DIY Cage Help

[Elorel]

Hi guys,

I've recently inherited a Syrian hamster + a load of Rotastak, and I've noticed that her wheel is waaaay too small for her, its one of these external rainbow wheel things you get with rotastak. I want to make a bin cage for her to house a 28cm wheel and give her a bit more space. But I also want to attach the rotastak modules to it as well.

Has anyone tried running tubes through a bin cage into modular sections? My current idea is to cut holes in the side and then use piles of strong tape on the outside to try and make sure it doesn't come out. Wondering if anyone has any better ideas? :confused:

Thanks
El

[caro317]

Apparently you can buy a thing called a flange which fits standard sizes of plumbing pipes and would go on the end of the pipe inside the cage and is a large square end that stops the pipe popping out. I'm not sure whether your tubes will correlate to the standard sizes these come in but you could take some tube to the DIY store and check in the plumbing department. I was thinking about this myself and asked a friend who's very practical, he said they looked like standard sizes but hard to tell.His ssuggestion was to buy some clear plumbing pipe and two flanges, and cut a hole in both cages. The existing tubes could be used just to feed in and out of the existing cage. His professional advice was also that it would surprisingly be easierto drill into the firner cage plastic e.g. rotastak, zoozone, than into the softer plastic of a bin. Having said that, lots of people on here seem to drill into bins no problem!! Also you would need to invest in a circular drill bit for your power drill in the exact size of the tube/pipe to make the hole.

I've been putting off trying this myself because I'm scared the plastic will crack or shatter while drilling the hole, but my friend assured me if you go slowly it shouldn't happen. If you give it a go do let us know!

[Elorel]

I bit the bullet yesterday and had a go. I heated up one of my bite rings and melted through the plastic, then filed off the edge. I then inserted a tube and used epoxy plastic glue round the outside of the tube and bin. Obviously on the outside of the cage away from hamsters! This seems to have worked although the bite ring is pretty much ruined, no cracking or anything, be warned though it generates a lot of plastic fumes so make sure your well ventilated if you try this!!

El