cage material

[juggalicious]

I saw on another post that wood was inadvisable as a cage material. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas, I would really like to make a new cage for my little guy as his is just too small Any help would be really appreciated. also on design

[LizardGirl]

I would not recommend using wood. It will soak up urine, is a pain to clean, and can get moldy/harbour mites.

I would recommend using wire storage cubes, coroplast, plexiglass, etc. if you are making a home made cage.

[juggalicious]

Well, I would really prefer to make it out of a wood like substance LOL. I just think I can build something a little better and more creative that way. Do you think it would work if I layered it with, say linoleum, before I put his bedding down?

[PixiesExoticHedgies]

urnine tends to run, and would easily find it's way into the cracks of the lineloeum

[juggalicious]

Well I was actually thinking of using one piece for the entire floor, and calking around the bottom edge, plus the bedding will probably soak up most of it. And I'm going to try to get him using the litter once I get him in the bigger cage. But linoleum would be a safe material right?

[hndspk]

It probably wouldnt be that bad, but how would you secure it to the bottom? Screws? You'd have to be pretty careful with screws because of the sharp edges on the tops of them...at least i'd be worried about that. Then again, I tend to worry a lot... Anyone else have an opinion on this??

[Kalandra]

You wouldn't use screws with linoleum, you'd use a glue. Linoleum is a great product as it is made from linseed oil and it actually 'heals' itself when cut. That is assuming you are really using linoleum and not vinyl. When we started exploring replacing a floor we asked about linoleum because it doesn't offgas, and is an eco friendly alternative. We found that flooring companies often called vinyl (which does offgas) linoleum, in fact they would call it linoleum vinyl! Of course this whole paragraph is about flooring not in a cage

I don't know how well this would work in the bottom of a cage. I too have considered it in the past and a possible idea for the bottom of a C&C cage and I'm just am not comfortable with the idea yet.

So what type of wood cage are you planning? Wood frame? With what type of sides, top and bottom? If done right a wood cage could be really nice. Yes urine getting soaked into the wood is a concern, but if addressed and correctly done it could be a non-issue. Standing Bear at the Flash and Thelma has some really nice cages in the hedge house made of wood (http://hedgieflash.org/rosie.html scroll down the page). I've also wondered if the PVC lumber they sell for decking and fencing would work for a cage. I haven't explored the idea much though.

[Nancy]

I have a couple of large wood cage units and I use coroplast on the bottom. For most, just a piece cut to fit snuggly is fine but I have a few that like to pee in the corners or hang their poop on the wall so for them, I have sides folded up so it creates a pan. Works perfect and I can remove it to wash.

One thing against linoleum or vinyl is they are cold. Coroplast makes a much warmer floor which although it does feel slightly cool to touch, it's nothing like vinyl flooring.

[Gnarly]

Originally Posted by Kalandra

I don't know how well this would work in the bottom of a cage. I too have considered it in the past and a possible idea for the bottom of a C&C cage.

I have used linoleum in the bottom of my C&C cage. The only problem we've had with it, was that all of the edges, started to curl upwards.

Originally Posted by Nancy

One thing against linoleum or vinyl is they are cold. Coroplast makes a much warmer floor which although it does feel slightly cool to touch, it's nothing like vinyl flooring.

We haven't had a problem with the cold factor here. I keep the room heated with a space heater, and use heated pads as needed (which is very infrequently), and everyone stays nice and toasty. Though, I can see how coroplast, with all it's cells between the layers would hold heat much better.