How do i add ventalation to a bin cage?

[twig978]

Does anyone have a guide on how to put wire mesh on? Do i need side vents? Can i jsut do away with the wire mesh and drill lots and lots of wholes? And on a different topic does anyone know how i can attach a water bottle to the bin wall? Is there a certain type of bottle? If so can you please give me a link? Thxs guys and sorry about all the threads and questions but i wanna do soem research before i get the hamster tomorrow....

[pinkpink33]

that's fine, questions are how we learn :)

ok, my dwarfs have bin cages - they have lots of holes drilled in the lid for ventilation, and i leave the lid of when im at home as they cant escape anyway. i attach water bottle by drilling a hole in the side and using the bit of wire through smaller holes. i have a suction cup that attaches one of them, it works real well. another is just attached through a hole and is held up with tape! you can also get hanging water bottles that hang over the edge, or ones you can drill in and attach through the ceiling.
im currently attaching a mesh lid tonight for my syrian - you can use a drill and screws, or cable ties (this is what im planning to use) and just make sure you use loads if you use ties and that they're very secure!
i only have lid ventilation, not sides, and they all seem to be fine, but if you drill holes make sure there are plenty!
if you're ham can reach the ceiling, a determined ham can gnaw through lots of holes, but otherwise just holes are fine :)

[halfwaynowhere]

I got an idea from another forum, and I ended up using vent covers on the lid... I bought a few from the Home Depot, and cut big holes in the lid, and dropped the vent covers into the holes, using screws and wing nuts to hold them on. For the water bottle, I drilled a small hole in the lid of the bin, and hung a cup hook from there, the water bottle has a hole in the top, so I just hang the bottle from the cup hook. I think the whole thing looks neater than if I had just drilled holes in the lid, and it was easier than trying to mess with screen.

[pinkpink33]

cool :) i like those ideas!
i already finished mine tonight :) it was so easy, after i cut the big hole out of most of the lid, i just clipped the mesh to size, and attached it with lots of cable ties! took about 30 mins, and is real secure! had some spare mesh so cut some vents for my dwarfs cages, going to get new lids tomorow and use mesh vents instead of drilled holes! it's so easy, i thought it's take hours lol!