How to treat a fir wood outdoor cage?

[Shelley anne]

Hi Guinea pig lovers, I am getting a nice sized outdoor cage so my girls can get a bit of Vitamin D on warmer days. It is made of fir wood and is untreated. I am wondering how to make it last well because while it is not in use it will remain outdoors in the rain as I don't have anywhere else to store it. Do I oil it with linseed oil perhaps? any ideas?

 

[sport_billy]

@Tim is our resident handy man he may know

 

[eileen]

i would paint it with fencing preserve paint ! in the uk we have cupinol paint ,these come in all sorts of colours. i have covers to go over my hutches which help to preseve the wood and hutch . you could use a wood vanish stain.would be lovely to see pictures when you are sorted !

 

[Robin_]

Not sure about the outside (in fact, you could probably just use any low-VOC paint as your piggies won’t have access for chewing), but for the inside, in the “smaller rodent” (ie hamster) community, Plastikote is a pretty popular choice. It’s ok if chewed and relatively waterproof, so it’s great for rodents. I would think it would be fine outside as the living space shouldn’t be exposed to rain.

 

[Shelley anne]

We have Plastikote here so might do that. cheers,

 

[Tim]

So sorry I’m late replying, manic times at the moment
As @eileen said, Cuprinol sells pet safe paint which is quite effective

 

[Tim]

We have Plastikote here so might do that. cheers,

I’ve just done a google search for this. I’ve not used it before, looks ok as long as it’s water based and not oil based. Saying that though, I don’t know how it will bear up to the elements outdoors. I would steer clear of the oil based products Plastikote produces judging by what I’ve read on forums after a quick google. Hope you can find something suitable for your needs.