Shelf Advice/Tips

[princessbarbie1988]

Hi everyone!

So it's been a week since I brought Mila home and now I'm starting to think of ways to improve her environment. At the moment she has a wired cage from pets at home (quite a large cage with a deep base) which came with a plastic shelf - pictures below of the current set up.

Tbh I'm not really keen on the shelf as it doesn't really sit right and doesn't seem that sturdy.

I'm not really keen on the wheel either... I prefer the flying saucer wheels for dwarves. Not really for any particular reason just personal preference so The one shown will be replaced.

Anyway, I was wondering if I could pool the ideas and get some advice on making a new shelf for her cage. I'd quite like to make something that covers about 1/3 of the cage and then possibly something to fill the empty space at the top of the other side.

Any ideas would be great

[cypher]

Are you thinking of buying a shelf or making one?
What are the cage dimensions?
You can make some really nice shelves from the Ikea knuff magazine thing, if you just google it you'll find lots of idea images here.
Or you could get a nice big labyrinth house, either something like the Leif cabin or one of the Rodipet ones if you fancy splashing out a bit! These will double up as a shelf.
You can also find some nice wooden shelves on ebay so that's worth a search too.
I know it can be a bit difficult with that plastic shelf in there but I'd suggest putting as much substrate in as you can so you ham can dig & burrow, it will also make the cage much warmer in winter.

[Chezzu]

You could always make one out of plywood! I've heard it's pretty easy to make and safe, I can't personally recommend anything however!! ♥

[hammy2]

I have these. One of these cages doesn't meet the recommend minimum cage requirements though. The trick with the shelves is put the two back bits on the first bar at the back and the two side bits on the second bar that way it sits just right with no wobble x

[Dornen]

I make shelves for my tank. The top is just a solid chunk of poplar, the legs are poplar dowels. Drill holes about the same size (or slightly smaller) half way through the shelf then bang the legs in with a hammer. No glue required. If a leg gets chewed through, yank it out with pliers and replace. Plastikote the shelf if you want. Easy and very cheap to make.

The one is the picture is about 18cm x 48cm. I ran the edges of the shelf against a shaper to round them but that is completely just for looks.

[princessbarbie1988]

Thanks everyone!! Was thinking of trying to make something, then I can make it as big or as small as I want and cypher, I had seen the ikea thread so might give that a try

Thanks for the advice Hammy2, might try moving the shelf around a bit. It seems quite a large cage to me and Mila gets plenty of time out of the cage. Might look at upgrading in the future though.

[don]

I made some shelves on several levels last night in prep for my new hammy arriving on Friday.

I used the kiln dried pine that you can get for wall cladding. A small pack was about £3 ish. I also bought a long piece of 1"x 2" rectangular pine for the strengthening and for mounting points.
I used screws and washers to mount it to the cage.

I haven't taken any pics yet, but I will do tonight, and post them.

I have the Alaska cage, but we didn't like the plastic shelf, so the new shelves/levels take its place.

[don]

These are the shelves that I've just made for my new little fella.

[cypher]

I'm seriously impressed!

[Jenibelle]

Those are gorgeous!