the first place to look is here because they love playing in it. You can also see a few willow branches. I got a bundle of 20 of these from B&Q for £6.99. They're about 50cm long a...
2 comments
Read more