Bin cage/ plastic storage tubs

[RitzieAnn]

Here's a guide to "building" a bin cage for your gerbils. They're cheap, and super light weight. You can also get a huge one for WAY less than the price of a tank. Of course it's plastic though, so you'd have to keep a watch out for any chewing or excessive digging.

You'll need a plastic bin-


A Power drill-


and a straight edge razor blade


Ok, so now we get started! I like to hold the bin between my feet for extra support to prevent it from slipping.


You can "eye" where you put the holes, or you can measure it out. I measure every inch, and add a hole in between, so I've got hole every half inch.

*Mine looks funny because I had to switch drills half way through, that's why some holes are bigger than others. Sorry.






When you drill, make sure you support the plastic or else it will crack. [edit, mod mpd, place a block of wood on the back side to drill into, it shouldn't crack then].




And once you get all your holes drilled, then you'll need to use your razor to trim off all the "left overs" from drilling






OH! And for the lid- Just drill a hole in it for the waterbottle (if yours has a strait spout) I drilled mine a *tiny* bit too small so it would hold the bottle upright.





If you've got a bent spout on your bottle, make sure you factor in the bedding depth before you drill a hole for it.

And your final product will look something similar to this....



Very very important: before you leave your gerbils in their new bin cage for a long extended time- be sure you have enough air holes! If it starts looking a little "foggy" in there- you need MORE.

NOTE: The bin cages I photographed for this guide are not suitable for permanent housing. These are the temporary ones I made for when we drive back home for the holiday. My gerbils will only be in there 12 days maximum.

[Duzia]

I ruined three storage bins trying to follow these instructions, they all shattered. It's ok though i got some decent diy advice elsewhere.

[RitzieAnn]

I'm sorry it didn't work for you. I opt to use a small drill bit because there's less chance of breaking the plastic, and of course, some storage tubs are better than other for drilling. Sterillite, for example- I don't waste my money on.

However, I've quoted a portion that I wrote, perhaps it was lost in the sea of pictures, but if you do not support the plastic very closely to the drill spot- it will crack. (as you've found out)

But also to mention- I drilled 5 of these tubs, and only got 4 cracks total... and they were little, and not shattered, so I'm not sure what you've done wrong. Perhaps not enough support, or your drill bit was the wrong kind/or too big. Sorry

((And yes, I edited your comment to delete your last sentence, because the rude remark wasn't necessary.))

ritzieann said:

When you drill, make sure you support the plastic or else it will crack.

[gerbilover109]

Would this idea work when I go to the Carribean? I need a seperate cage for them, because a tank and tank topper I can't move in January!

[jen]

ritzieann said:

However, I've quoted a portion that I wrote, perhaps it was lost in the sea of pictures, but if you do not support the plastic very closely to the drill spot- it will crack. (as you've found out)

I just thought I'd mention that when I made my boys a bin, my dad drilled the holes for me and he put a block of wood behind the plastic (so that the drill went through the bin and into the wood) for support and we had absolutely no problems with cracking.

[RitzieAnn]

Here is a picture of the final product. This was the day we left for our trip. They gerbs handled the 14 hour car ride very well.

[sirius]

It's much better if you let that drill alone and replace that plastic top with metal cobweb (is that a correct word?). Then the ventilation is much better

[RitzieAnn]

If I were doing this as more of a perminate thing, then, yes, I would, but riding around in the car and transfering between that and my friends place, having mesh lids wasn't a good idea. The tubs had to be stacked too, because of the space I had to work with. These lids were very secure too, and I wouldn't have been able to make the mesh lids as easy to deal with. Again, this was just for our trip, everybody is back in their regular homes now.

[Jill]

Hey, to avoid cracking and splitting, I recommend investing in a $5 soldering iron (like what you used in tech class!). I had to make a long trip too, and this worked great. I find that its much cheaper and quicker and it doesn't leave plastic hanging that you need to scrape off. :-)

Jill

[cliveandcharlie]

Thanks for posting this Ritzie. Lots of good ideas. I'll be making one of these this afternoon. I'd been looking for new travel cage options for getting the boys to the vet - it's becoming Ben's second home these days.

Thanks again.

Linda

[gerbiluv10]

thats so cool how you do that

[ttlol2]

Can they live in permanent bin cages if the lid is mesh wire?

[AndreaS15]

ttlol2 said:

Can they live in permanent bin cages if the lid is mesh wire?

Yes, and many people use these.

[sandy]

Hi, I tried that for awhile and found that gerbils chew through eventually. They only lasted 4 to 6 months with permanent use. It is only ten to fifteen dollars to buy a 15 gallon tank, or may 20 dollars for a 25 gallon tank. Even less if you watch for used ones at second hand sales. So now my clans are almost all in tanks. It just works out better for me. Like Ritzie I still use plastic bins for traveling and for selling as carriers when people buy pups and didn't bring a proper carrier.

[skippynlc16]

Here's something I do;

Heat up the drill bit over a candle flame before drilling the holes. The heat will cause the plasic to melt, which will stop it craking!

Joe