Hamster Central - View Single Post - DIY wooden cage

mangoandmimi · 09-25-2018, 01:38 PM

Chipboard isn’t something I’d use for cage sides as I’m not convinced adding sticky plastic on it makes it safe when you consider all the glue that’s in the chipboard. It is by no means strong or chewproof either.
Can you get melamine boards instead? It’s just coated chipboard but is more suitable, and is easy to wipe. It’s safe to use too.
Pine - yes there’s still some debate on using pine boards. However the exposed surface area of a pine board is almost negligible compared to if you were to use non kiln dried pine shavings in the cage, which would be dangerous. So with boards, there is significantly less exposure to the phenols in the wood. I have seen some nice looking pine cages but I do still think melamine is the way to go if you’re looking to build a cage!

09-25-2018, 01:38 PM
mangoandmimi Little Miss Tinytoes Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: UK Posts: 7,036	Re: DIY wooden cage - is chipboard safe? Chipboard isn’t something I’d use for cage sides as I’m not convinced adding sticky plastic on it makes it safe when you consider all the glue that’s in the chipboard. It is by no means strong or chewproof either. Can you get melamine boards instead? It’s just coated chipboard but is more suitable, and is easy to wipe. It’s safe to use too. Pine - yes there’s still some debate on using pine boards. However the exposed surface area of a pine board is almost negligible compared to if you were to use non kiln dried pine shavings in the cage, which would be dangerous. So with boards, there is significantly less exposure to the phenols in the wood. I have seen some nice looking pine cages but I do still think melamine is the way to go if you’re looking to build a cage!