You must ensure a beautiful small home for your hamster with all the facilities that will help it to live well. You have to buy or make a strong cage with narrow openings as well as ample space so that it can’t escape and can explore freely into the cage. However, you can also easily make a hamster cage at home which will save the excessive expense of buying a cage from pet stores or online stores. On top of that, it will ensure a bigger habitat for your pet.
So, what you need to do is to make a strong but loveable cage. If you want to have a big cage, a wood cage will be a great option because hamsters are naturally attracted to a wood cage than any other type of cages out there. Various kinds of cage materials are available but it is important that the cage you will make sure well ventilation to provide good air quality which can prevent the environment of the cage to become dumping. However, most importantly you have to make a friendly sweet home for your hamster.
Well, are you interested to know how to make a hamster cage? In this article, we are going to show you how to build a hamster cage at home. Learn the process and make a cage for your loving hamster.
How Should Be A Hamster Cage?
Hamsters usually demand a large cage so that they can roam and explore themselves freely. So the home you choose or make for your hamster should have large enough space to keep your hamster active and healthy. There is a standard size of the cage for a hamster:
- Length – 80 cm
- Width- 60 cm
- Height- 50 cm
- Bar spacing – 1cm
These measurements are essential for big hamster-like Syrian hamsters. For the small hamsters like Roborovski, Russia, or Chinese, make sure that the bar space is minimum so that they can’t escape because of their small size. 6 mm is the preferred size.
How to Build a Hamster Cage Out of Wood?
Here, we will discuss the easiest methods that will help you to make a decent cage for your pet. At first, you need to collect some tools and materials to make a hamster cage out of wood.
The tools you need:
- Jigsaw
- Hand drill machine
- Screwdriver
- Stapler
- Hammer
The materials you need:
- Screws
- Nails
- Staples
- 50*50 cm of steel net (without paint and close enough – 1*1 cm)
- Three kinds of wood: Medium Density Fiberboard and Pinewood. You can choose any kind of wood but make sure that the wood is not toxic and free from any kind of chemical.
Making the Structure of the Cage
At first, you have to collect or reshape the necessary wooden batons of the mentioned woods for making the fundamental structure. The measurements are given below:
- Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
One plank made of MDF (80*60 cm). You can use linoleum to protect the plank from urine.
- Pinewood
The main structure of the cage is made with wooden batons (3 x 3 cm). You will need to cut by using jigsaw:
4 batons of 50 cm
4 batons of 47 cm
2 batons of 74 cm
2 batons of 54 cm
Then, cut the wooden batons (3 x 1) into:
2 batons of 80 cm
2 batons of 60 cm
These wooden batons will be used to make a sort of barrier to prevent overflowing of litter.
After that, you have to cut the reinforced corners in pine of 2.5 x 2.5 cm into:
4 reinforced corners of 47 cm, 2 of 80 cm and 2 of 60 cm
For the finishing touch of the cage, they will be used.
The basement of the cage is the MDF Plank (rectangular) which will be the floor of the cage. Then you have to place 4 batons (A, B, C, D) in the 4 corners of the basement. You can tightly fit them with the screw by using the screwdriver. After that, you have to place 4 more batons of 47 cm (E, F, G, and H) into the two middle sides of the basement’s length. Around the basement now you have placed a total of 8 batons. Now you have to use 2 batons of 54 cm into the upper side of Width by fitting with screws. Do a similar thing by using the 2 batons of 74 cm into the upper side of length. Finally, you will get a quadrangular structure.
Then you have to move to the exterior part. For this step, you need the steel wire net, a stapler, and of course some staples. Put the steel wire net on both sides of the main structure. Make sure you tighten it enough before stapling and be careful that anything is passing inside the cage because your hamster can hurt itself with it. Put as many staples as you think to make it tight.
To add strength to the structure, you have to attach 2 reinforced corners of 80 cm and nail them down on the frame of the structure to the lengths. Then do the same with the reinforced corners of 60 cm. But put them on the widths.
The other reinforced corners of 47 cm are going to be nailed down on each side of the cage. Nail them down on each wooden baton, on the corners. The structure is reinforced and becomes good looking.
Finally, you have to put some barriers to prevent for overflowing of litter. You have to take the 2 batons of 80 cm and nail them down based on the cage, on the lengths. Then you have to repeat the same thing with the 2 batons of 60 cm, on the widths.
Add Other Materials as Required
Now, your task is just to add some kinds of stuff such as suitable bedding, a hamster ball, a ring a water bottle, etc. to your cage to improve it into a nice place to live for your pet. Don’t forget to put some freshwater and some fresh food for your pet. Floor covering is very much important to ensure a comfortable surface for your pet. Wood shavings are generally most used for flooring, but make sure that they are chemical-free.
Drawbacks of Making a Homemade Cage
You have to put a lot of effort and time to make it. If you are not used to the task, you have to do a little bit of study to get pieces of information on this subject. You have to clean the cage regularly otherwise urine will soak into the wood and produce bad smells. Moreover, you have to check splinters and repair them occasionally as your hamster is likely to chew the wood.
Final Thoughts
Though making a hamster cage by using wood seems to be difficult, it will give great pleasure after completing the task. So, don’t hesitate. Just make a plan and start working to make a beautiful house for your lovely pet. We hope that you now know how to make a hamster cage at home out of wood. Try to build one and see how it works. Good luck!
Useful Resource: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hamster-Bin-Cage