How to Build a Treehouse for a Chinchilla

Give your chinchilla the home it deserves with treehouse shelves.

The chinchilla is a pet that will provide you with hours of entertainment. If you want to provide the best home for your pet chin, try to mimic its natural habitat. Give your chinchilla shelves to climb on and sit on in its cage and it will feel like it is living in a tailor-made treehouse. With basic woodworking skills, you can create shelving for a treehouse-style setup for your pet chinchilla.

Things You'll Need

• Solid pine wood planks, 2-inch by 4-inch
• Sandpaper
• L-shaped brackets
• Drill
• Screws

Instructions

1. Cut the pine planks to fit inside the cage. Cut two planks approximately 1 inch shorter than the width of the cage. Cut two more planks to be 3 inches long and two more that are 5 inches long.

2. Sand the wood planks on all sides to prevent injury to you while working and to make all smooth and comfortable for your pet.

3. Stand a 3-inch plank up on its side so the cut edge faces up. Repeat this with the other 3-inch plank, then place one of the longer planks on top to form a shelf shape. The 3-inch planks should line up just under the short ends of the longer plank.

4. Position an L-shaped bracket on the underside of the shelf where the top meets one end. Use a drill and a screw bit to attach the bracket to the wood. Repeat this with another bracket on this end of the shelf, then attach two more to the opposite end.

5. Repeat the process of steps two and three to create a taller shelf with the other long piece and the two remaining 5-inch planks.

6. Place the shelves inside the cage for your chinchilla to climb and rest.

Tips & Warnings

• If the shelves are wobbly, you may need to anchor them to the walls of the cage. To do this, screw in a closed loop hook to the shelf at either end, then tie wire through this hook and around the cage bars.

• Several wood varieties are toxic for chinchillas, according to Chinchillas.com. Use solid pine for your treehouse shelves so your chinchilla will not be harmed if it chews on the wood.

References

• Chinchillas: Hobbyist Caging
• Chinchilla Care Info: Learn About the Natural Chinchilla Habitat So You Can Create the Perfect Home For Your Chin