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Sugar gliders have special housing needs. Since they enjoy climbing and jumping, it is important for you to provide ample vertical space in the cage. You also need to be sure to place the feeding station up high, to help avoid problems with sanitation. Provide space for a nesting pouch somewhere near the cage ceiling. And make sure you use a cage wire that prohibits your pet from escaping or getting stuck between the cage bars. In addition, make sure your cage is easy to clean and accessible for feeding and retrieving your sugar glider.
Glider Connection may offer cage kits again in the future. But in the interim, here's a simple and relatively inexpensive cage design that we've used to build several sugar glider cages for ourselves and for our friends. This design requires NO J-CLIPS and NO J-CLIP PLIERS! So it is less frustrating and less expensive to build, in comparison to other cage designs. You can probably build it for under $50! And you can easily modify the plan to meet your space requirements. Plus, everything you need can probably be found in your local hardware store! This finished cage measures 23" X 23" X 36" with a 24" X 24" total width (including drop tray). Adjust the height and width to suit your needs and available materials.
YOU WILL NEED:
2 - 23" x 23" vinyl-coated 19-gauge galvanized steel hardware cloth cage wire sections (these form the cage ceiling and floor). Note: Hardware cloth may be purchased in rolls or by individual sheets, depending upon where you shop. We normally purchase this at our local hardware store in the gardening department. If you are looking for this, check out Ace Hardware. (You can build the entire cage with only 3 rolls of 3' x 5' hardware cloth -- approximately $10 per roll). Be sure to get wire grid no wider than 1/2" x 1". Our example pictured above shows 1/2" x 1/2" wire grid.
5 - 23" x 36" vinyl-coated 19-gauge hardware cloth cage wire sections (these form the 4 cage walls and the extra sheet is used to make the feeding station, ramp, extra tier and door).
200 4-inch plastic cable ties (used to fasten wire pieces together). These are available in several colors, so you may choose cable ties to match your hardware cloth. (We generally use all black or all green, depending upon the color of the cage wire). Cable ties are an inexpensive yet effective alternative to costly metal clips. They are durable and will remain in place until you cut them off. And unless your sugar glider suffers from a stress-reduced problem with gnawing, you will probably never have an incident in which these connectors are chewed. In fact, if you are careful to clip off the excess cable (once you have looped the end through the hole and pulled it taut), the tie won't even be noticed!
1 - 24" x 24" vinyl rabbit cage drop tray (these are often used to build rabbit cages, so if your hardware store doesn't stock this item, try a feed store). NOTE: This tray must be slightly wider than the cage, as the cage sits inside the tray (which helps keep dropped food and fecal matter within the cage). Choose a sturdy vinyl tray to avoid problems with rust, and to help minimize odor and bacteria collection. This particular tray was purchased at a feed store for $12.00 and features several raised areas which serve to give the tray strength while keeping the cage floor slightly raised so that waste falls underneath the cage to prohibit the sugar gliders from walking through waste matter when they are on the floor.
1 8-foot plastic paneling end-capping trim (available in a variety of colors). Used to trim doorways to protect sugar glider and owner from sharp wire edges. See doorway picture below.
4 Latch sets (2 per door). We prefer latching our doors on both left and right sides of the doorways to ensure security. There are several types of pre-fabricated latches available on the market. However, we prefer making our own latches (to avoid having to use special installation tools). So, for a 2-door cage you will need 4 split-rings and 4 S-hooks and 4 handyman springs. Be sure to get sturdy handyman springs so that they are strong enough to hold the doors closed. The cage latch is made of a metal split ring, an S-hook, and a handyman spring. (We generally make 4 of these units for each cage). You will need to use a pair of pliers to put this latch together. Simply wrap ONE end of the S-hook around BOTH the handyman spring and the split ring. This creates your spring-handle. The other end of the S-hook acts as your latch. Once you have this three-piece unit assembled, you may attach it to your cage door by threading the other end of the handyman spring around the door wire. Note: Handyman springs come in different sizes and gauges, and you'll want to purchase springs appropriate for your strength and the weight of your cage door.
Tools:
Measuring tape or yard stick
Wire Cutters
Pliers
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: CUT WIRE
-- Cut your hardware cloth (cage wire) to the dimensions listed above.
-- Cut a square doorway (10" x 10") in one of the 23" x 36" panels. This is your front doorway. We generally cut our doorway 5" from the top and 5" from the left side to give us easy access to the feeding station. Save the piece of wire that you cut to make the doorway, and trim off any excess wire nubs, because you will use this to make a door for your second (smaller) doorway.
-- Cut a square doorway (8" x 8") in another one of the 23" x 36" panels. This is your smaller doorway, great for accessing the lower portion of the cage for cleaning, etc. Note: this door is not necessary, but provides extra access to your pet and cage accessories. We generally cut this doorway about 5" from the bottom and 5" from the left side of the panel.
-- Using the 5th 23" x 36" panel, cut out a square door (11" x 11"). This is the door which you will use for the 10" x 10" doorway (which you already cut in the first panel).
-- Using the remainder of the 5th 23" x 36" panel, cut a 23" x 4" ramp and a 23" x 7" feeding station and a 23" x 10" tier (great location for a wodent wheel). Note: if you plan ahead, you should have no problem getting a door, a ramp, a tier, and a feeding station out of this one panel. (Measure twice, cut once!)
STEP 2: ASSEMBLE
-- Attach two side panels (23" x 36") to the front panel (23" x 36"). Note: the front panel has the large doorway, and one of the side panels has the smaller doorway. Be sure you have your larger doorway (on the front panel) positioned at the top toward the left. And be sure that the right side panel (which has the smaller doorway) is positioned so that the doorway appears at the bottom toward the left. (As seen in photo above). Using the cable ties, spaced about 3"-4" apart, connect the side panels to the front panel. When using the cable ties, you will notice that there are ridges on one side of the ties. This is important to note, because these ridges must be faced outward to make the tie "click" securely and stay in place.
-- Attach the ceiling panel (23" x 23") next, to give your cage some stability whilst you attach the tiers and ramp.
-- Now it is time to attach the tiers, ramp, and feeding station. Take a look at the photo example, and you will notice that the feeding station is on the same side as your lower smaller doorway. The wider tier is placed opposite the feeding station, and lower in the cage. Be sure to place your feeding station 5" from the top. And place your tier at 10" from the bottom.
-- The ramp runs diagonally from the feeding station to the tier (it will eventually be attached to the back wall, opposite the front doorway). For right now, simply attach the ends of the ramp to both the feeding station and the tier.
-- Attach the back panel (23" x 36") to the ramp. Note: you must attach the back panel to the ramp before you attach the back panel to the side panels, in order to permit you to reach inside the cage to manuever the cabel ties through the wire grid. Once all of the interior pieces are attached to the 23" x 36" panels, you are ready to attach the back panel to the two side panels and ceiling panel.
-- Turn the cage upside down and attach the floor panel (23" x 23") to the four side panels (23" x 36"). Your cage should look almost complete!
STEP 3: TRIM
-- Cut door trim at 45-degree angles to make mitred joints (90-degrees) like a picture frame around the doorways. (Remember, measure twice and cut once!) Slip the frame around the doorways. (Although it is not necessary, and not shown in the photo, if you want to frame your doors too, you will need to purchase an additional piece of panel end-capping trim).
STEP 4: ATTACH
-- Once the doorways are framed, you may attach the doors with the cable ties. We prefer to have our door hinges at the bottom to permit us easier access.
STEP 5: LATCH
-- Attach a pre-fabricated door latch to your doors. OR assemble each of the four split rings to the handyman springs with the S-hooks. In other words, one end of the handyman spring will be attached to the cage door (place the spring about 2" from the sides and 2" from the top, onto the door itself). The other end of the handyman spring will be attached to one end of the S-hook, along with the split ring. (So you use your pliers to close one end of the S-hook around both the spring and the split ring. The other end of the S-hook remains open and should face toward the cage, as it serves as your door latch. The split ring selves as a handy handle to enable you to easily open and close the cage.
STEP 6: FINISH
-- Place the cage into the drop tray. Add a cage pouch, some toys, a water bottle and food dishes. Your cage is complete and ready to use.
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