Possibilities for cage levels

[Amy313]

I haven't tried this yet but I plan to buy a large bird cage and attempt creating levels. I have an idea that using the folding wire platforms made to hold dishes in your cabinet when putting 2 of them together will create a raised level. I will then lay pieces of cardboard on top of the wire platform creating the floor of that level. These dish platforms usually come in 3 sizes that are the same height and can be found at Walmart in the dishes department. They also carry a wire mesh 3-tiered spice rack that can also be used as stairs but it is quite wide. These items have 4legs which allows the space underneath them to also be utilized. And their fairly cheap.
I will leave a small space for the ladder, which I will be using my empty aquafina water bottles for. Might as well make use of them and there a resource I already have.
I will either cut a slit on each side, sliding a Popsicle stick through and up, creating a tube with stairs. Or I may use non-toxic glue and sand as a gripping surface for their feet to climb up the tube. Not sure yet. Or take a piece of long cardboard, folding an inch on each side, inward. Then cutting slits on each side and again, slide the Popsicle sticks through.
I can also use one to create a hanging hidey-hole. Either using black fabric or cutting paper towel rolls to fit around it to make it dark, and then using hemp rope to suspend it from the top of the cage with a tube ladder going to it.
I like the fabric hanging hammocks too but their expensive so I will try and find small squares of fabric for cheap and use simple sewing stitch and hemp rope to hang from the top.
Since it's a birdcage, I will have to put the tubing in maze-like form on the inside, also using either hemp rope or zip ties to attach them to the cage wire. The water bottles can either be taped together or small slits can be cut into them and then use small zips ties to connect them. Most of the hamster cages I have seen are very small. I have been doing large bin cages which work quite well but I am seeing they need more exercise, variety and space and a large bird cage has more space that can be utilized in creating levels. The bigger ones are kind of spendy though. Starting from about $60 on up. If you buy a big enough cage though ($140), it would be possible to use racks as a divider in the middle and create 2 cages out of it with each one having 2 levels. Cooling racks for just baked cookies can also be attached to wire cages using heavy duty zip ties, if you can find the long ones, to create a level.
The cheap plastic pencil holders might work well for dark cubbies but so does cardboard.... Kleenex boxes, etc....anyway just some ideas I'd thought I would share for those on a tight budget and don't mind creative projects.