Hamster DIY- IKEA Detolf Cage Lid

I've been really wanting a glass tank for Tim for ages, mainly so Tim has more space but also I think they look really nice and Tim can't chew on any bars etc. Don't get me wrong, the DIY Bin Cage that I made is awesome, more so after Adding a Door, especially for new hamsters for taming purposes. I will be keeping the bin cage for when I go away and Tim goes to a friends house to be looked after, let's face it moving a massive tank to a friends house for a week is never going to happen.

I've seen a few people using an IKEA Detolf glass cabinet (put on its side/back) as a hamster cage and for a glass tank it's a really good price for an amazing size too. The only issues I have with the Detolf are space to put the cage and transporting the cage when we move....but we will deal with that when it happens.

The only other issue is that Syrian hamsters, such as Tim, can escape the Detolf if there is no lid (the glass door that comes with the Detolf cannot be used as a lid). So some DIY woodwork was needed! I haven't done any woodwork since I was in school but I was up for a challenge.

Items we used:
- 2 lengths of wood enough to make two frames to fit inside the cage
- 2 pieces of wire mesh (big enough for the frames)
- A saw
- A staple gun
- 8 screws
- Sandpaper
- Tape measure
- Screwdriver
- Pencil
- Protractor
- Wire cutters
- 4 handles (with screws)

Instead of making one massive lid we made two equal sized lids for ease of use. We wanted the lids to fit on the inside of the glass and rest on the metal support bars on the inside. So we measured the inside of the glass and cut four pieces of wood the same size of the width of the Detolf (approx. 38.7cm). We cut the corners at a 45 degree angle. We then measured the length of the inside of the Detolf divided this by two and cut four pieces of wood to this length (approx. 77cm), again cutting the corners at a 45 degree angle. To cut angles accurately we used a protractor to measure the angle and a pencil to know where to saw and then sanded down any rough edges.

If the wood is cut accurately the corners should fit together well, however just to be on the safe side we placed the wood pieces in the Detolf to make sure the frames would fit in nicely. To keep the frames in the correct shape for the Detolf we stapled the corners with the staple gun whilst the frames were in the Detolf as a temporary way to keep the frame in the correct shape. Then screwed one screw into each corners to keep the frame secure.

When both frames were secured with screws and the frames were nice and sturdy we cut the wire mesh, with wire cutters, to size to fit the frames nicely. Wire mesh is extremely sharp I learnt this the hard way! We then lay the mesh on the frames and stapled gunned it to the wood. We were a bit overzealous with the staple gun...but better safe than sorry.

(Left: top of lid, Right: bottom of lid)

To make the lids easier to put on and take off the cage we added two handles to each lid. We screwed the handles on to finish off the lids.