GliderCENTRAL

WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire

Posted By: princessmegi

WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 10:02 PM

For those of you who saw my new cage last night I want to post a warning. My gliders had been in the cage for a week before my post. In that time Tiki's fur has gotten greasy. I have been keeping an eye on her, but attributed to the fact that she was in a new cage, had a diet change recently, and I was now keeping the temp at 73 where I used to keep it at 70. I thought all of the changes added together were causing the greasy fur. After I posted my pictures last night, USMom pmed me asking me to call her. I had bought the wire from her this summer and she assumed the cage had been done a long time ago. She built her cages in Nov and soon after had many gliders sick and throwing up with that same greasy fur. She came to the conclusion that there is a film/coating on the blue coating from the manufacturer or warehouse. It can only be removed by using an industrial strength cleaner/car wash cleaner. My gliders are back in their old cage until I am able to take the cage to the car wash and scrub it down. I washed the wire with Dawn before building the cage and again once it was all together, but it wasn't enough to remove that film. If anyone chooses to use this wire, please take it to a car wash or clean it at home with car wash cleaner. Your glider's health may depend on it!
Posted By: uraqt33

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 10:10 PM

I'm so glad you figured out what was causing it!!! That's so scary shock
Posted By: cyndiekb

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 10:22 PM

I was lucky Karen had told me the only thing that cut the residue was the car wash soap. I have the black cages made from the same wire. Hubby says it is a manufacturing of the plastic coating to keep it from sticking... something something something (can you tell he lost me?)
Posted By: princessmegi

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 10:25 PM

I wish it was warm enough to head to the car wash but it is 32 degrees and all I have is a car. Tyler would kill me if I bungeed it to the car and scratched the paint...lol

So, I'm waiting for a break in the weather to borrow my grandpa's truck and get it to the car wash. Grrr...
Posted By: 23Paulette23

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 10:46 PM

is it the bonded pvc coating or the plastic coted wire. is it
only the blue or is it also the black. what is the type of soap you use to clean residue off of the wire. who is the manufacture of the wire.
thanks
Posted By: Judie

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 10:48 PM

Megan...

I would be concerned that Tiki and her friend have been livin g in the cage for a week. In that time... if the Oily fur is attributed to the cage still having a film of a Toxic chemical then it may have been absorbed into the body through the gliders feet and any food that has fallen onto the wire.

Because Tiki is Oily my suggestion is to call Dr. Bradley at the Belton Animal Clinic and have the two gliders checked by her. I do know... sometimes when the fur in not being groomed... it will appear to be Oily. Also, with only one glider being oily and the other is not... the oilyness may not be Cage Related.

For pease of mind... I would be running to the vet. thumb



Posted By: princessmegi

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 11:01 PM

Actually, I got an appointment for them today at my vet. He ran the tests in his office and couldn't find anything, but is also sending them out to a lab. I'm hoping the results will be back quickly. If the situation is the same as Shawna's though, her gliders tests all came back completely clean and the vet found nothing. Also the symptoms went away after being in a different cage. I still don't know what it is that is on the wire, but it is extremely negligent of the company to be selling this wire with no type of warning.

The blue wire was bought from a vendor on E-bay. This is not Klubertanz wire. The klubertanz wire is safe, although I still would recommend it be scrubbed down with Dawn before allowing gliders in the cage. You can never be too careful. This wire also comes in several other colors. Here is the vendor:
http://stores.ebay.com/Welded-Wire-Fencing-and-Hex-Netting

And this is the specific wire that I had a problem with (but mine was blue):
http://cgi.ebay.com/COATED-WIRE-for-CAGE...oQQcmdZViewItem
Posted By: cyndiekb

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 11:06 PM

I have Klubertanz and when I put mine together I had an oily residue that smelled of machine shop on my hands. When I took the parts out of the box my family asked me to put the cage parts on the porch till I had them together and washed because it made the house smell. I used mean green and 409 to clean mine at home with a pressure washer but still ended up taking them to the car wash.
Posted By: princessmegi

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 11:33 PM

Really? When I ordered the wire for my 1st cage it came spotless. I washed it anyway just in case, but it seemed to be clean. That's weird that some of it has gone out clean and some had a residue.
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 11:48 PM

Judie, my gliders had issues that went away as soon as they were removed from the cage. I only figured it out, because I ran out of dish soap when I cleaned Coopers new cage, and used car wash soap as a back up. And Coop didn't have problems in the new cage, even though he had a severe staph infection. My guys all went to the vet, and they couldn't find anything either. Weird, weird, weird.

Megi, let me know how they do. I will worry until you tell me they are all better.

I guess Karen was right, the cage was kind of cursed! LOL
Posted By: morksmom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/05/08 11:59 PM

Has anyone contacyed the vendor to see what is put on the wire? Thet say it is safe for animals. Jusu glad you figured this out!
Posted By: Sheila

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 12:44 AM

Everytime I get a cage from ccw it is this way with the black wire. The pressure washer and some diluted bleach removes it.
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 12:45 AM

No, I haven't. I just...haven't. I guess I should, though. They were wonderful with my when I bought it. We went back and forth several times with the colors, because I couldn't decide.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 03:06 PM

I believe the warning posted to be true. I bought a whole role of the blue mesh. And after having a beautiful cage built for my suggies.
she and her mate became sick . I also took them to the vet and he found nothin. so i concluded the cage also.

I stopped using the cage completely since. but now reading this post it gives me hope that i can use the cage again because i love the color!!!
I will definitly be going through the car wash with the cage.

thanks for this post.
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 06:44 PM

Tigiris, if you can, buy the soap at wal mart or something, and wash it at home, that way you can get more soap on the cage, and be able to use a scrubby or rag on it. You'll be able to feel when the coating comes off.
Posted By: 1daddyglider1

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 07:01 PM

thanks for the links.
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 08:40 PM

KB, that is exactly what it smells like, a machine shop.
Posted By: cyndiekb

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/06/08 11:30 PM

I talk to hubby about this. He deals with chemicals in his job all the time. He said the makers of the wire prob didn't even think about a residue affecting our critters since they really make this stuff for other purposes.

One thing I did want to mention is the car wash I go to has hot water. That may also make a difference in helping cut this stuff.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/13/08 10:44 PM

Originally Posted By: princessmegi


The blue wire was bought from a vendor on E-bay. This is not Klubertanz wire. The klubertanz wire is safe, although I still would recommend it be scrubbed down with Dawn before allowing gliders in the cage. You can never be too careful. This wire also comes in several other colors. Here is the vendor:
http://stores.ebay.com/Welded-Wire-Fencing-and-Hex-Netting

And this is the specific wire that I had a problem with (but mine was blue):
http://cgi.ebay.com/COATED-WIRE-for-CAGE...oQQcmdZViewItem



Klubertanz sells Riverdale wire in the small sizes, which is the same place those e-bay links are going to, so be careful with the Klubertanz as it is most likely the same thing.

Riverdale's website and contact info is here:
Riverdale Mills
Posted By: iwuvmahmonkaypuppays

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/14/08 08:56 AM

omg...this is crazy...about a year and half ago i spend over 300 dollars on buying black coated wire from klubertanz...i made the smaller cage but hadnt decided who i was goin to put in it so i waited and built a huge one....anyways i had washed the wire before i put it together then washed it again when i was done....

my colony basically errupted into an all out war and i put 2 of my boys in the small onei made...they were acting weird right away but i figured it was from the change...then the next day they started throwing up...i had to wait a day and then immediately put them in a temp small cage and they stopped throwing up...after that the cage was sitting there and i thought it smelled kinda weird so i washed it yet again and it smelled alrite

then about a week later one of my girls was getting attacked so i put her in there and literally after an hour she started throwing up...i freaked out so i put her in her carrier and moved the cage out and never used it again...i always thought it was the cage but i thought maybe it was the stress but the fact they all stopped throwing up when i took them out of there convinved me otherwise...

im out all that money but it was too scary...from now on im using "bird cages" cuz that was just not right and they have yet to have a problem in those
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/14/08 03:43 PM

If you can wash it with hot water, and car wash soap or some other heavy duty soap, it should be fine. Hot water is the key, along with soap. I've washed my big one in hot water, but regular soap, no dice. Washed it outside with car wash soap, no dice. My smaller one, I washed the panels, before I put it together, in hot water, with car wash soap, and it hasn't had a single problem.
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/18/08 03:07 PM

Okay, I cleaned the cage on Thursday, and Friday. Thursday in the tub, but "The Nose" aka hubby said it still smelled. So, Friday we went to the car wash, soaked it down with tire cleaner, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then soap spray, then regular rinse, about 20 total minutes. Brought it home, and no smell. Saturday morning, still no smell. So, the suggies went into the cage saturday morning. They have been eating and playing fine, no vomiting. Vomiting and lack of appetite is the first thing I have been noticing with them in there, so...
I've had them in the living room so I can watch them closely, so this evening we will put them back in the glider room.
So far, I am cautiously optomistic, I will update again in a few days, but I think we are good!
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/21/08 02:56 AM

Okay, I think it is safe to say the cage is safe. The babies are all eating well, playing normally, and look fine. So, the cage is clean!!!!
Posted By: cyndiekb

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/21/08 05:32 AM

way to go. Glad you were able to get it clean and be able to use it again. I was down the road before I realized I had not told jenny she needed to car wash her new cage. Glad I had the after thought she had not seen this thread.
Posted By: USMom

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 02/21/08 06:57 PM

I did talk to Riverdale Mills, they said they don't use a coating of any kind. A lot of their customers are commercial customers and they use a steam pressure washer to clean them before use (the customers). A home steam cleaner won't work. So, that tells me hot, hot water.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 07/29/08 04:50 AM

would the cages have to be cleaned that thoroughly everytime or just the first time before use?
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 07/29/08 05:12 AM

Just the first time.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 07/31/08 04:18 AM

um...i used green mesh from home depot, and charlie's been in the cage for about 5 days and he's fine...
is the green mesh okay? would he be showing signs by now?
Posted By: hipbchik

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 07/31/08 05:21 AM

Originally Posted By: tryne
um...i used green mesh from home depot


I had used that to make several of my cages & never had a problem. I think he'd be showing signs by now, so you should be ok. It sounds like it's just the wire from that one particular company.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 07/31/08 05:32 AM

thanks!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: WARNING: Blue PVC Coated Wire - 07/31/08 03:19 PM

The green hardware cloth (mesh) for Ace hardware and Home depot are ok.
Ive used those previously.

The ones from large warehouse suppliers (where u normally have to buy in bulk) might have a residue on it.
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