DIY cage idea

[AmityvilleHams]

Currently,I plan on making a DIY cage for my future hamster.I personally found tanks and bin cages not ideal for myself,and came up with a fairly good plan that I'm almost certain will work!The bottom of the cage is going to be melamine,while there will be a sort of frame of melamine on the cage while the front and back will be plexiglass.However,I want mesh sides to make it easier to attach a water bottle as well as add extra stimulation in the form of hanging toys and such.I am in the US,but I don't exactly know what the best way to cover up the rough edges of the mesh once stapled on the outside would be.Could I safely attach edging on the outside of the cage,and if so how would that need to be done?Is there another method that would be easier or better?

[laiyenha]

Currently,I plan on making a DIY cage for my future hamster.I personally found tanks and bin cages not ideal for myself,and came up with a fairly good plan that I'm almost certain will work!The bottom of the cage is going to be melamine,while there will be a sort of frame of melamine on the cage while the front and back will be plexiglass.However,I want mesh sides to make it easier to attach a water bottle as well as add extra stimulation in the form of hanging toys and such.I am in the US,but I don't exactly know what the best way to cover up the rough edges of the mesh once stapled on the outside would be.Could I safely attach edging on the outside of the cage,and if so how would that need to be done?Is there another method that would be easier or better?

Hi, I'm also in the US. Not sure my solution would work for you or not but here goes: the lids of my DIY cage are 2 wooden frames with a groove (approx. 1/8" wide and deep) near the inside edges. I then place windows mesh material from Home Depot overlapping the circumference groove then secure it into place by pushing in the gray rubber bead material (also from HD) then cut off the excess so there's no exposed rough edge - basically the same step if you're replacing your window's mesh screen; the picture probably makes more sense. There are 2 types of mesh, aluminum and nylon. I use the nylon type because it is soft, easy to work with, and the hamster can't get to it, but in your case, the cage's mesh side is accessible and you plan to hang things so definitely use the sturdier aluminum mesh.

[AmityvilleHams]

Hi, I'm also in the US. Not sure my solution would work for you or not but here goes: the lids of my DIY cage are 2 wooden frames with a groove (approx. 1/8" wide and deep) near the inside edges. I then place windows mesh material from Home Depot overlapping the circumference groove then secure it into place by pushing in the gray rubber bead material (also from HD) then cut off the excess so there's no exposed rough edge - basically the same step if you're replacing your window's mesh screen; the picture probably makes more sense. There are 2 types of mesh, aluminum and nylon. I use the nylon type because it is soft, easy to work with, and the hamster can't get to it, but in your case, the cage's mesh side is accessible and you plan to hang things so definitely use the sturdier aluminum mesh.

It's a good idea!I think I figured it out though.I'll probably try and secure thin bits of melamine to the outside where the mesh is stapled on or just make a frame of sorts then secure that on but either way probably with screws or something for extreme security.I might just staple the mesh directly on the cage for the most security though,and then add some type of trim or edging.

[Pebbles82]

Not sure how big you want your diy cage, but have you seen this Ikea Lack table?

If you leave the centre shelf out when putting it together and turn it upside down it would give you the base and four corners. And you could maybe use the shelf as a piece for the back of the cage.

Because the legs are quite wide I'd have thought it would be ok to attach the mesh to the outside of the legs and put some gorilla tape over the edges if necessary, but I think most people manage to clip the mesh edges close so they're not sharp. You could even fold the edge of the mesh round the leg a bit.

It might be easier just to have melamine and plexiglass for the sides and front and have a meshed lid, like for a tank. The table is 118cm wide, which without the width of the legs would make it just over 100cm width inside but it is also 78cm deep (just under 70cm internal probably) which would make a great sized habitat.

LACK Coffee table - white - IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10065958/)

I thought about doing this myself, but am not very good at diy and don't have many tools and decided just to buy a 100cm cage :-) But this would give more floor area.

[AmityvilleHams]

Not sure how big you want your diy cage, but have you seen this Ikea Lack table?

If you leave the centre shelf out when putting it together and turn it upside down it would give you the base and four corners. And you could maybe use the shelf as a piece for the back of the cage.

Because the legs are quite wide I'd have thought it would be ok to attach the mesh to the outside of the legs and put some gorilla tape over the edges if necessary, but I think most people manage to clip the mesh edges close so they're not sharp. You could even fold the edge of the mesh round the leg a bit.

It might be easier just to have melamine and plexiglass for the sides and front and have a meshed lid, like for a tank. The table is 118cm wide, which without the width of the legs would make it just over 100cm width inside but it is also 78cm deep (just under 70cm internal probably) which would make a great sized habitat.

LACK Coffee table - white - IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10065958/)

I thought about doing this myself, but am not very good at diy and don't have many tools and decided just to buy a 100cm cage :-) But this would give more floor area.

It's going to be at least 48 inches/around 121.92 cm in length and at least 30 inches/76.2 cm in width.Not entirely sure about height but I do want very deep substrate as well so probably over 24 inches/60.96 cm tall but that is with 12 inch/30.48 cm of paper based substrate.It's probably going to be taller though to allow for a large wheel.

I'm not really that concerned over how difficult it is to make the cage,since providing the largest space possible regardless of money or difficulty was my main concern.Even then,just going to IKEA would take as much time probably to install the mesh sides anyways so it's not a huge difference that is made.By that point,I would end up having a DIY cage that is 1,440 square inches or 3,657.6 square cm in floor space.

It does seem like a good amount of space,but then considering how much space hamsters would have in the wild I'd rather at least attach the mesh sides and offer more stimulation even if it does take more effort and time.

[laiyenha]

It would be so nice for your hamster to have such large cage. In my case my constraint was 38 x 16 x 16 inches or the trunk opening of the car (when we have to move the cage to the hamster sitter's house).

[AmityvilleHams]

It would be so nice for your hamster to have such large cage. In my case my constraint was 38 x 16 x 16 inches or the trunk opening of the car (when we have to move the cage to the hamster sitter's house).

That's still not a bad size cage!Honestly it's a lot better than some.It's above the general US minimum,which is great.It just makes me happy when people at least keep an open mind to cages that are larger than the minimum no matter how big they may be because anything over the minimum is a good start :D

[Pebbles82]

Sounds like a great size! I believe another Ikea piece the Germans use to start a diy cage is the Pax wardrobe, which would be bigger :-) But possibly a bit of an expensive way. I don't see a problem with having masking type tape over the edges of the mesh as long as it is on the outside. Some people do that with bin cages.

[AmityvilleHams]

Sounds like a great size! I believe another Ikea piece the Germans use to start a diy cage is the Pax wardrobe, which would be bigger :-) But possibly a bit of an expensive way. I don't see a problem with having masking type tape over the edges of the mesh as long as it is on the outside. Some people do that with bin cages.

And that is where the struggle between cuteness and professionalism comes to play!Part of me also doesn't care about money but then the other part keeps trying to spend less building the hamster cage so I don't feel so ridiculous spending tons of money on the outdoor aviary I plan on having if I end up with a parrot as well.

[Pebbles82]

Lol. I think Plexiglass is the expensive bit. How about two of those Lack tables next to each other? Or a Detolf?! The detolf isn't tall or deep but it is wide. Sorry I don't know much about diy except for some Ikea hacks. The two Lack tables next to each other would give you at least 200cm of length and the base and back of the cage, so you'd just need the front and sides to plexi/mesh and a roof to sort.

Or you could even use four of them! Two the right way up, next to each other (ie as tables) and the other two fixed on top of them (also the right way up, as tables). I've seen that done with the smaller Lack table. That gives you the floor and the roof and the shelves as back panels then you just have the sides and front to mesh/plexi - and it gives you a stand and storage underneath.

I know it is only about 45cm tall though. I agree that 60cm of height is good if you want 30 to 40cm of substrate, although then the house and shelves would need to be on stilts really.

A four foot aquarium might be easier :-)

[AmityvilleHams]

Not sure about the UK but in the US any aquarium with a stand included is ridiculous once you go over 40 gallons to the point where it's actually cheaper to make a cage yourself and just buy a piece of furniture to put it on.Even then,the money at least for my situation with IKEA being a very long drive away(possibly over 4 hours)I feel like it's easier to just make the cage myself.Plus,even with a Detolf,as nice as they may look,I can make a cage with more floor space that looks just as nice and probably take less than 4 hours building the cage itself plus the time for silicon to cure.I could probably go bigger with either length or width if I found a piece of furniture big enough,which hopefully will happen.