LED strips and TILES ??

[3degumusketeers]

Hello again

So I'm thinking about the interior design/decoration of the goos'
cage (it's this one www.happyhutch.co.uk/enlarge.php?product=105&image=1 )

I have found plenty of scrap wood (kiln-dried pine) that can be used
for shelving and even found a 10ft (!) long piece in the road which I will cut down to make a ledge at the front of each tier to prevent the litter from spilling out of the cage (as much LOL).
Do you recommend sanding down the wood a bit to make it smoother ?

Someone recommeded getting LED light strips to light the interior of the cage -have found rods and flexible tape in various lengths... are these safe to use and how do I attach them safely ?

Also, I saw that lining the wooden floors with tiles might be a good idea ?
What kind of tiles do you use for this and how do you attach them ? Glue ?

Thanks again !
Been very busy planning... hopefully 'my' 3 little chaps will still be at the pet shop when I go to 'secure' them next week

[fred]

What kind of wood is the one you use for the ledges at the front of each tier? If it is pine you may need to protect it on top (obere Kante, can't think of the correct English expression at the moment). Pine is a relatively soft wood and if they start in earnest they can cut cut it down quite quickly. If you are set up for sanding down, I would definitely do it.

If you use bedding on all three levels, there is no need to line any of them with tiles.

Sorry no experience to answer your other questions.

[3degumusketeers]

Yes, it's pine. Will have to think about protecting the ledge/edge...
I'd be sanding by hand (Sandpapier ?!?)
Glad I won't have to bother with tiles then.

Thanks !

[3degumusketeers]

We'll see... may give it a try but if it's too painful, I'll leave it to the 'goos

[deguconvert]

If you can attach the rods on the under side of upper levels, they should be out of reach of the degus. If you can figure out where you need your electrical cords to go, then you need to also figure out where best to drill holes for the cords to come out. If you can run the bulk of your cord lengths on the outside of your cage, all the better. The LED lights that I used had little clips that I could screw into the wood and then the tape was used after. It's some time since I did this . . . sorry . . . I don't remember very clearly how it went. Does this help at all?

[lollie24]

we used lino floor tiles on our cage

[malteser60]

I'd edge the shelvs with a lip so that you can place bedding on the shelves. That way you don't have to use lino or tiles. Especially tiles as I imagine the wee can dribble down through the gaps in-between tiles.

[3degumusketeers]

deguconvert -thanks for that ! Very helpful. I have seen those trips on ebay. good to know the degus won't be able to reach the lights

@lolli + malteser -thanks ! I was going to go with lino because the shelves won't have any bedding on (the cage will have 3 huge levels and shelves of different shapes/sizes in between. will start looking for adhesive lino tiles



Another question -if I use metal brackets to attach the shelves/ledges, will that harm the degus, i.e. will they try and chew the metal and hurt themselves ?

[fred]

Jul 23, 2011 11:27:26 GMT 3degumusketeers said:

Another question -if I use metal brackets to attach the shelves/ledges, will that harm the degus, i.e. will they try and chew the metal and hurt themselves ?

They will be fine (I have some in my cage and also seen it in others).

[moletteuk]

I like to use pine for edging, if it's fairly thick it takes them a while to chew it right down, and then you can just replace it. I didn't line my wooden shelves with lino/tiles and I wish I did, because cleaning would be much easier. Even if you use quite a bit of substrate, they like to scrape it away in some places and wee direct on the wood. Also if you fit tiles really closely to the edges it prevents the wee running down the gap, down the sides and leaving dribbly marks and soaking into the edge of the shelves where you can't wipe.

[3degumusketeers]

Good to know -thanks !