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Old 08-31-2018, 04:31 AM   #1
ToastieHammy
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Hi all,

Thanks again for the advice on my post about playpens a couple days ago! It was a bit of a fail because she spent 1 minute exploring and then tried to escape for the rest of the time she was in there but I think I'm just going to start with very short periods of time to get her used to it!
Anyway, the cage Summer is currently in is a 120cm x 55cm x 60cm DIY IKEA Linmon cage. I sealed all the corners/edges with non-toxic silicone, however, within a week she has stripped one side of the silicone and is making a start on the other corners. It looks like this is her trying to dig out of the corners so I have tried putting more bedding in (around 6-7inches) and supplying more chew toys etc, but she's getting more adamant with her chewing. I've blocked two of the corners with a bendy bridge and a flower pot but she's moved on to another corner now, which I guess is understandable since its just her trying to satisfy natural behaviours. But not only is it worrisome thinking she could escape, but I really don't like the thought of her ingesting bits of silicone either (although I'm pretty sure she hasn't eaten yet).
Only ideas I could come up with were stripping the silicone and hoping she won't chew through the wood, or using steel or plastic angles on all corners/edges inside the cage. I've read up and both plastic and steel seem to have their disadvantages, with plastic being very bad if she does chew bits off and metal having the possibility of breaking their teeth.
So in a bit of predicament!!

Thanks again for any advice guys! Of course I will continue to give her more things to do to reduce the behaviour in the first place and gradually introduce playpen time, but I need peace of mind that the cage is safe and non-escapable as well!

Last edited by ToastieHammy; 08-31-2018 at 07:29 AM.
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Old 08-31-2018, 09:01 AM   #2
ToastieHammy
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Default Re: Replacing silicone sealant?

Also forgot to mention the final option, place her into a temporary cage and reseal with aquarium sealant and hope she gets bored of chewing it!
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Old 09-05-2018, 09:20 AM   #3
alpacassei
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Default Re: Replacing silicone sealant?

You could try placing a hemp mat on the floor of the cage underneath the substrate to block off the silicone? They make a 120x50 cm one and theyre hamster friendly.
https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...ll_pets/182988

Try giving her a full cage cleanout and set-up change, if its been a while since she last got a change of set up she could be bored? Also make sure her wheel is working properly since hammies chew as a way of burning excess energy they cant run off.


If that doesnt work then you may have to replace the silicone with steel angles though. She’s has plenty of space so she’s probably chewing the silicone because she thinks it makes an interesting toy so hopefully she’ll lose interest if you replace the silicone with steel or plastic angles.


Also off topic but did you follow Vanilla Ham Ham’s Linnmon tutorial or use yourvown design? I’m going to be making 2 Linnmon cages soon so I’m just looking for inspiration.
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Old 09-05-2018, 09:34 AM   #4
mangoandmimi
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Default Re: Replacing silicone sealant?

Steel angles is the best option of those three - re sealing probably won’t be any good as she sounds persistent. And plastic just isn’t safe since you know she chews.
When I made my cage I used pine quadrant moulding (basically quarter circle rods) as it’s pretty hard to get a good grip on it if you buy a smaller diameter one. Just glued it into place with Ponal glue and it didn’t budge - not that my hamster was very interested in it.
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Old 09-08-2018, 02:40 PM   #5
ToastieHammy
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Default Re: Replacing silicone sealant?

Hi guys sorry for the late reply! Out of panic, I decided to buy a temporary cage (the savic plaza so relatively large) and just redo the sealant as I knew this was safe. Just moved her back into the cage a couple days ago and no corner chewing so far! Hoping that was a fun game she's decided isn't that exciting anymore, but if it does start again I will look into steel or pine reinforcements!

And Alpacassei, yes I mostly followed Vanilla Ham Ham's tutorial but used the larger sized tables (120cm x 60cm), and I also cut to size some perspex and made slots down the sides and base (if that makes sense!) to slot it in so it can easily be taken apart. The lid I made I'm planning on replacing as it definitely doesn't have enough ventilation, so I'm going to get a piece of white laminated chipboard, cut most of the middle section out and use wire mesh
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Old 09-14-2018, 06:45 AM   #6
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Default Re: Replacing silicone sealant?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ToastieHammy View Post
Hi guys sorry for the late reply! Out of panic, I decided to buy a temporary cage (the savic plaza so relatively large) and just redo the sealant as I knew this was safe. Just moved her back into the cage a couple days ago and no corner chewing so far! Hoping that was a fun game she's decided isn't that exciting anymore, but if it does start again I will look into steel or pine reinforcements!

And Alpacassei, yes I mostly followed Vanilla Ham Ham's tutorial but used the larger sized tables (120cm x 60cm), and I also cut to size some perspex and made slots down the sides and base (if that makes sense!) to slot it in so it can easily be taken apart. The lid I made I'm planning on replacing as it definitely doesn't have enough ventilation, so I'm going to get a piece of white laminated chipboard, cut most of the middle section out and use wire mesh
I’m glad she’s lost interest in corner chewing now!

For mine, I think I’m going to use mesh for the front so there’s better ventilation (gonna have a 30cm panel at the bottom front tho to stop substrate escaping), I’ll make the lid the same as yours!
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