How to Make Your Own Chinchilla Ledge

DIY Chinchilla Ledges

Chinchilla ledges are wooden ledges that attach to the sides of your chinchilla’s cage. They are an important part of the cage, and each one should have several ledges.

Chinchillas love to jump between them. They should be spaced far enough apart so that they can safely hop between the edges. Be careful not to place them too far apart, or your chinchilla may hurt itself, jumping from one to the other.

Besides providing exercise for your pet, ledges also provide a place for your chinchilla to rest. This is especially important if your cage has a mesh bottom that can hurt your pet’s paws.

Adding ledges to the cage will also increase its usable space as chinchilla cages have a higher height to allow for climbing. This is why your pet’s home should be multi-tiered instead of one flat level.

Ledges will help you use the extra vertical space in the cage.

Building Ledges is an Easy, Affordable DIY Project

You can buy ledges from your local pet shop, or you can make your own.

You can make them from a piece of wood and a few things from the hardware store. Making ledges is a very easy DIY project that only takes a few minutes.

What You Will Need

Hardware

• 1 6-inch piece of 1″x 5″ kiln-dried pine
• 1 hanger bolt
• 1 wing nut
• 1 fender washer

Items

• 2 hex nuts
• 2 wrenches
• Sockets and socket drivers
• Drill
• Tapered drill bits

The size of the nuts and washers must match the thread size of the hanger bolt, and the size of the socket and wrenches must match the size of the hex nuts.

Types of Wood You Can Use

The most readily available type of wood you can use is dried pine. You can purchase this type of wood from most lumber yards or home improvement stores.

There are better woods for chinchillas, such as apples and other fruits, but you probably won’t find them at your local home improvement store.

Although it’s not the absolute best wood, kiln-dried pine is generally safe for them, and you’ll find many chinchilla products made from it.

Some chinchillas can be allergic to pine wood, so keep an eye on them if you’ve never given them anything made of pine before.

1. Drill the Pilot Holes

The first thing you need to do is drill a couple of pilot holes. Drilling them helps keep your wood from splitting. It also makes it easier to start screwing in the hanger bolts and keeps them straight.

Measure one of the long sides of your piece of wood and mark points 1/3 from each end. Then use your taped drill bit and drill two straight holes in the side of the piece of wood.

2. Attach the Hanger Bolts

Next, we will attach the hanger bolts. A hanger bolt has one side with wood threading and the other side with machine threading. This lets you screw the hanger bolt into the wood and attach a nut on the other side.

• To screw the hanger bolt into the wood, we will need to lock two nuts on it. This is done by threading both hex nuts next to each other on the hanger bolt.
• Then, take your two wrenches and turn the lower nut counterclockwise while turning the upper nut clockwise. This will lock the two nuts together, so they won’t move.
• Now you can use your socket and socket driver to screw the hanger bolt into the pilot hole. Screw it until it reaches the point where the wood thread ends, so only the machine-threaded side shows.
• Remove the hex nuts by taking your two wrenches and turning the lower nut clockwise while turning the upper nut counterclockwise. This will unlock the nuts and free them, so you can remove the nuts.
• Repeat this step with the second hanger bolt to insert it into the other pilot hole.

3. Attach the Ledge to the Cage

Now all you have to do is attach the ledge to your chinchilla’s cage.

• To attach the ledge, simply insert the hanger bolts between the cage wires.
• Place the washers on the ends of the hanger bolts.
• Then, screw the wing nuts onto the hanger bolts to secure the ledge to it.

4. Don’t Forget to Sand the Edges

You don’t want your chinchilla to hurt themselves on any sharp edges, so you should use some sandpaper to round off the edges of the ledge.

If you have a sander or router, you can use those to round out the ledges even more. However, I usually don’t try to rotate, because chinchillas will rotate themselves by chewing on the edges.

You can also round the edges if you like.

Optional: Add Poop Guards

Another thing I like to add to the ledges for my chinchilla’s cage are poop guards. It’s just an extra piece of wood that extends above the ledge, preventing things from rolling out of the cage.

That little extra piece of wood will save you a lot of time cleaning up after your chinchilla.

You can add a poop guard to your ledge by getting a second piece of wood the same length as your ledge but not as wide.

Take your two pieces of wood and form an “L” shape with them, and screw your hanger bolts into both pieces of wood to hold them together.

Create More than Ledges

These techniques can be used to create more than just ledges.

You can measure your chinchilla’s cage and create custom-built shelves. These shelves can run all the way around your cage and fit perfectly in your chinchilla’s cage.

You can also make hanging boxes that can be placed inside your chinchilla.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It is not intended to replace diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals showing signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

Comments

aperture (author) from Raleigh, NC on May 24, 2016:

Wolfgang – These are made from kiln dried pine as recommended in the article. The edges in the picture towards the end will be routed, which can give you a plywood look. Plywood should be avoided for several reasons.

Hex nuts are used only for initially attaching the hanger bolt to the ledge. After that, you generally want to use a wingnut.

aperture (author) from Raleigh, NC on May 24, 2016:

Katie – I don’t like using wood glue on the things I give my pets, so I usually just use screws to attach them. Just be careful with the placement because you want to avoid putting the screw in an area that they will chew on.

Wolfgang on May 24, 2016:

The wood used here is a plywood. You can see the layers on the edge of the woods. Plywood is made with an adhesive that holds the layers together. It is not safe for a chinchilla. You should use something like poplar, or kiln-dried pine.

To make it easier, after the hanger bolt is installed in the wood, a simpler and more effective way to attach it to the cage is to put a washer over the hanger bolt inside the cage (press right against the wood and the cage bar.) And then put a second washer on the outside of the cage bar. And use a wingnut to tighten it. It’s so simple, no tools are needed, and it’s easier to remove when the time comes.

Katie on March 02, 2016:

When making hanging boxes how do you connect the edges?

Candy on August 09, 2015:

Thanks a lot for this post, I don’t know how to install them without breaking the threads, I don’t know this trick!

Jennifer on December 02, 2010:

thank you!

Dallas W Thompson from Bakersfield, CA on October 25, 2010:

Great idea… Thanks for sharing.

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