what sealants and varnishes are not toxic?

[thorhamsterson]

hii!

my hamster bucky is finding it hard to walk up the levels constantly in his cage, so i've made him a diy ikea cage using the billy bookshelf extension and the glass shelf. i have silicone here but i don't know if its toxic for him. also, my mom bought waterproof varnish and i don't know whether that will be toxic too, as some makes aren't usually toxic.

what won't be toxic for him? i thought that once it dries it would be okay, but i'm worried about the smell or if he decided to chew it and ingest some.
thanks!

[Pebbles82]

Are you in the Uk? This is what most people use - it's petsafe, water based and non toxic. Doesn't smell much (the smell has worn off by next day) and works nicely. A couple of coats needed - a coat is dry in a couple of hours. I paint it on with a standard paint brush - about a half inch size.

You are right, most varnish's wouldn't be suitable as hamsters chew things. I don't think silicone would be good either. Another option (if you're not in the Uk) is childsafe paint for toys. Or just nothing! I haven't painted a lot of wood things in my cage. Depends on the hamster. Ours uses a potty litter tray and doesn't pee anywhere else. I would paint the inside of a wood wheel though, just in case. And possibly the inside of a wood house, but haven't painted any other wood items/shelves etc.

Plasti-kote B26 Bottle 59 ml Clear PKTB26W: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

[thorhamsterson]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Are you in the Uk? This is what most people use - it's petsafe, water based and non toxic. Doesn't smell much (the smell has worn off by next day) and works nicely. A couple of coats needed - a coat is dry in a couple of hours. I paint it on with a standard paint brush - about a half inch size.

You are right, most varnish's wouldn't be suitable as hamsters chew things. I don't think silicone would be good either. Another option (if you're not in the Uk) is childsafe paint for toys. Or just nothing! I haven't painted a lot of wood things in my cage. Depends on the hamster. Ours uses a potty litter tray and doesn't pee anywhere else. I would paint the inside of a wood wheel though, just in case. And possibly the inside of a wood house, but haven't painted any other wood items/shelves etc.

Plasti-kote B26 Bottle 59 ml Clear PKTB26W: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

yes i am. i can always peel the silicone off, but ill get some of that. do you think that aquarium sealant would be ok? i mean i've watched videos where this woman has used that but i'm not sure. i definitely do want to put something in the ridges where the wood meets and something to coat the wood because bucky tends to pee everywhere and i don't want anything going stinky.

[Pebbles82]

I don't think I'd use aquarium sealant to waterproof items - I know people use it to make tanks with or stick things onto cages, but hamsters tend to chew and it probably wouldn't be good for them to chew really. I'd get that pot of plastikote then. Also maybe try using a potty litter tray - hamsters tend to start using them. You put it in the corner of the cage they use as a pee corner (they usually choose a corner even if they pee elsewhere as well!). And put Chinchilla bathing sand in it. At first you could put a small bit of stinky substrate on top so your ham knows it is still his pee corner, and after that he should just use it. Ours pees in the very back corner and then sits in the front and has a wash! I have this litter tray - fits in a corner.

Hamster Potty corner Litter Tray for Mice Hamster Gerbil Cage House. Size: 16 × 7 × 12/12 cm: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

This is the sand

Supreme Petfoods Science Bathing Sand 1.5 Litre: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Sometimes hamsters pee a lot on things in the cage, if they are cleaned out too much - it becomes a bit of a Catch 22. The more thoroughly you clean, the more they pee on things to scent mark them if they don't like the strange new smells after cleaning.

This video from Erin's hamsters has some really good tips on cage cleaning to help avoid this type of thing and to avoid stressing the hamster too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVnEjrXbww

[MrNibbles]

Hi, I bought the Plastikote Clear sealer (acrylic?) 400 ml spray can but don't seem to be able to find out whether it's ok/pet safe on a wooden cage or not. It doesn't state whether it's water based or not and the information sheet I found on the Internet does mention toxity levels with regards to rats and pigeons but I can't figure out whether that refers to the fumes/aerosol or if it's digested in liquid form, whether it's lethal, etc .

I'm now thinking about getting the Plastikote enamal paint which explicitly states it's safe for children's toys. My question: the paint pot (59 ml) seems to be a rather small amount for putting on a double coating on a wooden 80 x 60 cm base, or isn't it? The 100 ml spray can claims an area of 1.2 sqm - maybe the more economical option? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Pebbles82]

I'd go with the paint on water based enamel. Yes the pots are quite small but they give very good coverage as the liquid is quite runny. Even so I think you might need two pots. It brushes on really easily and won't take long. Maybe 3 pots! You'll need a couple of coats.

[MrNibbles]

@Serendipity7000
Thanks a lot! Great to get advice that quickly! I've ordered the spray version now and hope it will be enough for two coats. Can't wait to get the cage ready. And then we hope to adopt a rescue Syrian hamster pretty soon.

[Coldpaws]

Hi, just to add to Serendipity's comments, I wouldn't recommend aquarium silicone either. I tried it after reading up on Hamster Central, it was for sealing the gaps between the wooden divider & outer plexiglass in our Living World Eco cage, also for the same sort of gaps with the dividers in our glass Detolfs cages. Altho' it's non-toxic, it was really hard to get out of the tube (I had to buy a sealant gun thing), difficult to apply accurately & didn't really seal up the gap properly. It lasted about 1 day before our chinese ham chewed most of it off! So it really wasn't worth the effort or £.

Plastikote is good, I've also used Rust-Oleum Enamel, the craft paint line called 'Painters Touch' & the Clear Seal (to waterproof wood toys) which are all non-toxic water-based. Homebase & B&Q stock those. & for less expensive paints, kids non-toxic paint from craft stores like Hobbycraft or the Range.

[MrNibbles]

@Coldpaws - really interesting, your experiences with the aquarium silicone. Coincidently we've also got a Living World Eco Cage (unfortunately only the smallest one). I haven't opened the box yet, waiting for the clear seal paint to waterproof the wooden floor before I will put it together. Is there quite a big "gap" then between the plexiglass and the wooden floor, so that urine, bedding bits and pieces will get stuck there a lot? Also, do you think I need to mesh the top, in particular the round holes? We would like to get a Syrian hamster and I'm not sure how easily he could get up there and squeeze through. Sorry if this is getting off topic.

[Thumper]

I have never had a problem with silicone, then again my hamsters weren't big chewers in the first place. If you need it to seal gaps in a cage and your hammy likes to chew I would suggest sealing them with silicone and then using the same silicon to stick an aluminium corner profile on top. You just need to make sure that you don't use too much of the silicone, otherwise it will stick out on the sides. I believe depending on the surface just glue would work as well to glue the aluminium on.

Interesting discussion as I'm also currently waiting for my Living World Eco Habitat to be delivered, however I think it is a little bit Off Topic and I've just found there is already a thread on this cage. Unfortunately I am a new member and apparently not allowed to post URLs on the forum!?

And I will post something in there now so that it's back to page one so you should be able to find it there. Would love to talk more about how to prepare the cage for our future hamsters!