Bin cage ventilation

[BonnieBear27]

I have been planning on making a bin cage for a while and I bought a plastic bin a few days ago. Unfortunately it has a corrugated lid which I now realise makes it very difficult to fit wire mesh into without the risk of an escaped hamster.
I had planned on drilling some holes into the sides up at the top instead of making windows because the bin's depth is just under 15 inches and I want to put a deep layer of bedding into the cage which wouldn't leave a lot of room for a window.
I am wondering if drilling lots of holes into the lid would still provide enough ventilation and if not is there any other way to sort out the lid.
I would really appreciate any advice or tips

[LunaTheHamster1]

I would say no, drilling holes is not enough, ideally I believe you are meant to put some mesh on the side of a bin cage for ventilation, obviously you could do it high up so you can get a decent amount of bedding in. Also, re the top I have seen someone (maybe it was on here) where they got some wooden photo frames and meshed them, then made that the lid, would something like that work?

[BonnieBear27]

Thanks for the reply, I would say a high side window would be the best option as I'm not sure if I would have the skills to make a lid from scratch. Does the size of the window matter?

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by BonnieBear27

Thanks for the reply, I would say a high side window would be the best option as I'm not sure if I would have the skills to make a lid from scratch. Does the size of the window matter?

I don't think a high side window alone would give sufficient ventilation. Couldn't you return the bin and get a more suitable one so you can have a meshed lid and a high side window? There are good tutorials on youtube.

[BonnieBear27]

I think that may be the best option because I don't want to have a bin that isn't properly ventilated. I'm not sure if there are any bins with flat lids but the next size up is much deeper so at least I could put large windows in the two long sides.
Thank you for the advice

[Ria P]

I've been looking myself to do a bin as a project. Ikea and B&Q were possibilities but so far i haven't been able to find what i'm really looking for with the type of lid they use on the youtube tutorials that's easy to cut out.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Ria is the type of thing https://www.amazon.co.uk/EXTRA-LARGE.../dp/B00HAH4S8Q
although I don't think they have done any ventilation on the side

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

Ria is the type of thing https://www.amazon.co.uk/EXTRA-LARGE.../dp/B00HAH4S8Q
although I don't think they have done any ventilation on the side

Thanks Luna but that has that corrugated style lid that Bonniebear mentioned. It's the flat lid i want. I have found a bin with a flat lid in our house, it's in use but that can be changed when its owner is away. Got to measure it for size but can't remember where it was bought, Bonniebear. May come to me yet.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Originally Posted by Ria P

Thanks Luna but that has that corrugated style lid that Bonniebear mentioned. It's the flat lid i want. I have found a bin with a flat lid in our house, it's in use but that can be changed when its owner is away. Got to measure it for size but can't remember where it was bought, Bonniebear. May come to me yet.

If you look at the pic in the review, it looks like the person got rid of the lid all together and just replaced it with mesh, would that be an easier/better option that could work for you. Sorry, I didn't really explain that in my first comment.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

If you look at the pic in the review, it looks like the person got rid of the lid all together and just replaced it with mesh, would that be an easier/better option that could work for you. Sorry, I didn't really explain that in my first comment.

Yes, saw that but don't think mesh alone is secure or practical enough.