Easy made bin cages?

[A_Couple_In_Love]

I need to seperate one of my chinese hamsters and was thinking of making a bin cage as it's all i can get my hands on at the moment.

I was wondering what all you have made your bin cages like? I will be buying one of these bins.. are these ok to use or?

ASDA Pink Plastic Storage Box - 30L | Storage | ASDA direct (http://direct.asda.com/ASDA-Pink-Plastic-Storage-Box---30L/002049119,default,pd.html)

ASDA 30 Litre Box | Plastic Storage | ASDA direct (http://direct.asda.com/ASDA-30-Litre-Box/001421687,default,pd.html)

ASDA 45 Litre Plastic Storage Box with Lid - Black | Plastic Storage | ASDA direct (http://direct.asda.com/ASDA-45-Litre-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-Lid---Black/001407512,default,pd.html)

Also what do i do about the things like.. the water bottle and the wheel ( although i know you can get a stand for these).

Is there anything else i need to know about making one? I have read the WIKI instructions but it seems like alot of work in a hurry, specially when i dont have all the equipment.

[Gibbs&JackBlack]

The second 2 links didn't show anything....

You can get a water bottle hanger that can just fit over the edge of the cage.
Most wheels are already on a stand so you can just have it free stand.

You can also leave the sides intact for now and just get some mesh to fit over the top and tape the edges so you don't get scratched. Make sure the tape is not accessible for your ham to chew on though.
You'll have to either put something heavy on top or secure it with some clips of some type to prevent escapes.

I did this while waiting for my larger tank it worked very well and required no cutting into the plastic bin.

[cathface]

the 45l is a little too small, the 110 is appropriate for dwarves and Syrians (though it is on the cusp of okay for a Syrian).

most wheels I can think of come with a stand, and you just stick them in and it's fine. best not to tape it down though because it can make it rattle or something like that, I think people have found.

for the water bottle, I have bought the cheapest bird feeder and snipped an opening midway down, put stones in the bottom to weigh it down, and then slotted the bottle in to make it free-standing. you can also get a bottle hanger like this:
Water Bottle Holder for glass tanks | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Water-Bottle-Holder-for-glass-tanks-/330814784942?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item4d061905ae)
I have one of these and it's been great for the open top fish tank Hamburglar is in.

you could technically leave the lid off if you don't put anything climbable in there (which is why Burglar's tank is open top), but if you're worried you can always just put mesh over the top and fold the edges down.

[A_Couple_In_Love]

Those ideas have helped alot as they were 2 of the thing i were worried about.

Any ideas of what type and size bin i should get? It's for a chinese hamster. :)

[strawberrysmom]

106 liters and bigger are great size for dwarf hamsters. I would not go any smaller at all.

[souffle]

Chinese do climb so get a reasonably high one. Staples have some nice Really useful bins and Ikea do them too. Just buy the biggest one you can see and afford! We would use a soldering iron to melt air holes in the top.

[A_Couple_In_Love]

This is all i can afford at the moment..

ASDA 45 Litre Plastic Storage Box with Lid - Black | Plastic Storage | ASDA direct (http://direct.asda.com/ASDA-45-Litre-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-Lid---Black/001407512,default,pd.html)

Is this ok as i cant seem to get any bigger? Really need to hurry up and get one as im borrowing a family members spare cage at the moment.

[samzyzg]

I think it'd be okay, although your link doesnt seem to like to work so I googled it.
The dimensions say 59x40x56cm :)

[A_Couple_In_Love]

Would that be a good enough size then? I am abit worried as most people seem to be saying atleast 100LT :o

[samzyzg]

Well a lot of people tend to use the mini duna as being the absolute minimum for a dwarf cage and thats about 55x40cm(I think). Although i don't know which dimensions are which for the storage bin I think it would at least meet the minimum.

[A_Couple_In_Love]

Ok thank you very much that has made things seem a little more reasuring, i posted it also in the housing section as didnt think anyone would see this thread. :)