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Post by krazypara3165 on Jun 29, 2015 11:24:04 GMT
I purchased my cage from John Hopewell around 5-6 years ago. I got the ^02 high one with two compartments and plenty of shelves.
I've put off buying them the 'proper wheel' and made bodged shelf guards and new shelf's myself.
.....So the time has come to finally treat the Goo's to a new metal wheel and fork out...... Gulp £50 for it!
Whilst I am at it I thought I would pick up more pre cut shelfs and buy the stainless steel guards as hopefully that would limit the muck getting flung about!
Well I was shocked to see that the wheel has risen to £95 and the guards and accessories have flew up too! not to mention the cage I now have is more than £100 more!!
I love his products and the craftmanship that goes into them but surely that cannot justify a price hike of 30-50% does anyone know of a place that sells comparable products? or am I better off doing it myself? (building guards, wheels ect)
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Post by Bexi87 on Jun 29, 2015 11:31:30 GMT
Have you had a look on eBay/Preloved for a metal wheel? I've just got a great wheel for £20 - 14" metal wheel
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jos
Warbling Degu
Posts: 33 
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Post by jos on Jun 29, 2015 13:36:59 GMT
I've had the same thoughts as you, I really like the JH cages but the cost of the steel guards is a little hard to swallow but without it is very messy, I've struggled on with cardboard around the edges held in place with bungee cords but my 3 do still manage to eat away at the cardboard through the bars (they can't access the cord). I also found a 14" 'dog bowl' style stainless steel wheel on ebay, it was about £40, it was from the same guy who sells the silent metal saucers as well. Be warned though, after about a year, this wheel did cause stress fractures in the cage mesh but it was rejigged using a piece of plywood and a biscuit tin lid to spread the force on the cage and is now fine.
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jun 29, 2015 14:12:26 GMT
Thanks everyone!
Ive managed to get a polycarbonate "rollercoaster wheel" with bearings from work so for the time being i've glued their large plastic wheel to it and its working a treat! Ive been looking for a metal bowl the right diameter on ebay but cant seem to find one thats suitable so far.
My original guards were made from a sheet of plexiglass but as ive changed the shelves the guards have deteriorated and are a good three years old anyway. Drilling and cutting the plexiglass was a nightmare so this time im thinking of just buying three full sheets and pinning them to the corners of the cage so they would be easy to remove in the future.
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jos
Warbling Degu
Posts: 33
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Post by jos on Jun 29, 2015 17:47:00 GMT
That sounds like a good idea with the plexiglass sheets, I'd really like to use something see-through as guards for the front but the oven-door style doors on the JH cages make that quite tricky.
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 29, 2015 19:00:23 GMT
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jun 29, 2015 21:45:50 GMT
Tbh, I'm not too fussed about covering the front of the cage as at least I can run the hoover past the front of it, its against two walls and a aquarium so it's a nightmare to pull it out each week to clear the back. That's a great guide for the wheel, the engineers at work knocked up my design for me which works pretty well, I've just been struggling with the tin  I'll have to go over the whole space thing..... It seems opinions have changed over the years, (i remember there used to be a calculator?) the cage is over 4ft tall and has plenty of shelfs, toys and floorspace so I'm happy with it for now but I'll do a bit more research (altho with the price of JH cages now I'll probably go back down to two goos if necessary) |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 30, 2015 10:32:01 GMT
Maybe you could fix a sheet of plywood to the whole back of the cage to stop the mess? The cake tin is pretty sturdy, I would suggest spraying it with some child safe Plastikote before you install it. There is still a calculator on degutopia but it is woefully out of date; you are right things have moved on in housing and diet too over the last 4 years of so. We tend to emphasise floor area and full area shelves now to get the maximum surface area for the volume of a cage, eg we would recommend that a 4' high cage has the base and two full area shelves and any little shelves or perches are just extras. It is usually not too difficult to add large shelves to commercial cages and connect cages together or I think JH does extender cages. Just ask if you would like any help maximising what you have or figuring options out |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jun 30, 2015 10:55:54 GMT
Cheers for that!
I have loads of tins of plastikote and I never knew they were child friendly - that's good to know!
Measured the cage this morning and its 60" (thats 6ft right?) The cage will be getting a full overhaul over the summer, I will be securing perspex to the sides, renewing the shelf's and adding one or two more full levels (already has one full level and the base)
Once thats done I will be building a new cage from the ground up for the boys which will be around 60" high by 24" deep and 24" wide (may go a tiny bit wider)
Think thats going to keep me busy for a while!!
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jun 30, 2015 11:20:09 GMT
just seen you mentioned diet too, That is something I'll need to revisit and spend some time reading the threads. When I first got the goos P@h guinea pig food was all that was available. Ive since moved onto the degu version which I alternate with the Supreme Science Selective food with the occasional seed or forage mix thrown into the cage.
now a quick google shows there are loads to choose from! I'd better get reading again!
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 30, 2015 15:56:22 GMT
60 inches = 5 feet.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 1, 2015 10:22:40 GMT
I'm not sure about all plastikote being safe, there is a specific child safe one, it's in smaller tins. For the new cage for the boys, you should make the width over 100cm/ 40" if at all possible, they need to be able to stretch their legs and get up to a run without climbing. So for example, 3 levels of 100cm (40") by 50cm (20") gives you 15000 sqaure centimetres and is our minimum recommended for 3 degus. The cage would need to be getting on for 120cm (4') tall to accomodate base and 2 full levels. The feeding guide is a good place to start for getting up to speed on diet deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16425/degu-feeding-guide |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 1, 2015 10:42:52 GMT
Ive not decided on width yet, the depth will be 24" and the height 5ft but need to see what space i have to work with. I may have to move the discus tank and turtle tank but I'm sure i can manage something.
Whilst I am here, where do I get sheets of glass from for the sliding doors? cant seem to find any! and i prefer that rather than a mesh door
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 1, 2015 10:47:53 GMT
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 1, 2015 10:49:10 GMT
You need to find a local glass supplier so it's a yellow pages job.
Something like the pic is great, you can put in full area levels every 35 to 40cm or so, some big branches and ramps to connect levels etc, & large vents on the sides if you are doing glass doors. I would recommend making the sliding glass doors only half height, so 4 pieces of glass, so they are easier to slide and so you can potentially isolate half the cage.
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 1, 2015 11:11:47 GMT
cheers, that's along the lines of what I was thinking.
good idea with the half height glass! also thinking of lining the bottom and the first few inches of the sides with tiles as the bottom of my current cage sometimes takes a battering.... I dont think wood would last too long with the wee!
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 1, 2015 11:14:08 GMT
I recommend using melamine faced furniture board for the base and shelves so it's totally wipeable, if you edge it carefully it's perfectly safe.
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 1, 2015 11:20:21 GMT
I recommend using melamine faced furniture board for the base and shelves so it's totally wipeable, if you edge it carefully it's perfectly safe. I did think of that but the second they get a tiny bit of water under them they start peeling badly i thought the tiles would be more durable and clean just as easily (not to mention they are significantly cheaper) |
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 2, 2015 9:54:34 GMT
I haven't had a problem with liquid on melamine, but I only have a couple of pieces of it, where I've used it as a shelf I've sealed around the edge of it. Now that I think about it I had a worktop once that got wet down the back edge and the chipboard interior swelled up and damaged the surface, so it is important to seal around the edge. Tiles are fine if that's what you prefer, ceramic or vinyl are both possible |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 2, 2015 10:16:29 GMT
I haven't had a problem with liquid on melamine, but I only have a couple of pieces of it, where I've used it as a shelf I've sealed around the edge of it. Now that I think about it I had a worktop once that got wet down the back edge and the chipboard interior swelled up and damaged the surface, so it is important to seal around the edge. Tiles are fine if that's what you prefer, ceramic or vinyl are both possible the bottom of my kitchen ones are not sealed and i've had to replace a few which is not good considering the house is only two years old. Vinyl..... I never even considered that! could they not chew it up, that would be my only concern. |
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