Scrat & Chips Home Finished

[chris]

It's finished 

Allot of work, 1/2 a day over schedule and blood shed, Scrat & Chips new Des Res is finished. (It would have been finished on time except a rather important football match occurred in Manchester yesterday which I couldn't miss on TV )

Welcome to Chez Chipmunk or a 6' x 4' shed converted into chipmunk paradise.

Well I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but I'm pretty pleased with the results and Scrat & Chip have spent the afternoon manically exploring their new home.

Regards


Chris & Sharon

[Gilly]

Great photo's Chris. You've done a really good job of converting the shed into a good size home for them.
Considering you wasn't sure of the design or your DIY skills it's a brilliant build.
I hope they settle in OK..........Gilly 

[chris]

Any advice on water bottles would be a help as I've double wired the cage with a 2 inch gap between the mesh, the spouts on the water bottles are only just reaching the inside mesh.

Thanks for your comments on the build Gilly its nice to know an experienced chipmunk keeper approves of the design.

[Gilly]

You could put the bottle inside. Or I'm guessing you want to fill it up from the outside. Could you cut out the outer mesh maybe in the bottom corner so the bottle attaches to the inside mesh from the outside  if that makes sense. So there is one area of single mesh.
That could mean making an L shaped frame (upside down)around the bottle, to fix the mesh to again.

Hope that's understandable.

[sarah-J]

Hi Chris,

Well done, and I didn't even have to do the extra photo's for you! lol  It looks like a good nice place for them.

If you've not solved the problem with the water bottle.  Just drill a hole in the wood section the size of the spout and poke it through, then fasten it with the wire and some small cup hooks or similar,  I would also invest in a bigger bottle!!

Welcome to the outdoor world....

Sarah

[tarcus/Kevin]

 

Excellant job on the emporium could I make just one suggestion.
Have you thought of using a budgie nesting box for them to sleep in?
It is a little warmer for those sometimes cold nights.

[chris]

Thanks for the ideas on the water bottles I'll see if I can do something on the ideas you've given me tomorrow Gilly & Sarah. They also have a large bottle but you can't see it on the pictures Sarah.

Tarcus they have 3 wooden nest boxes in the aviary. The 2 small nest things you see in the picture are for them to store food or whatever else they like in.

[chris]

I think I found the answer to the water bottle problem at my local garden centre where I got Scrat from.

It's a Living World Secure Water Bottle http://www.bizrate.co.uk/small-pet-supplies/oid949090302.html

Its a bit large maybe but the spout sticks well through the double layers of mesh.

[Gilly]

Thats a better idea Chris  and saved some hard work

[Nate]

That looks like a model home for someone wanting to build an outside aviary. It looks to be in the sun, your chipmunks will love being in the sun. I like that you double meshed the main aviary, and one day you may find the air lock entrance worth the extra effort. There's been a number of times when my chippies have moved so fast they've caught me unaware, such fast movers.

Some of my indoor aviary's are double meshed, and i have had to fix the water bottles in the inside.

[chris]

Thanks for all the positive comments about Scrat & Chips new home.

It was hard work as I'm not good at DIY but I'm really pleased with the finished result although we will probably be adding more things to the interior to keep them amused.  We moved their original nest boxes into the aviary as we thought this would make them feel more at home after the move, along with all their toys.

I double meshed it as I think I have read on here somewhere that it keeps cats claws away from them if the chips are climbing on the wire. As we have 4 cats here and there are allot more cats in the area this seemed like a very good piece of advice that I followed.

Scrat and Chip have now had their second day in their new home. Scrat runs around manically all day but Chip seems much more wary of her new surroundings, they also seem less tame when I go in with them now, but I'm hoping this will wear off as they adjust to their new surroundings.

[chris]

Hmmmm worried now because I just looked at the weather forcast and its going to get colder again by the end of the week.
Chips nest box is stuffed full of straw and tissue so much so its poking out the opening. Will this keep them warm enough if it gets colder?

[sarah-J]

Hi Chris,

My chips never hibernated over the last few years, and I use woodsavings and hay in the nest boxes, if you feel in when they first get up the boxes always feel real warm, Only this year I think may have been a problem, but we've never had it that cold before.  Hay is warmer and softer then straw, so maybe you could change to hay.

Popcorn lived at the pet shop for the last year, and he has settled in outside, and seams happy enough, sometimes we can worry to much! no matter how much you put in they always find room for them selves! and when there in for the night they push the hay towards the hole to seal it.

If your still worried you could always bring them in for a while longer, But the English weather is never predictable! it snowed last easter (I was camping, very cold!!)

Sarah

[Teresa]

Fantastic aviary and the safety door looks great.
I've cheated and got a ready made one thats waiting to be put up, but we have built a pond so thats our excuse, when we've finished I'll post pictures.
Anyway what I wanted to ask is where did you get that trellis thing you've got against the wall?  I've got a 6ft solid wall that I was wondering what I was going to use to attach things to.  The trellis would be ideal and they can climb on it too and it looks like its made from sticks and not thin bits of wood like you usually get.

[chris]

I think the trellis came from our local garden centre so it may be worth checking out some garden centres near you to see if they have any.
This is the website of the garden centre we got ours from  http://www.birchgrovegc.co.uk/ so maybe you could get more info there or its a 1 1/2 hour drive  if you decide to visit it.