Paint- yay or nay??

[luluthehammy]

Hi everyone!!
I'm doing a pink-fairytale theme for my hamsters enclosure, and most of the items i own are in neutrals, wood and stuff. Sooo I was thinking of painting the sides of my hamster's multi-chamber hideout pink. The question is, what paint is safe for something like this?? I heard a kid safe non toxic finger pet is alright, but I don't think it would stay on wood for a long time. Are there any paint sealers out there that are safe for a ham?? Thx for the info!

Xoxo

 

[Socks' Mum]

Your colour scheme sounds nice ❤ Plastikote is a non toxic transparent top coat you could paint over dry children's paint. It's waterproof. It's used to seal the cork on wooden wheels and on multi chamber houses. Enjoy your decorating

 

[Maz]

Hello. It sounds fun Plastikote (water based enamel petsafe paint) is in very small pots so it would take a few to cover a large wood cage. Mainly that's used for waterproofing and making it wipe clean on the inside. I believe some people use Cuprinol garden shades which is water based and supposed to be non toxic - and others have used childrens toy paint (but still read the labels). If it's for painting the outside, either of those would be fine. If it's for painting the inside then personally I would stick to plastikote, but there are varying opinions on this.

So yes plastikote seals wood - it comes in various colours or clear. But it's about £5 for a small 60ml pot. It does go a long way as it's quite thin and spreads well. For example I painted a 100cm wood shelf on both sides and gave it two coats and it only used about half a pot. But as you can see if painting a whole wood cage you'd need a few

I think what I would do is paint the outside with the cuprinol garden shades or something like Little Knights toy paint. And then use plastikote on the inside - the base and maybe 40cm up the sides (ie clear) or if you want the inside coloured as well then a few pots of coloured plastikote

Are you in the Uk or US?

 

[Yorkie]

Personally I have used Cuprinol garden shades,and weirdly enough ,have just ordered the pink to paint Robins new multichamber,and am gonna do her shelves. I figure that if loads use it to paint the paw hut,which they could chew,Cuprinol must be safe

 

[Maz]

I think they are safe in terms of no fumes to inhale etc. To be honest I dont' think any paint can be that safe if chewed and swallowed! So the main thing is to ensure it isn't something that is going to be chewed. Originally people only painted wood items in the enclosure to make them wipe clean from pee - but with coloured plastikote there can be an element of fun with that with colours.

There is no hard and fast evidence on what is safe to use. Plastikote has been used for many years without issues. I haven't seen any reports of issues for wood cages painted with cuprinol garden shades. If it was a chewy hamster in a wood cage though, I personally, would be wary. Another option is to have a natural wood look and use coloured items in the cage for a theme.

 

[Yorkie]

Oh yes,I totally agree with that,and have noticed that all the hamster groups on Facebook recommend Cuprinol for the pawhuts because it's apparently not toxic,due to it being water based. I wouldn't however ,use it comfortably with a particularly "chewy" hamster..I have noticed that Robin doesn't chew anything above ground. It's like she knows that she would be seen lol So her new multi chamber is one on stilts that would be above ground,and I will leave her stilts bare,just in case.

 

[Maz]

I haven't had a really chewy hamster before either Some females do try and chew out of Pawhuts though - I guess splinters are an issue there as well! One of my syrians chewed through one of the stilts on his house but that wasn't painted.

 

[Yorkie]

Personally,I don't understand how any hamster enclosure is made out of wood lol it's just inviting them to try and escape .

 

[Maz]

I also think so! I think they tend to be ok for dwarf hamsters and robos. But putting a female syrian in one seems like asking for trouble!