Thinking about Building? But I Need Help!

[climber008]

Hello everyone!

I have been wanting to build a cage for a long time, so I decided to research a bit. After spotting the Ikea Billy Cage, I at first thought of building it, but after seeing the size and dimensions I realized it would be WAY too small for Kornelia (a Syrian hamster.)

I want to be able to build something that I can use for future hamsters (I'm only planning on getting Syrians) so I definitely need something bigger than the Billy Cage.

I also found the Ikea Detolf Cage to be quite interesting, but since my nearest Ikea is halfway across the state, it may be more of a challenge to get one. (Shipping is going to be almost $400! Yikes!)

HoppingHammy also has a cute cage made out of a table, but I wasn't sure how to go about building that!

Does anyone have any ideas, tutorials, or EASY step-by-step instructions I could possibly do? I am a total beginner in building things, and I really don't want to spend a ton of money on something.

Thank you guys for any help you can provide me!

[freyashamsters]

If I were to make a DIY cage, I'd get some melamine wood, some plexiglass, some aquarium silicone and lots of screws/nails! I'd make the frame out of the melamine using the screws and the silicone to stabilise it and I'd silicone the plexiglass in place

A Syrian would most likely need a lid (unless you have quite a tall cage, would need to be al least 55cm I'd say) out of wood & mesh

[climber008]

Originally Posted by freyashamsters

If I were to make a DIY cage, I'd get some melamine wood, some plexiglass, some aquarium silicone and lots of screws/nails! I'd make the frame out of the melamine using the screws and the silicone to stabilise it and I'd silicone the plexiglass in place

A Syrian would most likely need a lid (unless you have quite a tall cage, would need to be al least 55cm I'd say) out of wood & mesh

Okay! Do you by any chance have any pictures of a cage like this? I'm going to need a bunch of visual motivation! Lol!

[Pebbles82]

Ikea seems to have most of the furniture for diy projects - Lack coffee tables, Malm chests of drawers and the detolf. But if Ikea is no go then you could do something similar yourself as Freyashamsters has said.

One diy cage using the Ikea Lack table is just the table upside down. So basically you have a floor and four corners then. You could do the same with pieces of melamine, aquarium sealant, plexiglass, mesh and so on - but some diy projects can work out expensive, and for just over $100 you can get a good cage or 3 ft glass terrarium.

This is a good cage for a Syrian hamster

The Marchioro Goran 82 (not the 72 that's too small)

Marchioro Products Marchioro Goran Rat Cage Small Pet Cages

It has great access with the large front opening door, you can fit a 12" wheel in easily, it's a good size, and comes with a large rat tube which is a great toy for a Syrian (they're not cheap to buy separately). You can customise the set up and don't have to use the plastic shelf.

Another member on here has this cage and has a great set up in it

Scroll down the page and click on the photos to enlarge

Mr. Carlisle's Thread

Another member also recommended this All Living Things Terrarium. It already comes with a mesh lid

You'd want the 36" size which is $91.99

All Living Things

Just a couple more options But if you like the idea of building a cage I'd have a look on youtube for diy ideas - but an awful lot of them use Ikea stuff!

[freyashamsters]

Originally Posted by climber008

Okay! Do you by any chance have any pictures of a cage like this? I'm going to need a bunch of visual motivation! Lol!

KimmieGreen17 from YT makes DIY cages for all 3 of her hamsters, attached is a picture of her Syrian, Misty's, cage - it's 140x50x40 lxwxh I think

[climber008]

Well, I've done it. Yesterday after seeing just how much all my supplies to build a cage would be, I took a "spur of the moment yet somehow very direct" trip to Home Depot. When I asked if I could get some melamine cut for me, they asked what it was for.

So, I mentioned that I was building a hamster cage, despite my utterly complete lack of knowledge on tools, building, etc. And to my wonderfully glorious surprise, they offered to build it for me for no extra charge!

So the entire wood structure has been built! Yay! All I have to do now is line the cage with melamine edging and seal the whole thing up with pet-safe sealant (which I just bought! ) I still can't believe that they actually offered to build it for me!

As we don't have a male person in my household, building things (and delivering them to and from our house) is a hard task indead. Luckily for me, half the battle of building a cage has been done for me! I'll maybe post a few photos of it if I get a chance!

Total Cost?: $120 or 106.65 Euros

[Lala Noma]

Wow, Home Depot people were really nice, building it for you! Do you have the plexyglass yet? I would love to see the pictures, when it is done!

[freyashamsters]

Wow, they were really nice building that for you! Wish our hardware stores did that

What size is it? I'd be interested to see what it looks like with the plexi in as well

[Pebbles82]

You must be very attractive ha ha! It's great that they built it for you. And nice when you hear about people being really helpful. I once had an old banger of an MG when I was in my twenties and I was always breaking down and having to call the AA. They used to come out and say "you need to get your boyfriend to look at xyz" after they'd fixed it. I'd say "I don't have a boyfriend" and they'd say right we'll do it now then! I got free serving from the AA for quite some time - although it wasn't much fun breaking down a few times a year.

[climber008]

The cage dimensions are about 40 inches by 23 3/4 inches by 23 /4 inches high.





Also note that I have not taken off the plastic covering on the plexiglass or sealed the whole thing together as of yet.