(Super) Squirrel broke a steel bar on his cage ?!?!

[justAddNuts]

It seems my little Rocky was able to break one of the steel bars on his Henry's cage. He pulled it away from the base where it should be welded to the frame. He was then able to bend the bar outward and upward to where it serves no purpose. Maybe it was never welded. Maybe it was broken somewhere along the way. Maybe he was able to break it? Is this possible? Can a 450g male squirrel break a steel bar on these cages? If he could do this to another bar he'd be able to escape. I shudder to think about it. He tries to chew electrical wires when I get him out to play. He will do it if he gets out.

I noticed it last night. I was able to patch the "hole" created by the bent bar using a steel brace and some hex nuts and bolts. It is now secured to the surrounding bars.

Has anyone ever seen a squirrel break the bars on their cage? We have the Henry's cage. It seems like a nice cage.

Also - i'm using garbage bag twisty-ties to "close" the little "doors" on this cage. Is there a better way? The twisty-ties do not last long and I wonder if they could chew them off if they tried hard enough.

[Scooterzmom]

What kind of cage do you have? If it's a Marshall Mansion then I'm not surprised - I have 2 of those and the soddering is rather poor, easy to break if one pulls hard enough on a bar. :(

[4skwerlz]

Leigh from Henry's here. Your squirrel actually bent one of the bars? That's some Super Squirrel ya got there. :rotflThose bars are fairly heavy gauge....

Send me or post a pic of the damage, and also a pic showing clearly which panel is damaged and I'll see about getting you a replacement panel.

(Also PM me with your real name so I can find your order.)

Thanks!

[stepnstone]

Leigh from Henry's here. Your squirrel actually bent one of the bars? That's some Super Squirrel ya got there. :rotflThose bars are fairly heavy gauge....
Send me or post a pic of the damage, and also a pic showing clearly which panel is damaged and I'll see about getting you a replacement panel.
(Also PM me with your real name so I can find your order.)
Thanks!

Leigh you rock! I should have brought a Henry's. :sanp3

I have a cage similar to the Henry's, also a pretty strong gage. I discovered a broken bar on the bottom platform where the weld must have defaulted.
It too was bent upward to where my little one could have gotten pierced on it if she was to have jumped or fallen that way, not a good thought!
I don't know how it happened but think maybe a stick or branch that I put in for her to chew might have caught on (or under) it and over time caused pressure on the weld and pried it loose. I really don't know but I now routinely strum my fingers over the bars especially at their connection points checking for loose ones. Only had it happen to that one so far.

I use the spring type snaps on her doors, the type that one finds on the end of a dog leash. You can get an inexpensive leash at any dollar store and cut them off, just make sure it's the metal kind not plastic. They do the job very securely and are so much easier to put on and take off.

[djarenspace9]

Scary tinfoil lol

[astra]

Leigh you rock! I should have brought a Henry's. :sanp3

I have a cage similar to the Henry's, also a pretty strong gage. I discovered a broken bar on the bottom platform where the weld must have defaulted.
It too was bent upward to where my little one could have gotten pierced on it if she was to have jumped or fallen that way, not a good thought!
I don't know how it happened but think maybe a stick or branch that I put in for her to chew might have caught on (or under) it and over time caused pressure on the weld and pried it loose. I really don't know but I now routinely strum my fingers over the bars especially at their connection points checking for loose ones. Only had it happen to that one so far.

I use the spring type snaps on her doors, the type that one finds on the end of a dog leash. You can get an inexpensive leash at any dollar store and cut them off, just make sure it's the metal kind not plastic. They do the job very securely and are so much easier to put on and take off.
I am sure you could contact your manufacturer and tell them that the bar was so flimsy that your pet was able to break it (should not happen).
Just do not tell them you have a squirrel (because:1. a lot of ppl consider them pests and 2. the cage was not intended for squirrels). Tell them you have a ferret or whatever cage you have.
with defects like that, it is often possible to get some kind of replacement/compensation from mfg.

[pappy1264]

Have never had a squirrel itself break one, but have had a wheel that is a side mount and a squirrel runs in constantly (actually broke two bars!) 9And Leigh, you DO rock!!!)

[stepnstone]

I am sure you could contact your manufacturer and tell them that the bar was so flimsy that your pet was able to break it (should not happen).
Just do not tell them you have a squirrel (because:1. a lot of ppl consider them pests and 2. the cage was not intended for squirrels). Tell them you have a ferret or whatever cage you have.
with defects like that, it is often possible to get some kind of replacement/compensation from mfg.

Good point! :thumbsup No harm in trying...

[Tickle's Mom]

I have two of those cages and my Quaker parrots routinely break the welds:sanp3

(didn't get them from Henry's though, bought these before TSB came into our lives) I had no luck with manufacturer nor store where purchased. So we bought a soldering gun from Michael's and fixed our own. :thumbsup

[justAddNuts]

I use the spring type snaps on her doors, the type that one finds on the end of a dog leash. You can get an inexpensive leash at any dollar store and cut them off, just make sure it's the metal kind not plastic. They do the job very securely and are so much easier to put on and take off.

Great idea! I knew there had to be a better way to do this. Thanks!

[stepnstone]

:Welcome

[justAddNuts]

Here's some pics of the destruction caused (or discovered) by Super Squirrel and the lame attempt by me to repair it. The 3 pics i'm posting have the cage itself from a distance for orientation (yes that's our wedding picture on the table there). This is a Henry's cage (it rolls). It is filled with a Henry's Hammock (they're sleeping in it in this pic), Cozy Cube and lots of wooden sticks, a fleece blanket from target cut in half three times (8 pieces) that they always roll into a ball, two tennis ball on a rope thingies to swing and climb on (they love them), a water bottle and a chewy log (and some lettuce, an orange and some Henry's Blocks - we always keep Henry's blocks in there and the orange for odor control - they nibble on it too). There's a picture of the brace I used to repair it and finally the bar bent inside the cage with the brace moved up out of the way. Rocky had bent it pretty far inside the cage when we discovered it. The brace seems to work although it is a magnet for their attention (for now).

[stepnstone]

Good repair! :thumbsup That cage looks identical to mine without the inside platforms, the bar that broke on mine was on the floor of the cage.
I'd be getting those twist ties replaced asap though, a squirrel can chew through screen and those ties are not much more then a thread of one.

[Milo's Mom]

I too tried the twisty ties but they got chewed off and then I was worried about the squirrels eating small bits of metal wire. I went to Lowe's/Home Depot and got some slide bar clips (like the ones on the end of a dog leash) and clipped the doors closed.

[mpetys]

I have this cage, actually five of them. I have had no problems with my four black ones but the white one has had welds break in several places. Below are pics of how I fixed it using blocks of wood on either side, bolted together. This was a quick fix. At first, the squirrel spent time chewing on one of the wood blocks but soon decided that it wasn't that great, hanging on the cage when he had branches in his cage he could chew on! My bars just had broken welds, no bent bars but I didn't have a 450 gram squirrel in it, just smaller babies! The first weld break happened when I had a store bought bird branch bolted in there and I assumed it was the weight of bouncing babies that broke the welds but later started noticing the odd broken weld here and there. My husband just found another one yesterday. I currently have a 350g squirrel in there.

The other thing is that I roll my cages outside on my screen porch. Earlier this year, as I was waiting for my release cage to be completed, I gave my squirrels a pre - release cage experience by moving them out onto my screen porch 24/7. The white cage is the only one that I had an issue with rusting. I realize that the white would show the rust more readily but I have looked at the black ones and really don't see the problem that I see with the white ones.

[mandibair]

Just ad Nuts
I have the same cage! I will have to check it over very well! Thanks for the post!:osnap

[mpetys]

Aww nuts! I was just cleaning one of my black cages and found one bar where not only the weld had broken but the bar was bent in toward the cage. I must have a Super Squirrel also!

[stepnstone]

This type of thing can happen with anything that is mass produced, I think we all just need to be aware it can happen and routinely do a safety check on our cages.

[justAddNuts]

I'd be getting those twist ties replaced asap though, a squirrel can chew through screen and those ties are not much more then a thread of one.

Your timing could not have been better. Just yesterday I sat there and watched the Bionic Squirrel chew the 2 twisty ties off one of the doors in 10 seconds flat. Neither squirrel seemed to realize they had just opened an escape hatch. I quickly retied it with many ties and drove to the closest Target. I bought 7 of the cheapest dog leashes they had - $7 each - yeah I know that's $50 - and used them to secure the doors. I'm glad I already knew exactly what to do to remedy the situation. The leash clips work very well. :thankyou

The Bionic Squirrel has a partner. My little Einstein Squirrel - Alice is really smart. That's a whole thread - how smart this little squirrel is - she's figured out how to open the latch on the main door. She did it this morning from inside the cage. I caught her and put her back in before anything bad happened. (I let them out to play every morning and every evening but I have to stay with them - they'll chew wires, walls, furniture, clothes, anything, everything...)

This does not cheer me up. I attached a rubber band to the door latch to prevent her from being able to knock it to the left. I am so glad I was there to see her do this. Thank God she didn't do this while we were gone!

I worry about these 2 little fuzzies. They do not understand why they have to be in a cage. They hate the cage. I hate having to put them in the cage. I do it for their own protection. One day this spring I will commit a final act of love and set them free. Until then - the cat and mouse game continues. With a lot of luck and a little bit of help from you guys - I just might win this game after all. :D

:thankyou :thankyou :thankyou

[stepnstone]

Wow, I'm sorry you had to pay so much for the leashes just to get the clips. I know this is going to suck but I was just out at Walmart looking for some mirror clips and they have the spring clips in their hardware section, all sizes. And for the one's I use, 2 to a package @ $2.24 Who knew!!:dono
:poke Squirrels chew, it don't make them bad squirrels it just makes them normal squirrels. My (exposed) wires are either closed in wire tubing or wrapped in screening. Certain sections of my chair rail and wall corners have that see through L angle on them. Alot of my furniture has signiture marks on it giving even the new stuff that antique look. I keep spackle, wood putty & touch up paint in my pantry. It is also a staple in this house! I may not have an award for house beautiful on my wall but I do have a squirrel... I'm good with that! :D

[Tickle's Mom]

Would "alligator clips" from Wal-Mart do the job? The are in the automotive section. I know it won't help for the weld broken at the very top or very bottom but I have those on Scram's cage door and so far, he has not been able to get them off. :dono

[justAddNuts]

Thanks for the tips - if I need replacements i'll check out WalMart.

The leash clips seem to be working just fine. They're easy to get on and off and so far seem to be squirrel-proof!

I'll be looking into squirrel-proofing more things in my house. Thanks for all the advice!

:thankyou :thankyou :thankyou