Cage Glass Runners

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to make a quick post about how I fixed my glass runners to the cage.

My 1st job was to attach the side runners to the sides of the cage. These give the glass something to slot into nicely when closed. When you attach these runners make sure that the runner is flush on the inside of the cage or the degus will chew thier way out.

I used screws to attach my side runners - 3 screws, one at the top bottom and middle. When you put your screws in, do so diagonally, this should prevent the wood from splitting. Then you need to counter sink them.

To count sink : drill a larger hole above where your screw will be. Once screwed in, the head of the screw should be flush with the wood. Otherwise the Glass wont close properly.

As you can see my screw has not been counter sunk, forunately my side runners are deep enough for this not to be a problem.

Your side runners should reach the full stretch from top to bottom, as your main glass runners will fit inside them. Your side runners should also Not be "double u" runners.

See how the main runners fit inside the side runners:

The next job was to glue the bottom and top runners in place. For this I used GripFill.

GripFill is a very strong adhesive that dries relatively quickly and sets like concrete. So be careful not to get it anywhere else on your cage, its a nightmare to remove.


I squeezed a thin line of GripFill along the edge where I wanted my runner to be. Then I press my runner down firmly in place, ensuring that it was flush on the inside of the cage. Now I used all the clamps I could get my hands on to keep it firmly in place. Be careful when attaching the clamps, I myself had to make many adjustments to the runners position as every time I tightended a clamp; the runner would move slightly. Take your time and make sure you get it right.

You need to leave the runners to dry for 24hours minimum. I left mine for 48hours and they have set nicely. For the few months I have had sliding my heavy glass windows along them they have no budged at all.


If you have any excess GripFill (no doubt you will) that gets squeezed out over the edge, you can use terpentine or white spirit to remove it while its wet. Just be careful as terpentine and white spirit are dangerous.

Make sure that if you are choosing to use Glue, think very carefully about what you are planning to do. I had to remove the roof of my cage to slide the glass in, so I made sure that nothing glued would prevent me from doing this. You need to do the same. If you realise you need to take a piece off that you have glued so you can slide your glass in; you will need a new panel of wood.

Many thanks for reading, have a great afternoon.


Smithomatic