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AmityvilleHams · 03-14-2021, 09:37 AM

I would try bee's wax on a scrap of wood and see how it holds up with moisture etc. If that works, it would definitely be worth using and would honestly be the safest & most natural protective finish available of course as you mentioned providing the lack of processing.

I was honestly in the same position of not fully trusting glues myself. Yes you'll have people say this or that is safe, but when it comes down to it even something like Elmer's is plastic based and we already know plastics are not okay for hamsters to ingest. It's definitely not impossible to make things without glue due to different slotting mechanisms, wood pegs, certain joints, etc - it takes more research and effort to learn things that could work though.

I know others have previously expressed concerns over stability and durability of wood structures lacking glue for example, but properly constructed glue free wood structures absolutely can be incredibly sturdy providing they're constructed well.

As far as walnut oil goes though, I can't say for sure. A food grade pure one I'm pretty sure would be safe but it's not so easy to say yes or no with ones sold for wood finishing with the potential additives, contaminants, processing, etc - same with things like linseed oil!

03-14-2021, 09:37 AM
AmityvilleHams PM Fluffy for custom title Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 4,545	Re: How to protect wood hamster hideout I would try bee's wax on a scrap of wood and see how it holds up with moisture etc. If that works, it would definitely be worth using and would honestly be the safest & most natural protective finish available of course as you mentioned providing the lack of processing. I was honestly in the same position of not fully trusting glues myself. Yes you'll have people say this or that is safe, but when it comes down to it even something like Elmer's is plastic based and we already know plastics are not okay for hamsters to ingest. It's definitely not impossible to make things without glue due to different slotting mechanisms, wood pegs, certain joints, etc - it takes more research and effort to learn things that could work though. I know others have previously expressed concerns over stability and durability of wood structures lacking glue for example, but properly constructed glue free wood structures absolutely can be incredibly sturdy providing they're constructed well. As far as walnut oil goes though, I can't say for sure. A food grade pure one I'm pretty sure would be safe but it's not so easy to say yes or no with ones sold for wood finishing with the potential additives, contaminants, processing, etc - same with things like linseed oil!