An idea for putting more levels in a tank

[BrainGirl]

I was in the secondhand store a few weeks ago and saw a bunch of short (approx. 12") wire CD holders. They're the kind that have square ends and the wire part that holds the CD's is angled at about 45 degrees. I bought all 4 of them because I had a vague idea that I could use them to put an extra level in my gerbil tank. I tried a few different ideas and I've finally settled on one that my gerbils seem to really enjoy.

Because there are so many slots for CD's you can adjust your levels to any height you want. I arranged them on end with the angled ends facing and then slotted pieces of cardboard at the desired levels. Each piece of cardboard was about the width of a CD case and as long as the tank's width. I cut gerbil-sized holes at alternating points in the cardboard so that they didn't line up. When a gerbil wants to move from one level to another it has to weave back-and-forth across the levels.

I also provided cardboard tubes so that they can travel quickly to higher levels from the floor.

Given that so many people are moving away from CD's I'm seeing more and more of these wire CD racks showing up on freecycle and in secondhand shops. They're readily available and I think that they have potential as building material for hamster architecture!

I'll try to take some pictures if anyone's interested:)

[fluffymunchkins]

That'd be great to see some pics! I'm really intrigued :)

[SnickersTheFirst]

I'm interested :) Can't wait to see pics.

[annie81]

yeah...i would like to see some pictures as well

[Hope]

Ooooh! Me too!

[ameyjaney]

I'm intrigued....pics please :)

[Jesse]

Me three! I'm also very intrigued! You guys are all so imaginative! :-D

[BrainGirl]

OK, here goes. I uploaded 3 pictures but I'm not sure if they'll show. If they did, the first one is a face-on view with their giant cardboard tube removed for a better view. The second is a view from the top and the third is a view showing Gimpy and Splash wondering what the heck I'm doing:)

[BrainGirl]

Yay! It worked! I took the pictures in a pitch black room with a camera that's so old it doesn't have the feature that allows me to see what I'm shooting at on a backlit screen. I still have to look through a viewfinder. I couldn't see anything so I basically just stuck the camera in their tank, aimed it in roughly at what I wanted to show you and clicked!

[Hope]

Well done Brain Girl!! :-)

That is such a cool idea, I would have never of thought of something so clever. Splash and Gimpy look to be enjoying it and it looks so cosy, I bet they love it!

They are very luck to have such a creative mummy!

And the pics are great better than what I take usually with a modern camera!

[fluffymunchkins]

thats really nice!
they look like they are enjoying it :)
hopefully it won't be destroyed too soon

[Jesse]

That looks great! The hammies certainly think so too :-D

[annie81]

wow...thats awesome

[BrainGirl]

Thanks everybody! I'm glad you all liked it:) So far there's not been a problem with destruction. I was surprised but the 3 boys have had their set-up for a couple of weeks and they've not taken one nibble at the cardboard levels. They only chew what's down inside their tank, like the tissue box they sleep in. As for the girls, they're determined chewers and they both chew on the metal constantly but I guess because it's powder-coated steel they haven't even been able to scratch it!

[HamstersAreHardcore]

2 words

Very Awesome