RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:07 pm

Wow, I just realised how lucky I am to know someone (i'm in Cape Town, South Africa) who owns a powder coating company!

I have a 3 storey cage which I have leant to my landladies daughter, and while they went on holiday almost a year ago and I rat-sat for them, I had the cage re-coated. It looked so nice and clean and has only just started re-rusting on the joins (where the levels attach to the sides). She doesnt wash it, but rather only washes the base and wipes the wire down with a damp cloth with a bit of (gentle) cleaning stuff on it (Handy Andy). Then she wipes it down with another clean damp cloth and then dries the bars.

This method has helped tremendously as the water doesnt sit on the wire because she dries it. She does this once a week. I hope this helps someone

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Tails and her RAM byting Rats
Linux & Apple Mac
Angel rat

Maxie & Pepper

Sat Jul 23, 2005 5:28 pm

I've found a place where I can buy wire that I could build a huge cage of (my boys current cage is big, but I could build an even bigger cage then hehe Mr. Green

). It's galvanized wire though so I thought I'd find a place that could powder coat it. I have no idea what powder coating is called in swedish though, so could someone please explain what it is so I don't get the wrong thing and end up with a toxic cage? Shocked

.

Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:54 pm

Powder coating is where a powder is sprayed (or otherwise applied) as a thin coat onto metal, and then heated in an oven to produce a continuous thin coating over the raw metal.

I think it might just be called powder coating but I'm just guessing here...

http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=powder+coating&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=lr%3Dlang_sv

Hope that helps.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Sat Jul 23, 2005 8:58 pm

Haha thanks Andy. You're right, it's called both powder coating and pulverlackering. I didn't think to search on swedish google doh

Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:17 pm

what about pvc, nothing can stick to it (that i've found) it takes alot to wear it down to the bars. and almost never stains. you can find it at martins cages. it costs about the same as powder coated, is it worth it?

Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:29 pm

PVC isn't as long lasting as powdercoating if it gets rubbed, worn or chewed. Read back through the thread about vinyl coating (it's the same thing - PVC = Polyvinyl Chloride). If it does wear through, the bars underneath will suffer the same kind of problems as galvanised wire.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:23 pm

I have a powder coated cage and have had no problems with smell, rusting or chipping at all and I wash it all fortnightly. My Dad is helping me make a new cage for my rat Waffle out of an old laundry cupboard. I read somewhere that you should use powder coated metal because galvanised metal isn't safe for ratties. Our hardware stores only have galvanised metal or plastic coated mesh. Is it necessary to powder coat it if it's just for the doors or is it true that it's unsafe (remember she will be able to climb up the doors to get to different shelves)? What type of stores sell powder coated mesh or will I need to get this done seperately? I just want to make sure everything safe for my little baby!

Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:02 am

I'm not sure where you could get powdercoated mesh from, to be honest. Similarly, I have heard people mention that plain galvanised wire could possibly cause poisoning (zinc poisoning) but I'm not entirely sure how reliable that is.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:42 pm

hey Rats dont smell do they

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i have a Jackrussel Dog, A white and black Budgerigar, A mean Catfish and 10 beautiful Tadpoles. I am hoping to add two rats to the family.

Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:27 pm

Depends how you define smell! Of course they will smell if you don't clean them out properly, if you have cages or cage furniture that absorbs urine, smells and so on. Some litters/beddings absorb urine and smells better than others, etc. Some rats have a scent (their own natural smell rather than a stink) but no - cared for and cleaned properly, they shouldn't smell bad. However, galvanised wire and untreated wood are two things that can absorb urine and get stinky no matter how much you clean them.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:47 am

The boys' cage is galvanized and needs to be coated with something. The hardware store didn't have any pvc coating but they had Appliance Epoxy. It says it's safe for children and they told us that basically the only harmful part is the vapors. Has anyone used this? Do you think it would be safe?

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Rats:
The boys:
Chester (PEW hairless), Kye (Black mismarked hooded), Scout (agouti), Reminder (Beige)

Tapioca(Beige hooded) RIP my big squishy boy...Play hard at the Rainbow Bridge.

Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:04 am

Eeee...I wouldn't put epoxy on a cage that rats will be living in/potentially chewing on.

Call some other hardware stores and see if they have PVC coating.

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-Ben
My rats: Squishy, Squee, and Nibbler
My dogs (at my mother's house): Lucy and Ricky
My cats (at my dad's house--in Florida!): Cleo (RIP) and Zima

Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:34 am

You can get them powder-coated without going through Martin's. Contact a local powder-coating business and explain what you want to have done. I had a galvanized one done here for $35.00

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Shadow Brook Rodentry

Bridge Ratties: Samson, Wraith, Aiko, Kasper - I <3 you & miss you.