Thought I would start a thread with detailed information on creating a PVC cage for the gliders in case anyone is interested in building their own.

Sugar Glider PVC Cage Write-Up
By: Eric (AUtigers350z)

Supplies Needed:

9 - 10' long 1/2" PVC Pipe (Silver-Line) ~ $1.50/ea
8 - 1/2" PVC 90º Elbow ~ $0.30/ea
19 - 1/2" PVC Tee Fitting ~ $0.30/ea
3 - 1/2" PVC Cross Fitting ~ $1.00/ea
4 - 1/2" PVC Cap ~ $0.10/ea
6 - 1/2" PVC 4-way Fitting ~ $1.40/ea **
4 - 1/2" PVC 3-way Fitting ~ $1.20/ea **
2 - Garden Plus hardware netting 36"x10' ~ $14.50/ea
1 - 500pk 8" Cable Ties (white) ~ $12.50
4 - 1/4 x 1 1/2" Bolts ~ $0.15/ea
4 - 1/4" Washers ~ $0.10
4 - 1/4" Nuts ~ $0.10/ea
2 - 1" Hook & Eye latch ~ $1.20/ea

Total Price : ~$83.50 + tax/shipping

** Had to order these parts online (littlegreenhouse.com was best price) due to the angles not being compliant with plumbing laws - therefore nowhere locally carried them.

- Purchased all of the items besides the one's with (**) at Lowe's. Make sure all the PVC fittings are slip fittings and not threaded!

3-Way:

4-Way:

Cross:

Elbow:

Tee:


Building Process:

- Cut the PVC pipe into the following lengths:

20 - 15" pieces
17 - 12" pieces
4 - 29" pieces
4 - 10" pieces
4 - 18" pieces
4 - 8" pieces
1 - 36" piece
4 - 12.5" pieces
4 - 34" pieces

- Assemble frame according to the following diagram. Should be somewhat obvious by looking at the picture where the different fittings go..


- Assemble the doors using the 12.5" and 34" pieces and the 90º elbows.

- Drill a hole through both walls of the PVC on the frame and one wall of the PVC on the door for each of the hinges (there are 4 hinges total, 2 on each door). Assemble based on the pictures below, using washers to take up space where needed. See pictures below for help..

Top Hinge:




Bottom Hinge:


- Screw the hook & eye latches into the doors and middle PVC between the doors as demonstrated below..



*I found that after the netting was tightly fastened to the frame and doors, it was rigid enough that only one set of hook & eye latches per door would be sufficient. However, if your gliders are escape artists or would like more security, you could install one set near the top and one near the bottom.

- Lay the hardware netting on the outsides of the assembled frame and fasten tightly with cable ties, removing excess with scissors. (Helps to go ahead and attach the netting onto the horizontal parts of the cage first [top, middle, bottom] with the netting facing the inside of the cage). Then fasten a sheet of netting to the outsides of each door using cable ties.

- At this point, you're basically finished with the cage. Make sure the ends are clipped on the cable ties and that nothing sharp is facing inward where the gliders could get injured.

Other things to note:

- I bought (also from Lowe's) a 36"x30" appliance tray that fit perfectly under the cage to catch food, waste, etc.

- On the middle level, there should be an empty hole in the cross fitting to add anything else you might want to get experimental with. I have my Wodent Wheel rigged to fit in there. You should have enough PVC left over to experiment with this a bit.

- Helps to use some sort of power/circular saw to cut the PVC to insure accurate length and smooth edges.

- After I finished cutting everything, I washed them off in the bathtub with hot water to clean them up and get the shavings off/out.

More pictures:



















And just in case anyone was wondering, yes the cage is next to my cable jack, but it's far enough away that curious hands won't be able to touch it



If you have any questions, shoot me a PM :)

Our cage is just a big box. I'll have to take pics and show you why your cage is so much better than ours! We spent $50 to make ours and it is 5 feet tall, 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide. We don't have PVC supports as well as you do or doors that swing open (although we thought about & changed our minds).

AWESOME CAGE! I LOVE IT!

Do you care if I add this to the Gliderpedia?

Actually, I added it. I figured if you posted it, you were OK with people seeing it. LOL Let me know if it's not OK.

This is great, I thank you very much for posting. I will most likely use this for my project during the summer. Once again, thanks for taking the time to come up with this and post it. =)

I won't be making a cage as I just purchased one, but I wanted to give you a two MAJOR thumbs up on going into such detail, including with the color coded diagram. That's incredible.
Definitely the best (no offense to anybody else!) set of instructions on cage building I've ever seen!

Awesome job!!

Thanks for all of the positive comments!

I read up on some ideas for the PVC cage from Tortiebaby and Catman and then kinda mixed together the parts I liked of each design and modified it a bit in my own way.

Greatly encourage anyone who is thinking about upgrading their cage to give the do-it-yourself approach a shot. Might surprise yourself with what you're capable of!

Edited the original thread with some higher resolution pictures at the end as well.

Do they eat through the mesh? I was thinking of making my own cage, but was planning on using the coated metal mesh as opposed to the plastic.
I am so going to steal your design, but actually make the pan slide out by upping your dimension slightly (so it can fit between the legs). I never thought of the appliance pan...good thinking!

just keep an eye on where your zip ties are, the first cage I made I used the same mesh as you, after a few months the mesh started poping apart where the zip ties where, mostly all along on the bottom of the cage, made gaps big enough I could put my hand through. I made a new cage with the vinyl coated wire mesh and have had no problems as of yet

My girls would totally chew through the plastic mesh. I'm sure if yours are chewers they would too Raenstoirm.

My girls don't eat through the plastic mesh. My advice would be to actually feel it in the hardware store before you buy it. The stuff I got is pretty heavy duty. It was hard to clip it with toenail clippers/scissors. Way more durable than I originally thought it would be.


sameeee, I'll keep an eye on the zip tie points. Thanks for the heads up.

Well, it's been a little over two months so I thought I would give an update on the cage. Just took it outside today and hosed it down/scrubbed it. Everything seems to be holding up great!! It's very easy to clean with water/vinegar every few days and not too much of a pain to bring outside and give a thorough cleaning when needed.

Mesh is in great condition. Isn't splitting apart at the zip ties or falling victim to teething gliders. Zip ties are all still intact as well.

I am extremely happy with this cage and I know the girls love it Hope everyone has a good 4th of July tomorrow!

I have a request, since my conversion skills suck I need a bit of help. I have a space that is 84 in high x 42 in wide x 30 inch deep and I want to build a cage to fill it up, can some one help.