That is what I have to hold my doors shut, they work great.

[:"blue"] Hi Troy:

I have been using those mini bungees for years!! Probably wasn't the first person ever to use them; but do think I may have been the first to ever post about them on GC??? I think they are a wonderful....
only problem I have is the hooks on mine are some sort of cheap metal and start to rust after a while and have to be replaced. Not a big problem as they are so cheap. Hope one day to find some with plastic hooks like their big brothers!! [/]

Hehe! Nope Randy... I know I beat you to posting about the bungee cords. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> When I built my first cage in 2000, thats what I used, and had posted about them. Worked really well for me.
Then, I figured out something else.... if I took stiff wire (I have actually used brass coat hangers before too, and it worked out well)... what I do is just cut the wire in small strips and bend my own door latches, and use heavy duty zip ties to attach them to the door. Oh my gosh, it turned out to be SO much eaiser getting in and out of the doors. (I thought the bungee cords were really easy, but this was waaay better for me.)
Hang on, let me get a pic of a travel cage door that I made latches on.... (maybe it might give a better idea what Im talking about.)

Be right back....

Here are a few pics of how I did the latches on some cages. I dunno if it would be helpful to anyone else or not, but they sure made it easier for me. (not the best looking latches in the world, but they serve the purpose. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

Latch open...

Latch closing...

Latch closed...

They really have worked out well for me, easy to open and close, and very secure. I just make however many I think the door needs... (I have 3 latches on a pretty good sized door, and it holds it shut tight. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

[:"blue"] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" /> Hi Hope:

You beat me to the punch on roller bearings in glider wheels so why not bungee cords.....guess I should have known better?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif" alt="" />

Anyway.....brass coat hangers.....never heard of such a thing????

Next thing, you will tell me something like you have a heated toilet seat....... []http://usgn.org/board/images/smiles/rofl3.gif[/] [/]

Thats a pretty good idea!

Annnd, what if I do have a heated toilet seat? Hmmmmm? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
(but ya know, that might be nice, Im telling ya, getting up in the middle of the night to sit on a cold potty, isnt pleasant! I think you may have something there! I guess I could always get out the blow dryer and heat up the seat? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shakehead.gif" alt="" /> )

As for the brass coat hangers... I dont know, but I believe my Mother had gotten them from a dry cleaning place a couple years ago. I only had a few of them, and I cut them all up for uhhh, Glider stuff. LOL. (They looked like regular coat hangers, 'cept the 'knot' part at the top was a little different. I dunno...
I suppose you could probably find some kind of wire at a hardware store that would work well... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> (I know they have those stainless steel rods in different sizes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

A heated toilet seat, hmmmm that would be nice!!
Well i'm going cage material shopping tomorrow and hopefully I come home with some materials!
Oh yeah if I run across any heated toilet seats I will let you guys know the price <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Oh yeah, as Randy suggested I am going to add some shelves to help sturdy it up and give them some more places to sit. Do they have to have some place "solid" to sit/lay on? By solid I mean a surface other than cage material.

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Oh yeah, as Randy suggested I am going to add some shelves to help sturdy it up and give them some more places to sit. Do they have to have some place "solid" to sit/lay on? By solid I mean a surface other than cage material.

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[:"blue"] For your shelves. use a material that IS NOT solid!! That way waste food etc. will fall through to the litter pan and not build up on the shelves. Every cage should have a couple of shelves; but "EXTRA" shelves for structural integrity are only really necessary if you are using the thin HD wire. Most of the materials that we have been discussing in this thread don't need the extra help. [/]

i would like to make my own cage, because the right size will be hard to find. and where im from really expensive. but i feel kinda bad knowing this cage will hopefully be needed for awhile and that all they have is a homemade clip tied cage. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> i spose i will shop around and compare prices.
maybe if i can try and build this cage really professionally i wont feel so bad