# Just got a brand new cage for FREE! OMG



## graphite (Apr 6, 2011)

So I was looking through craigslist this morning, and I saw an ad for a free chinchilla cage. I emailed the guy, and he said someone else emailed before me, and he'd let me know if they didn't pick it up. I pretty much forgot about it and swallowed my disappointment. about seven hours later, he emailed me back and I drove across town to pick it up! This thing is HUGE! and it was still in the box! It's a Quality Cage Company two-door Chinchilla Mansion! It came with four bare pine shelves, which are pretty narrow at about 6". I'm probably going to paint them and cover them with clear stick-on shelf liner. Then I'm gonna make a full level and add ramps. It's galvanized, so I'm gonna call around and see if I can get it powder coated for my birthday next month. And in my happy-fest, I looked up all sorts of info on some popular cages:

Quality Cages Chinchilla Mansion: 
30"x24"x63"
20 cubic feet
Holds 10 rats

Double Critter Nation
36"x24"x63"
31 1/2 cubic feet
holds 15 rats

Double Ferret Nation
36"x24"x63 1/2"
32 cubic feet
holds 15 rats

Martins RUUD
30"x18"x60"
18 3/4 cubic feet
holds 9 rats

My ferret Periwinkle's unknown brand cage
30"x18"x48"
15 cubic feet
holds 7 rats

My rat boys' current cage, Super Pet Chew-Proof Ferret Cage (discontinued?)
30"x17"x28"
8 1/4 cubic feet
holds 4 rats


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

You can coat it yourself with rustoleum  and you can make it any color you want  That is almost as big as my DCN and FREE  Thats so great

Actually the DCN only holds 10 ... You need 2-2.5 sq ft for each rat minimum


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## graphite (Apr 6, 2011)

thats wierd, this cage calculator says 15 rats for the dcn, with 2 cubic feet per rat... huh. http://www.ratclub.org/cgi-bin/cage3.cgi

and I've rustoleum'd a cage before, and I wouldnt do it again, lol. I found a place in town that will powdercoat the cage in any color for around 50 bucks! and you cant beat the durability of powdercoating!


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

Wow! Lucky you! A huge free cage, what more could you want. I'm surprised that that other person didn't pick it up. Strange. Anyway, good luck with your cage


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

graphite said:


> thats wierd, this cage calculator says 15 rats for the dcn, with 2 cubic feet per rat... huh. http://www.ratclub.org/cgi-bin/cage3.cgi
> 
> and I've rustoleum'd a cage before, and I wouldnt do it again, lol. I found a place in town that will powdercoat the cage in any color for around 50 bucks! and you cant beat the durability of powdercoating!


2 cubic feet is the bare minimum... 2.5 is pretty much standard, and even then, I'd recommend going a few under what that calculator says. Congrats on the cage though!


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Congrats, thats a really good deal.

And the reason it says 15 rats is because the size it says on most websites is the size With the stand. If you take away the stand height it can only hold 10 max (let me know if I'm wrong though)


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## graphite (Apr 6, 2011)

ooooooh. that makes sense, lightningwolf. I dont have a critter nation/ferret nation so I was going with website dimensions. And I was also just putting generic cage calculator numbers, but I know the more space the better!


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## coxbrea151 (Jun 1, 2012)

PICTURES< PICTURES< PICTURES! Good job, such a good deal even with the added expense of the new levels and powder coating! You are so LUCKY! Please, pretty please  (puppy eyes) post pictures.


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## graphite (Apr 6, 2011)

well I ended up giving the new cage to the ferrets, because they needed the space more. The quote I got for the powdercoating was WAY off (thats what I get for listening to my brother's friends!) And was gonna cost more like $250! >.< But the ferts dont pee everywhere like my ratboys, so galvanized isnt so bad, as long as the ferrets dont take to bar chewing. I made a 3/4 level for free, since I live on a farm and I have all that stuff laying around. I used 1/2" mdf and cut it to size, then covered it with clear adhesive vinyl table cover stuff. It worked perfectly and I didnt have to paint and wait! I covered all the bare wood shelves with this stuff and its awesome. Pics soon!


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## windyhill (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice find!


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## MeganKaye (Aug 29, 2012)

Jaguar said:


> 2 cubic feet is the bare minimum... 2.5 is pretty much standard, and even then, I'd recommend going a few under what that calculator says. Congrats on the cage though!


I just wanted to mention how beautiful your siamese rattie is. I've been looking for one just like it for quite some time, now. They must be hard to find!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

MeganKaye said:


> I just wanted to mention how beautiful your siamese rattie is. I've been looking for one just like it for quite some time, now. They must be hard to find!


Thank you, he was quite a charming old man. Common colors tend to vary depending on location - Miles was my first rat, bought from a nasty pet store when I didn't know any better. They were the only store in town that had rats and they only bred Siamese (and some resulting blacks) so they were very common to me!


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## graphite (Apr 6, 2011)

My big boy Casper is a himalayan... but same story, he was a pet store rat, and was all cream colored when he was a baby, so I had no idea he'd get dark points until he got older!


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