Melamine Vs Wire cages- Opinions?

Jyss · Feb 11, 2009

I was wondering what you that own or have owned melamine cages thought about them. What are their pros and cons? If you used to have one, yet no longer do, why did you switch? If you had to choose between wire and melamine, which would you? Are there any other products that cages can be made out of safely that aren't so heavy? For those of you that built your own, how long did it take?

Basically I'm just inquiring as I'm trying to choose between making my own cages and buying different wire ones. Any help is appreciated. Thanks so much!

Cinder and Me · Feb 11, 2009

I have a wire cage now, but when I buy my own home (and stop moving every year...) I'll be making a nice big melamine cage for my girl. I love the way it looks and how sturdy it is. But of course you have to be willing to deal with a cage that will not collapse and is not easily movable. Those are the main down falls I've seen so far...

Stakie · Feb 11, 2009

I tend to like wire cages. I have them for all my little critters and not just my chins. They can be a little heavy, but that's the price you have to pay for something safe and able to move, right?

Chinniechantel · Feb 11, 2009

Wire cages-

pros-
easy to clean
laste forever
easy to find/ buy
light weight
can easily hang things

cons-
messy
not so pretty

Melamine-
pros-
nice looking
cheap
can design yourself
not so messy

cons-
heavy
needs to be cleaned often
things will need to be replaced
you have to make it yourself!
not much ventilation
not much room to hang things

greychins · Feb 12, 2009

I have one melamine cage that built that I absolutely love. It keeps in SO many more turds than other cages.

That being said... it's heavy, bulky, pretty much impossible to move without 3 people (barely fits through doorways because of bad planning on my part), lacks good ventilation (the top and front are hardware cloth, but I like the open-ness of wire cages more), and it's sort of "dark" inside, even with the top being hardware cloth, because of the fact there's not a light directly over the cage. Another thing I don't like is the fact that I have to drill into a shelf or wall the second I want to hang something. That is one advantage of wire cages..

When I built it, we worked for a few hours each day (the drill kept losing the charge) and it took a 3-day weekend. I imagine it would have gone quicker had either of us had any prior building experience...

I do like the melamine cage, and I've considered making a maternity cage or two out of melamine, but in the long run, I still love the wire cages.

Twilight Chinchillas · Feb 12, 2009

I love our melamine cages compared to the wire. True it is bulky, but we have ours on wheels.
I have a stacking unit so it still takes 2 people to move, but won't kill you like our 4 foot cages did when we moved them downstairs. All in all though I like the clean look, and the fact it keeps pee off the walls, and poo in the cage for the most part. The person who made mine did a fantastic job, and no complaints, other than my chins being house beavers, and chewing the shelves, and wooden piece across the bottom all the time! LOL

Rickman · Feb 12, 2009

I've had both, built both, and modified both, and I think it entirely depends on how many chins you're addiction lets you have! Chantels pros and cons are very true, but we both have quite a few chins!
If you're only going to have 1 or 2 cages, and have the room for a melamine cage, by all means, go for it! Just keep in mind, you'll have to "remodel" them, every 18 - 24 months! Since chins chew everything, they'll even get into the melamine, not including the shelves, doors, screen, and anything they can get their teeth into! You should even look into galvanized pans, custom made, to protect the melamine from bubbling and warping when picking up moisture!
I've seen pictures of cages on the "old forum" that I would've been proud to own, that actually looked like a piece of furniture - just beautiful, but they only had 2-3 chins, and kept it in a family room!
They can be made any way, and in any size imaginable! 1, 2 or 3 sides open, even the top can be lit, or screen. You do have to remember a few things in a design, though;
ease of operation - getting at your chins when you'd like to get them out
ease of repair - can you change a shelf easily? Or a screen?
ease of cleaning - with a pan, you can design a long, thin door to slide the pan out of
safety - too tall and chins can and will miss a jump, if the area is open, and get hurt
If you really want to make one, P.M. me with dimensions, and I can give you some tips!

VolunteerChin22 · Feb 12, 2009

I really like mine but I am not looking forward to moving them! I also wish I could hang more things in them as easily as the wire ones. I really like the cages that a lady named linda builds here in NC. I will try to post a few pics of them. They are wire but hold mess in just as well as my melamine cages do. Ill try to post a couple of pics of my melamine ones too. When we move in a few months I am going to have my mom's husband build me a wall of cages like the ones linda makes.

Twilight Chinchillas · Feb 12, 2009

I'd like to see some melamine cages with a run inside them for the males. I keep hearing people mention them, but would love to see pictures.

shouts · Feb 12, 2009

Melamine does not have to be heavy - get the thinner sheets! I can lift my cages over my head!

rcr · Feb 12, 2009

I can hang toys and hammocks anywhere on my melamine cages. I just screw in little eye hooks wherever I want to hang an item. I drilled holes for the flying saucers so those are permanent fixtures.

greychins · Feb 12, 2009

Well ya, I mean it's not impossible to hang stuff in the melamine cages... my stuff is hung with eye hooks as well. I have a hammock in there with eyehooks as well as two chew holders/chains. I guess what (for me) is the major downside of the melamine cages is that if I want to hang something, yeah I can use an eyehook, but if I'm putting it into the wall of the cage, I'm leaving a permanent hole in the cage. I suppose you could just leave the eye-hook in without anything on it. If I decide to re-do the shelves and put them in new places, there are gonna be screw holes where no shelves are.

Now, with my melamine cage, I haven't changed anything around, so this is not a problem for me, but with my wire cages, I do like to move toys and shelves and chews around, especially if I buy something that needs a cage "remodel" to fit. And I guess I just like the way there's no permanent marks left when moving things around a wire cage.

But then again, I imagine if you don't re-decorate the cage very often, no problem....

ABBY W. · Feb 12, 2009

I LOVE my melamine cages! They are sooo much easier to keep clean. I have mine built on casters so they can be easily moved, for cleaning, and eventually moving to a new home. I screw eye hooks into the ceilings to hang toys and accessories from. Currently, I have hammocks, hanging toys, and wire hay balls hanging. I am about to try adding fleece PVC tubes for them. My cages also have melamine shelves on the inside. Which brings me to the biggest con. Since melamine is not safely chewable all of the exposed edges of shelves had to be covered with metal rails, cut to size, with the sharp edges filed down, and then drilled and screwed into place. That was probably the toughest part of building the whole cage!

Twilight Chinchillas · Feb 12, 2009

shouts said:
Melamine does not have to be heavy - get the thinner sheets! I can lift my cages over my head!

Our first set made by someone else was the heavier stuff. The next set made by hubby was also the heavier stuff, THEN we find out you can get it in 1/2 depth vs the 3/4 thick pieces. Yup nice to learn about those things AFTER! LOL

Molly · Feb 16, 2009

I didn't want to start a new thread, but am hoping for some advice. For those of you with melamine cages, how do you secure your shelving?

Likewise, if you want to change the shelves out because they've become worn, how tough is the process? (Not to rearrange -- new shelves in the same places)

Huffnpoof · Feb 16, 2009

Hi Molly, I bascially just measured on the inside how high up I wanted the shelf to be, then measured the same height on the outside and drilled into the ledge. I haven't needed to replace shelves yet, as Misty isn't really a huge chewer of her ledges. I'm also interested in the later part of the question though.

Sheri · Feb 17, 2009

I have melmine and haven't had a problem. I don't move toys around the cages alot I just trade toys out every couple weeks. If Cheveyo only knew that was the same toy I took out a couple weeks ago.

I have 1 run that is just a pain in the arse to clean so I quit using it. My melamine is nice to clean and not as messy for me to clean around. If you put them on casters they are not hard to move.

As for shelveing I use "L" brackets from the hardware store. I attach the bracket to the wall asnd shelf on top. Shelves are easy to change. I think at stare they called them corner brackets.

Built my own cages. Now I got it down my mom helps hold peices. Takes us 3 hours or so to build one.

Molly · Feb 17, 2009

Thanks to both of you. Sheri, it sounds like your corner bracket system would work. That way no screws show through the outer walls, right?

TillyChinchilla · Feb 17, 2009

What the approx. cost of building a melamine cage? Obviously is depends on size.. but I am thinking of switching... a little tired of my cages having a 10 foot poop fling range in the morning.

Spoof · Feb 17, 2009

Melamine start to finish for a 2' x 2' cage is probably going to run you ~$100 or so. Less if you already have the hardware or can find the melamine on sale. (or the cheaper, smaller sheets)

Supplies -
Hinges - ~$5/set
Screws ~ $10/box
Corner L brackets (for doors) ~$6 for four.
Wire for door, cheaper if you can get it by the foot, but rolls run $9-$17 for 10-25' of it.
Melamine - varies. 5 x 8 is ~$55, smaller sheets cost less. Usually find them in 4 x 8, but I haven't seen those around here lately.
Pine for shelving ~ $6 for 10' of 1 x 6.

Once you make the first one the following cages are considerably cheaper, seeing you have the screws, wire, shelving, and some melamine left over.

I'd also recommend sealing it. You can use wood glue or caulk for the gaps.

Melamine Vs Wire cages- Opinions?

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