I'm always trying to find a way to build my own cages at low-cost and low-effort. I was in Lowes the other day and found a vinyl/plastic mesh material that is sturdier than Pet-D fence and still relatively cheap. I'm thinking of a cage made with a pvc frame, like a rept, but then covered with this material and zip-tied shut. The doors can be large plastic storage bins (with the locking lids) and they can be zip-tied into the side of the cage... The big plus side of this material (other than cost) is that you could easily clip pouches/toys/water bottles etc to the cage as if it were a wire cage.
So, any thoughts? I'm almost positive the material is safe... it says it can be used in ponds and fish are pretty sensitive to any chemicals that can eek out of plastic... and it's stronger than rept material/wont get "fuzzy"
Here's what it looks like:
Description: Plastic Hardware Cloth Use this strong plastic material for cages, traps, dividers, screens, covers, fences, pens, filters, etc. This Plastic Hardware Cloth can also be used as a heavy duty pond protector to keep falling and wind-blown leaves, twigs, and predators out of your pond.
Material has a 1/4 inch mesh and is 48 inches wide.
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
I was at Lowe's this weekend and saw hardware net -- much sturdier than the hardware cloth and available in 1/2x1/2-inch mesh with vertical/horizontal gridding for easy attachments. A 3-ftx15-ft roll was under $12. You can see specs on it at http://www.tenaxus.com/applications/landscape/prod_net_hardware.html
I realize we want one dimension of the mesh/bars to be no more than 1/2-inch but what sizes are dangerous for getting their claws caught? I've been looking at different pet meshes but I notice Judah's claws will sometimes stick momentarily in my tent's window mesh
I like the idea of the reptarium meshes that can be thrown in the washer for cleaning but I don't want their claws to get caught on anything.
Nala, Ronald & Reuel (formerly Eladio & Petal) Judah Anson Lele Laki
Re: New Twist on the Reptarium?
[Re: Paani]
#900583 02/01/1012:21 PM02/01/1012:21 PM
That's the stuff! I think cleaning will be easy as well... you can't toss it in the washer, but it will be very light so you can take it outside and scrub it down. I was also thinking that you could put the cage over newspapers (far enough down so the gliders can't reach) and then normal cleaning will be as easy as a pull-out tray. Since the mesh has 1/2"x1/2" squares, food, urine, and feces will fall right through, making for easy clean up.
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
That's what I've used for cages, and I know a lot of other people have too. Let me tell you, they say to zip tie it every other square and thats a LOT of zipties and a lot of hours of work!
Re: New Twist on the Reptarium?
[Re: ]
#900594 02/01/1012:46 PM02/01/1012:46 PM
I don't know that I want to make it the permanent home though -- I don't think it would look as good in my living room. Might be good for temporary cages but if I did that, I'd want to use something other than zip ties as I'd want to be able to put it up and take it back down easily. Maybe if I threaded the seams with copper wire or a plasticized cord ...
Nala, Ronald & Reuel (formerly Eladio & Petal) Judah Anson Lele Laki
Re: New Twist on the Reptarium?
[Re: Paani]
#900650 02/01/1003:12 PM02/01/1003:12 PM
I think I'd use these as quarantine/older joey cages. I think they'd look as nice as a rept... but then again I love the way my K&D cages look.... you can't beat it
Going to get materials today...
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
Alright... the PVC frame is up, now for the hard part... all those zip-ties!
I'm making a double... it's going to be two cages side by side. dimensions are 2x2x3 3' high, 2' wide and 2' deep. The entire frame measures 4' wide, 3'high, and 2' deep. Since the cages share one frame, a divider will be in the middle... it will be 2" wide so that the glider's can't get to each other through the middle.
I'm so excited!
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
We're putting the floor on top of the frame, that gives about a 2" space between the cage floor and the floor floor... so the newspaper goes under that. Cleaning will be pretty easy as the cage is super light and the glider's wont be able to reach the paper.
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
We're also thinking of building or buying a rolling base for the cage. Something that is about 6" off the ground so that moving the cage will be super easy.
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
Meghan - That plastic mesh is the same stuff that is the track of the Stealth Wheel.
Just so you know - I have caging made out of it - my guys can chew their way out in about 2 seconds. They don't even have to be big chewers to do so. See something they want to get into - out they pop!
My one who *is* a big chewer has also destroyed the track on his Stealth.
Alden "Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored." Alice Walker
Mom to Valhalla; 6 cats; 1 macaw; 2 hedgehogs; and very many great gliders!
(plus the 2 skin kids) valkyriegliders.com
Kyrie, nothing will ever fill the hole you left in my heart.
Oh wow, they can chew through it easily? Dang, had just decided to use it as practice material for designing a PVC-coated wire cage since I could get 2 rolls and build a 3'x3'x6' cage for under $30. <sigh> Back to the drawing board ...
Oh wait, you're talking about the 1/4x1/4-inch hardware cloth she found, not the 1/2x1/2-inch hardware net from Tenaxus, right?
Last edited by Paani; 02/02/1001:43 PM.
Nala, Ronald & Reuel (formerly Eladio & Petal) Judah Anson Lele Laki
Re: New Twist on the Reptarium?
[Re: Paani]
#901196 02/02/1002:50 PM02/02/1002:50 PM
Here it is! We finished last night... I made shelves out of the plastic too
I let my babies run around in it to test it out... they love it! The divider is about as far apart as their other cages were so they didn't even notice each other... and the storage bins make excellent doors! They are so large a custom cruiser fits through with room to spare! Since we just cut the bottom out of the bin and sanded down the edges, they have another shelf to sit on and beg for mealies from
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
WOW!!! Awesome! LOVE the idea for the doors! Pretty ingenious!!! I can't tell for sure but it doesn't look like the divider is solid. If it isn't, is the mesh small enough they can't reach through to the other side and grab a tail or other body part?
Nice job Meghan! That is a very unique way of doing the doors. I had a few thoughts while looking at the pic... are the bins zip-tied to the mesh? Could they be mounted more flush to the mesh, by zip-tying right under the rim of the bin - you could trim off another few inches of the bin, still having a 2" or so shelf but not protruding into the cages as much. The rim could then rest on the bottom frame.
Another idea was possibly using PVC tees to attached two mesh PVC-framed dividers to the cage frame itself. That would give more support in the center of the cage, and prevent the possibility of gliders on one side being able to reach the other. You may already have a double "wall" in there though... can you take a pic inside with a door open?
PS - just saw your above post about the "plastic" in the dividers! Guess I should refresh before posting!
Last edited by nancy1202; 02/03/1010:47 AM. Reason: missed latest post
Nice job Meghan! That is a very unique way of doing the doors. I had a few thoughts while looking at the pic... are the bins zip-tied to the mesh? -Yes they are. We thought about cutting the sides shorter, but I think the gliders like having a top and bottom shelf. Maybe we can cut the sides down, leaving two shelves but opening up the middle?
Could they be mounted more flush to the mesh, by zip-tying right under the rim of the bin - you could trim off another few inches of the bin, still having a 2" or so shelf but not protruding into the cages as much. The rim could then rest on the bottom frame. -They are zip-tied very close to the rim... the inch or so of space allowed me to zip-tie two rows in for added security.
Another idea was possibly using PVC tees to attached two mesh PVC-framed dividers to the cage frame itself. That would give more support in the center of the cage, and prevent the possibility of gliders on one side being able to reach the other. You may already have a double "wall" in there though... can you take a pic inside with a door open? -There is a double wall in there, and there are plastic dividers (thin clear plastic sheet that slid right in the middle). The tees are a good idea, but the cage is pretty sturdy as it is. I'll get more pics today.
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli
I made something just like that for Mshki! Mine is just a single and I never thought to use the storage bins. Cool idea! What a pain doing all those zip ties, huh?
Lynn Martel 616-272-4374 989-400-5686
Re: New Twist on the Reptarium?
[Re: gliderma]
#901665 02/03/1011:29 AM02/03/1011:29 AM
Yeah, those zip ties took some time... But the whole thing was pretty cost effective!
I'm LOVING the doors... I have to get more pics of them tonight after work. They are super easy to open and close and they lock on tight. I was not 100% certain they would work, but with a little drilling and sanding down the rough edges, they came out really well.
The best part is, the cage is really light. When we want to change the paper, we just pick it up and move it over. I wish I could have made the divider removable... I don't really need two extra cages, but I'd rather have two than one. The problem with making the divider removable was the top. It is made of one piece right now and if we had a removable divider, closing up the hole in the "ceiling" would be pretty difficult... oh well, maybe I'll have to modify it later
Meghan
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Suggies: Basil, Mausi, Bagheera/Baloo, & the Trio Dogs : Pretzel/Snickers Horse: Nugget RIP: Gato, Pepito, Pepper, and Mowgli