Many thank for this video! We're planning to build a gerbil cage and we took quite a few inspiration from you. As you mentioned in other comment, the drawer isn't essential - we decided to make our cage in 2 separate parts - deep, glass bottom with wooden chips for digging tunnels (easy to clean) and a top, wooden part with furniture and all the fun stuff. Thanks again for inspirations!
Moin Tim, Thank you for sharing your cage-projekt with us. Really great, for me it seems to be a really professionel construction. My son is also 11 years old an we are planning to have a pair of gerbils. Your cage-projekt is a great inspiration to us.
Fantastic looking cage! You clearly have some serious DIY skills :) Some possible issues with its design though, how deep is the bedding? They should have at least 20cm of bedding really (15cm bare min.), to allow for decent burrows. Also I see you're using plywood, did you manage to find a plywood with low or non toxic glues? PS I could've told you the fences would be gone in not time! :D
Hey, thank you. Bedding is 20cm and my son mixes straw into the bedding, that provides more stability for their burrows. I didn´t search for special plywood, since gerbils only chew on it, they don´t eat it. And I wouldn´t really get all the information about the glue anyway, I guess.
Hi Ala, thanks a lot for your nice comment. And you brought up a true point: It actually took plenty of time and it wasn´t cheap either. Especially the acrylic (4mm) is about 35,- Euros per square meter. As far as the time is concerned: I can truly unwind while woodworking, so that´s balancing it out. And a big part of the time was spend for figuring out how this cage should look like at the end, since I had found no template. And to the costs: I think, the drawer is not essential after all. You can clean the cage through the big front doors too. You could save even more costs by replacing the acrylic on the left and right side of the cage by wire mesh. Good luck with your project, Ala ;-)
oh my gosh this is fantastic! I built a hamster cage with my dad a year ago and now I have a mouse in it. its nothing special like yours though. just a 2 foot by 4 foot wooden and plexiglass enclosure. I wanna add a level and you gave me a lot of inspiration!
Thank you. The handrails have been chewed down by the two within a few weeks anyway. After more than 2 years now, "Felix" and "Benny" are doing fine, still curious and active.
This is amazing, I wish I had the time to build something like this. I love the shelves, my gerbils love digging and they kick bedding everywhere and it get annoying to clean. I’m planning on building something out of an ikea shelf, I’m going to keep you cage in mind, it looks amazing
Ashley Thyer-Burr I have the detolf too, I like it, but my gerbils keep kicking the bedding out of the cage (I have a lid, but it’s mesh) they also keep kicking it into their wheel, so I want to get a cage that has more height so they won’t kick their bedding out and I can put their wheel on a shelf.
Thank´s for your comment. I´m sorry that I don´t have my sketches anymore. But they weren´t real plans anyway. My tip is to do without the drawer. That was pretty complicated and the benefit is mediocre. What we really love is the acrylic glas everywhere. You can watch the gerbils building tunnels etc.
Hi, thanks. The fences have been the only thing, that was gone after only some weeks, they chewed it down. But all flat surfaces and inner corners are safe. The cage would last longer than 5 generations of mice.
@@tims.2832 that's great! I have been considering getting a glass tank because I wasn't sure if the perspex would be tempting to nibble on and last very long. Maybe I'll have a think about a diy solution instead. Thanks for replying!
Hey, thanks for the awesome video, just want you to know I built a huge cage for my hamster and this was a huge inspiration, I intend to build the multi levels like you did too. thanks!
Thanks for the kind words. Some more experience from having the cage for quite a while now: Make sure to really generously apply (several layers) clear coat on the levels (and let it dry long time before bringing it to your gerbils). That makes cleaning the levels really easy, keeps everything nice and fresh. I have to sand my levels down a bit and repeat the clearcoating, the coat was too thin initially. Other experience: The gerbils still l o v e the running wheel. If you can, give them the biggest and smoothest running wheel you can built or buy. It´ll probably be your gerbil´s great attraction in the cage - every day.
@@tims.2832 I put a cover down on the floor thats typically used for cabinets. I will apply a clear coat to the rest of the cage, thats a great idea. My hamster has a great wheel that she loves, she's getting a bit older now and uses it a bit less, but that was always her favorite part of the cage. thank you so much, and please upload more videos! theyre so cool
Hi, thank you. They can’t bite in flat surfaces, so faces of floor, ceiling and walls are safe. They are living in that cage for 1,5 years now, still there 😊
@@tims.2832 Really? Haha people always warned me for like everything. But if yours live in it without escaping, I would definitly get a cage like this one 😍😍😍
This is very cute. Just one question, how are you going to clean the wood levels, it seems hard to do. Other then that, this is purely amazing, and you are a very great father to do this for your son!
My son uses a brush and a shovel on a daily basis. Every one or two weeks he carries the three floors in the garden and cleans them more accurate. And all 4 to 6 weeks, we change the hole bedding. But you are right, its quite some effort. 😉
Hi Noa, they tried for about a year now, but they have no chance on flat surfaces. And that is nearly all of the inner cage. What they chewed down was my time-consuming fence, I should have saved my breath with that. Apart from that, they chew the furnishing, but that´s how it should be.
Hi, the dimensions are 55cm deep, 120cm wide, 70cm height. That is for sure species appropriate regarding two gerbils. Our gerbils are 2,5 years now, still doing fine, so this kind of cage seems to please them.
Hi. Its 4mm thick, that´s a good compromise between stability and weight. And I chose the more affordable kind, I think it is XT. Over the last 2 years, we cleaned and wiped the acrylic several times and its still crystalclear. The gerbils are still doing fantastic in their cage, they are still curious, very active. I think, the large space, their running wheel and constant changes to the interieur keep them busy and healthy.
Der Kommentar am Ende. :D Nein, sieht gar nicht schwer aus... Ich wünschte meine Gerbils hätten auch einen handwerklich begabten Besitzer. Ich frage mich, wie der Käfig inzwischen aussieht, weil Gerbils ja alles Holz innerhalb weniger Tage vernichten.
Thats either spruce or pine, I don´t remember any more. Either way, it was the most affordable wood at the home improvement store (Messrs. Toom or Obi, in my case).
@@tims.2832 In the UK, you can get them from places like B&Q, and at Home base, and in America, I would imagine you could buy them at Home Depot. I have also seen TH-cam sponserships with American companies that make guides for all sorts of tools(I think one of them is called Rockler). Hope this helps :)
@@jxcobriley Thank you, Jacob. But the pins work like a charm, at least if you own a drill press already, like I do. I was just interested, bcs in your first post you mentioned to know where to buy them cheaper than the pins, i. o. w. cheaper that 1,55 Euro shipping free.
As amazing as this is, it wouldn’t work for gerbils because they would chew through the wood, ruin the cage and escape! Gerbils chew EVERYTHING. Wood cages are not suitable. They should glass. They should also have at least 6 inches to dig
Hi AlyCattt, gerbils can't bite plain surfaces. Although they tried, none of the walls, floor or ceiling has any defects. And bacause of the clear coat their claws aren't doing anything at the surfaces either. But you' re right for my time consuming nice fences, my two gerbils "redesigned" that.
I love how at the end he says ‘it’s not that hard’ 😂😂😂
It looks amazing tho
that is the best gerbil cage i have EVER seen
Many thank for this video! We're planning to build a gerbil cage and we took quite a few inspiration from you. As you mentioned in other comment, the drawer isn't essential - we decided to make our cage in 2 separate parts - deep, glass bottom with wooden chips for digging tunnels (easy to clean) and a top, wooden part with furniture and all the fun stuff. Thanks again for inspirations!
Hey, that’s great 😁 👍
Moin Tim, Thank you for sharing your cage-projekt with us. Really great, for me it seems to be a really professionel construction. My son is also 11 years old an we are planning to have a pair of gerbils. Your cage-projekt is a great inspiration to us.
Fantastic looking cage! You clearly have some serious DIY skills :)
Some possible issues with its design though, how deep is the bedding? They should have at least 20cm of bedding really (15cm bare min.), to allow for decent burrows. Also I see you're using plywood, did you manage to find a plywood with low or non toxic glues?
PS I could've told you the fences would be gone in not time! :D
Hey, thank you. Bedding is 20cm and my son mixes straw into the bedding, that provides more stability for their burrows. I didn´t search for special plywood, since gerbils only chew on it, they don´t eat it. And I wouldn´t really get all the information about the glue anyway, I guess.
wow, this is really amazing! I wish I had the time and money :) I will try to make my own cage and hopefully luffy and draco enjoy it!
Hi Ala, thanks a lot for your nice comment. And you brought up a true point: It actually took plenty of time and it wasn´t cheap either. Especially the acrylic (4mm) is about 35,- Euros per square meter. As far as the time is concerned: I can truly unwind while woodworking, so that´s balancing it out. And a big part of the time was spend for figuring out how this cage should look like at the end, since I had found no template. And to the costs: I think, the drawer is not essential after all. You can clean the cage through the big front doors too. You could save even more costs by replacing the acrylic on the left and right side of the cage by wire mesh.
Good luck with your project, Ala ;-)
oh my gosh this is fantastic! I built a hamster cage with my dad a year ago and now I have a mouse in it. its nothing special like yours though. just a 2 foot by 4 foot wooden and plexiglass enclosure. I wanna add a level and you gave me a lot of inspiration!
Thanks a lot, Melanie.
Wow this cage is so nice! I wish that I am so talented😍
This guy is even more confident than Stefan Gotteswinter! 😁
I really enjoyed watching this. :)
I clicke d this video because I was looking for your ultimate sliding table saw, but you your project look good though.
The Lollies stick handrails is a bit dangerous as if they jump over it the legs could get stuck or broken but other wise an amazing build
Thank you. The handrails have been chewed down by the two within a few weeks anyway. After more than 2 years now, "Felix" and "Benny" are doing fine, still curious and active.
Nice work! Lucky gerbils!
Mark Wilson 😊 thx, Mark
This is amazing, I wish I had the time to build something like this. I love the shelves, my gerbils love digging and they kick bedding everywhere and it get annoying to clean. I’m planning on building something out of an ikea shelf, I’m going to keep you cage in mind, it looks amazing
Thank you, Sina 😊
I use the ikea detolf its the best one you can get for gerbils from lkea in my opinion, it's long and you can put a lot of bedding in it.
Ashley Thyer-Burr I have the detolf too, I like it, but my gerbils keep kicking the bedding out of the cage (I have a lid, but it’s mesh) they also keep kicking it into their wheel, so I want to get a cage that has more height so they won’t kick their bedding out and I can put their wheel on a shelf.
This is fantastic!
wow thats amazing! you should sell these! youd get $100 for one I bet!
this is absolutely amazing! do you happen to have building plans/more pictures of this ? because id like to recreate this myself!
Thank´s for your comment. I´m sorry that I don´t have my sketches anymore. But they weren´t real plans anyway. My tip is to do without the drawer. That was pretty complicated and the benefit is mediocre. What we really love is the acrylic glas everywhere. You can watch the gerbils building tunnels etc.
Congratulations this is a masterpiece. In case you would like to do a new one... For my new gerbil boys...
This looks great! I am wondering how it held up against the gerbils after a long period of time as I know they are renown for chewing :)
Hi, thanks. The fences have been the only thing, that was gone after only some weeks, they chewed it down. But all flat surfaces and inner corners are safe. The cage would last longer than 5 generations of mice.
@@tims.2832 that's great! I have been considering getting a glass tank because I wasn't sure if the perspex would be tempting to nibble on and last very long. Maybe I'll have a think about a diy solution instead. Thanks for replying!
Hey, thanks for the awesome video, just want you to know I built a huge cage for my hamster and this was a huge inspiration, I intend to build the multi levels like you did too. thanks!
Thanks for the kind words. Some more experience from having the cage for quite a while now: Make sure to really generously apply (several layers) clear coat on the levels (and let it dry long time before bringing it to your gerbils). That makes cleaning the levels really easy, keeps everything nice and fresh. I have to sand my levels down a bit and repeat the clearcoating, the coat was too thin initially. Other experience: The gerbils still l o v e the running wheel. If you can, give them the biggest and smoothest running wheel you can built or buy. It´ll probably be your gerbil´s great attraction in the cage - every day.
@@tims.2832 I put a cover down on the floor thats typically used for cabinets. I will apply a clear coat to the rest of the cage, thats a great idea. My hamster has a great wheel that she loves, she's getting a bit older now and uses it a bit less, but that was always her favorite part of the cage. thank you so much, and please upload more videos! theyre so cool
Looks very nice! But I wouldn't choose wood, because gerbils will chew on it, make holes and escape xd.
Hi, thank you. They can’t bite in flat surfaces, so faces of floor, ceiling and walls are safe. They are living in that cage for 1,5 years now, still there 😊
@@tims.2832 Really? Haha people always warned me for like everything. But if yours live in it without escaping, I would definitly get a cage like this one 😍😍😍
This is very cute. Just one question, how are you going to clean the wood levels, it seems hard to do. Other then that, this is purely amazing, and you are a very great father to do this for your son!
My son uses a brush and a shovel on a daily basis. Every one or two weeks he carries the three floors in the garden and cleans them more accurate. And all 4 to 6 weeks, we change the hole bedding. But you are right, its quite some effort. 😉
Very cool :)
How much to buy one like this from you let me know ASAP
Hey, very kind. Unfortunately, I don´t have the time to build more of them. But thx for asking.
Thanks lots.
Really cool cage! Just a question dosent the gerbils chew on the wood?
Hi Noa, they tried for about a year now, but they have no chance on flat surfaces. And that is nearly all of the inner cage. What they chewed down was my time-consuming fence, I should have saved my breath with that. Apart from that, they chew the furnishing, but that´s how it should be.
Thank you for the answer!
Wow, What did you do that nicely. I wish I had that cage.
I have a question: do you also sell the cage and for how much?
😊👍😁 ( I sub.)
Hey, thank´s for the kind words. I´m so sorry but I did not plan to build more of those cages so far, due to a lack of time ;-)
Do you have a plan or the measurements you used for this?
Hi, the dimensions are 55cm deep, 120cm wide, 70cm height. That is for sure species appropriate regarding two gerbils. Our gerbils are 2,5 years now, still doing fine, so this kind of cage seems to please them.
What is the thickness of the Plexiglas and which Type of Plexiglas GS or XT ?
Hi. Its 4mm thick, that´s a good compromise between stability and weight. And I chose the more affordable kind, I think it is XT. Over the last 2 years, we cleaned and wiped the acrylic several times and its still crystalclear. The gerbils are still doing fantastic in their cage, they are still curious, very active. I think, the large space, their running wheel and constant changes to the interieur keep them busy and healthy.
The urine doesn't soak into the wood shelves and stink after a while?
Inside, the cage is clear coated.
Do you remember what the measurements were for this? I would like to make one similar.
Hi, height is 60cm, width is 120cm, depth is 49cm. Timber are 4x2 or 7x2cm.
What about ventilation?
There are holes in the top, gaps in the doors. The mice are doing great for years now
@@tims.2832 gerbils arent mice tho?
Der Kommentar am Ende. :D Nein, sieht gar nicht schwer aus... Ich wünschte meine Gerbils hätten auch einen handwerklich begabten Besitzer. Ich frage mich, wie der Käfig inzwischen aussieht, weil Gerbils ja alles Holz innerhalb weniger Tage vernichten.
Ja, ok, war ein wenig überschwänglich. ;-)
What kind of wood is this
Thats either spruce or pine, I don´t remember any more. Either way, it was the most affordable wood at the home improvement store (Messrs. Toom or Obi, in my case).
i love your accent lol
Does this guy know that you can buy drill guides cheaper that those "pins"
Four of the 8mm-ones are 1,55 Euro at Amazon, shipping free. But I´d love to learn, where I can get a precise drill guide for less.
@@tims.2832 In the UK, you can get them from places like B&Q, and at Home base, and in America, I would imagine you could buy them at Home Depot. I have also seen TH-cam sponserships with American companies that make guides for all sorts of tools(I think one of them is called Rockler). Hope this helps :)
@@jxcobriley Thank you, Jacob. But the pins work like a charm, at least if you own a drill press already, like I do. I was just interested, bcs in your first post you mentioned to know where to buy them cheaper than the pins, i. o. w. cheaper that 1,55 Euro shipping free.
is it expensive?
If you already own the necessary tools and don’t account the time, then no. Materials
Tim S. Okay thank u
👏👍👏💕
As amazing as this is, it wouldn’t work for gerbils because they would chew through the wood, ruin the cage and escape! Gerbils chew EVERYTHING. Wood cages are not suitable. They should glass. They should also have at least 6 inches to dig
Hi AlyCattt, gerbils can't bite plain surfaces. Although they tried, none of the walls, floor or ceiling has any defects. And bacause of the clear coat their claws aren't doing anything at the surfaces either. But you' re right for my time consuming nice fences, my two gerbils "redesigned" that.
Are you german?
ja, tatsächlich.
My girbles would shred it if it was made of wood
Mine shredded the fences, I made on all ramps and floors. But cage itself (all inner faces) are safe. Works like a charm with wood.
Also u said gerbil wrong sksksk
true ;-)