[ToastieHammy]

Hi all,

Thanks again for the advice on my post about playpens a couple days ago! It was a bit of a fail because she spent 1 minute exploring and then tried to escape for the rest of the time she was in there but I think I'm just going to start with very short periods of time to get her used to it!
Anyway, the cage Summer is currently in is a 120cm x 55cm x 60cm DIY IKEA Linmon cage. I sealed all the corners/edges with non-toxic silicone, however, within a week she has stripped one side of the silicone and is making a start on the other corners. It looks like this is her trying to dig out of the corners so I have tried putting more bedding in (around 6-7inches) and supplying more chew toys etc, but she's getting more adamant with her chewing. I've blocked two of the corners with a bendy bridge and a flower pot but she's moved on to another corner now, which I guess is understandable since its just her trying to satisfy natural behaviours. But not only is it worrisome thinking she could escape, but I really don't like the thought of her ingesting bits of silicone either (although I'm pretty sure she hasn't eaten yet).
Only ideas I could come up with were stripping the silicone and hoping she won't chew through the wood, or using steel or plastic angles on all corners/edges inside the cage. I've read up and both plastic and steel seem to have their disadvantages, with plastic being very bad if she does chew bits off and metal having the possibility of breaking their teeth.
So in a bit of predicament!!

Thanks again for any advice guys! Of course I will continue to give her more things to do to reduce the behaviour in the first place and gradually introduce playpen time, but I need peace of mind that the cage is safe and non-escapable as well!