Securing Cage Door

[AprilPearl]

Thanks flowerfairy, hopefully Mushu won't be able to weasle his way out. Or should that be 'hamster' his way out?

[Jennie F]

I have used these types of clips since day 1 on both sets of doors. She has never tried to force the bars. Really easy to find. You can order them off ebay or picj a few uo from hobbycraft. They are bag charm clips

[AprilPearl]

Jennie F, those look great! Do you know what metal they are made of?

[AmityvilleHams]

It's highly unlikely you'll find stainless steel bag charm clips and other similar things.You'd be best off going to an actual hardware store and finding something that will work for your purpose.Stainless steel parrot cage clips might also be a thing,so maybe look into that as well

[AprilPearl]

Been googling stainless steel bag lips and coming up with nothing, so you’re right. I probably should look in am hardware store. Will also look ino parrot clips. Thanks

[Vectis Hamstery]

I use bulldog clips on all my Syrian hamster cages which work well. I've never experienced a problem with heavy metal poisoning and have had healthy Syrians who have lived long lives. Firstly, I've had few who have shown much of an interest in the clips. Secondly, looking at heavy metal poisoning from zinc, it looks like the zinc item needs something to make the zinc absorbable. Looking at the literature on zinc poisoning in dogs the same point is mentioned in several articles which is that most of the toxic effects of zinc occur when free zinc is released by the the acid in the stomach, i.e. after a zinc item is swallowed which isn't what a hamster would do with a bulldog clip on the cage. More important in terms of avoiding risk of heavy metal poisoning is making sure your hands are cleaned before handling as some medicated creams, e.g. acne creams, contain zinc.

[AprilPearl]

That's actually really really helpful and reassuring. Thank you very much, Vectis! I was probably worrying too much.

[DennisJones]

In my opinion, if the clips feel a bit loose then bending them in a bit more with a pair of needle nose pliers would be sufficient. A hamster shouldn't be able to put that much weight behind the door anyway so this should be more than enough.