This Mesh Hamster Bin Safe?

[Mashiro]

Hi all, I'm throwing around ideas for a hamster bin and I realized that I have these on hand.

http://i61.tinypic.com/21otsb8.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Farberware-BBQ-Disposable-Grill-Toppers/dp/B005NKK03E

I can't find any reason NOT to use these for the ventilation holes on the hamster bin I'll be building. The good thing about them is the holes are very small, you can buy them at Walmart and you won't have basically a whole roll of hardware cloth that you didn't even use!

[BrainGirl]

In my experience this type of mesh is often rough but since it says it's for food I would expect that it's been smoothed. So that's one thing to watch for. The other thing that concerns me about this type is that each hole has 2 wide angles and 2 narrow ones. If you did use it I would make sure that the widest part of the hole is horizontal to the ground (wide angles pointing up and down) so there's less chance of the ham getting toes hung up in it.

[Mashiro]

Oh that is a good point! Thank you for commenting and I'll definitely keep that in mind while installing. I'll post pics of the finished product when it's done. :)

[Nancy's Hamsters]

I would question it's chew ability too. It says their disposable which usually means a softer metal which may be and easy chew out for a hamster who wants OUT of it's bin cage.

[ianpallen]

Are they stainless steel. I have a couple of these in my garden which are on a disposable bbq and they have gone rusty. If they get rusty and the hamster tries to chew it, it might be bad for them. Rust does not taste nice but I dont know what toxins are in rust. They could be painted but paint can be chewed off. Could you leave one out in the open weather for a few days to see any reaction on it. If they are galvanised or stainless, they should be fine.

[Mashiro]

I've decided to scrap this idea for mesh. It just seems too dangerous for me to use in confidence. Yes, the metal is very soft and I'm worried that my ham could chew through and ingest metal shards. *yikes!* I'm just going to go for the galvanized hardware cloth. It's cheap enough. :)