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Post by solitairedaxel on Jan 1, 2007 19:33:17 GMT -8
I see hardware cloth mentioned as suitable for making lids. As I have located 3 2nd-hand tanks in my area going free (can't take one because it's too big but the other 2 sound like a 10-gallon and either a 10 or 15-gallon) and I'm hoping to get another couple of gerbies in the next month, I'd like to know if anyone knows where I can get hardware cloth. I've already tried one place (they sell fishtanks and light fittings and cabinets and basically random stuff) and they didn't know what I was talking about. I also looked at wire mesh a while previously, but B&Q had only one size. I took one look and could imagine any gerbie doing the same with one thought in its mind: FREEDOM! ;D Anyways, they could literally go straight through it; it's the same size we used to have on the rabbit run and they could stick their noses through it. Failing the hardware cloth, any suggestions on wire mesh. Alternatively, I could go for a fishtank lid, but I have three problems with that: 1) they are expensive (or the ones I saw are) 2) there is no guarantee I could actually make air-holes without the thing falling apart 3) I have a limit to "maximum height" and any lid much higher than 1 inch or so will be too high for the space I have I am an enthusiastic but not particularly experienced DIY person, so while I can generally figure things out given instructions, I am pretty likely to come up with two or three totally impractical ways of achieving what I'm trying to do and may actually try one and ruin all chances of it ever working unless I have some idea how to start. Also, could I have advice on how much clearance I'd need if the ventilation is all at the top? With my current gerbs, I have around a 1/2" clearance from top of lid to shelf, around 1 1/4" clearance from mesh to shelf above. The new tank will be on a different shelf and just below ceiling level; I'm not sure if that requires more clearance.
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Post by delusional on Jan 2, 2007 4:07:23 GMT -8
As for making a mesh lid, I buy sheets of wire mesh from the garden section at Homebase. You can get 1cm sqaures and occasionally they have 6mm squares in, which I prefer.
Then just get four wooden batons and a staple gun, and you can probably figure the rest for yourself. =P
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caz
Member
Posts: 6,237
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Post by caz on Jan 2, 2007 8:26:11 GMT -8
Yeah, I'm sure I've seen that mesh for sale at Homebase too You got one near you Solitaire? Caroline
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jan 2, 2007 9:59:54 GMT -8
If they don't know what "hardware cloth" is, then tell them that you need some small squared wire mesh to put over your house vents ( to keep critters out) ANY hardware store I've been to has it. And I'm not sure what you meant by putting vent holes in it... It's not really a cloth. I also don't think it's too expensive. At least not in the US. I made this entire bird cage with one roll that cost me $10. (the cage is 3feet tall, 2 feet 'deep' and 2 feet wide)
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Post by RitzieAnn on Jan 2, 2007 10:01:27 GMT -8
**Sorry to double post, but I got it... fish tank lid... lol. Sorry. Keep a look out for the mesh first! All the fish tank lids that I've converted... I had to involve the wire mesh! lol
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Post by Shooting Star on Jan 2, 2007 10:16:49 GMT -8
The wire mesh I use for lids and splits is actually labeled as hardware cloth, so I'm not sure there's actually a difference between the two. If there is, I don't know what!
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Post by RyanF on Jan 2, 2007 11:16:09 GMT -8
The stuff I use is wire that comes rolled up, with about 1cm squares.
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Post by girlrazor on Jan 2, 2007 11:17:28 GMT -8
It's probably just one of those American vs. British English things - I wouldn't worry about it too much, I didn't know what "hardware cloth" was either, but I most certainly know what wire mesh is! ;D xo
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Post by solitairedaxel on Jan 3, 2007 5:47:10 GMT -8
ah...Homebase...um...? I think I've seen one around...somewhere...I will make inquiries of family members who are more likely to notice places like that. Wooden batons? *looks vague* I already have a staple gun but I'm not sure how well it works; haven't used the thing for a couple years... We do, however, have some random wooden sticks/chunks out in the garage which might do. I shall investigate (or get my brother to if it turns out to involve climbing around in the rafters, lol). As 10 and 15 gallons are both 24 x 12, it shouldn't matter what the second tank turns out to be as the lid should still fit. I'd have to experiment after making it (and before getting the new gerbs to go in it) by putting my current gerbs in and seeing if they manage to get out. If Mesieth can't get out, the chances are nobody else can.
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Post by delusional on Jan 3, 2007 9:01:34 GMT -8
Well if you use heavy enough wood then the lid pretty much weighs itself down, or for one of mine I use a bit of blu-tack under the corners (on the outside of the glass, between the tank and the wood) to make it secure.
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Post by pepandmax on Jan 5, 2007 20:26:26 GMT -8
Hi! I have had success making tank lids out of screen (it's a really fine mesh) and PVC pipes. You'll need a hand saw and miter box (or a way to hold the PVC pipe securely), PVC pipe to match the dimensions of the top of the tank, "L" joints, and hot glue or a staple gun. Basically you make a frame with the PVC pipe. Then, you lay the screen on top of the tank and push the frame down over it. Use hot glue to temporarily hold it in place. Once the glue is dry, remove the lid from the tank and use the staple gun to secure the screen permanently to the frame. Here are a few photos: In that^ photo, I haven't yet stapled the screen in place. One important thing: gerbils can chew through this screen, so make sure that they can't reach the top of the tank by standing on their hut, house, or nest!
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Jan 6, 2007 1:59:22 GMT -8
Now that I like. I use 1cm squared wire mesh (1/2 inch) which gerbils cannot chew through. I wonder if it would work!! There are two things you need to take into account with gerbils, hole size (1inch by 1/2inch minimum for gerbils) and guage (19 seems fine). Guage is how thick the wire is. Chicken wire is quite thin, for instance, and gerbils will chew through it. www.cage-shop.co.uk/index_files/Page607.htm
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Post by pepandmax on Jan 6, 2007 9:01:46 GMT -8
I use 1cm squared wire mesh (1/2 inch) which gerbils cannot chew through. I wonder if it would work!! That's what I use to make splits/ dividers, the stuff that RitzieAnn used for her birdcage. The only thing is that it's not as flexible as screen. If you put the wire mesh on top of the tank and manually bend down the sides, instead of pushing them down by putting the frame over them, I bet it would work. The hot glue might not stick as well, so it would be really important to staple it carefully. I need to make a new lid for a tank... I have some extra mesh... I'm going to give it a shot!
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Post by solitairedaxel on Jan 6, 2007 17:13:28 GMT -8
If they can chew through it, I don't really want to use it. The tank will be high up and if they escape they will wind up on my bed - but if they fall off it on the wrong side it's nearly 5' to the ground (bunk bed ) so I don't want to risk that. 1cm wire mesh should do the trick...I'll have a mental picture of gerbil teeth when I'm looking at the thickness. lol. As for careful stapling, I will probably have a case of overkill with 3 million staples holding the wire to the wood... I don't really want them to be able to reach the top at all, but the idea of getting a tank this time is so they get digging space and my current three are very good at stacking half a box of aspen right up against the lid, so I figure they *will* get to the lid somehow, sometime.
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Post by pepandmax on Jan 9, 2007 11:32:24 GMT -8
I don't really want them to be able to reach the top at all, but the idea of getting a tank this time is so they get digging space and my current three are very good at stacking half a box of aspen right up against the lid, so I figure they *will* get to the lid somehow, sometime. Either that, or they'll learn that they can jump, and they'll spend an entire night pinging up and down, nipping at the same spot, until finally they sink in their teeth and hang on like a suction cup to a window, using their body weight to rip a large hole in the lid, after which they grab a large baggie of sunflower seeds sitting on top of the lid and pull it into their tank, stuff themselves silly, and then jump back out of the tank, climb into the next tank over (full of strange gerbils), climb into the strangers' nest where the strange gerbils are already sleeping, and fall asleep in order to give us a heart attack in the morning when they're not where they're expected to be. Not that this has happened to me or anything Seriously, though, you should be ok if you stick to the 1/2'' wire mesh ;D
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