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Hyatt101

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So, as I'm almost done with the basic part of my NIC , i need more help! Can i just use the grids for the shelves/levels? What can I use for ramps (my bunnies need them as they are small!)? What can I use to COVER the levels, thin sheet of wood? Are grass mats good to put ON TOP of the wood? i really need extra details now!:)
Thank you all!
 
If you cover the grids with wood or something solid, then it's fine to use the grids as shelves/levels. I've used carpet on mine since my buns didn't chew it. You can put grass mats on top of the wood, just know that they will consume the mats in time. Some have covered the wood with self-stick vinyl squares to make it water/pee proof. I've also used bath mats or woven rugs on top of solid surfaces. Others have used fleece. Some have used coroplast in place of wood.

Oh, I've actually never used ramps (I like big bunnies), but you can use just a box that can double as a hide-away and a step. This would take up less room than a ramp and have a double function.
 
I use cardboard on my level. I put paper to shred or his tshirts up there so he has traction. If it gets dirty it's super easy to replace. If you use more than 2 grids across you'll want dowels or pvc or something to hold up the center.
 
so what we did was we built a two story cage.

the second story we used two wooden dowels from home dept that we had cut to fit from one side to the other. then we made a divot on the underside for the dowls to rest and "grab" the grid it is resting on. then we drilled a hole in both ends of the dowels. and threaded a ziptie through the holes and attached to the grid.
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we rested a rather large peice of wood we covered in carpet on top of the wooden dowles. the dowels keep the board steady and safe. and it makes the board for easy removal and cleaning.

for her to get up we thought of building a ramp instead we already had this cat toy i bought from target for 15-20$ its a cat scratching toy covered in carpet and some kind of woven material. she will dig on it and it dulls her nails after we cut them. and she enjoys resting under it (through the cave area) and chewing it up. she doesnt eat the carpet just likes to rip it up. it brings her to chest/chin height with the second level. and aided her with jumping up and down while she was getting used to it. and now she just does it on her own no problem and will drag the cat tunnel toy where she wants.

her demonstrating her "stool"
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the reason we didnt use the grids as ramps is because she is a good jumper. sometimes certain heights will be daunting to her at first, but shes good at it and will quickly get over it. also we tried to make a ramp out of an extra grid and it didnt seem very sturdy but we did manage to make one out of wood as a just incase and it looked more like stairs because we didnt know how she would react to a ramp. the stairs were built with some ingenuity we have several tools for home improvement so these are obviously just suggestions and what we did.

we cut one square in half. thats square "A" square A 1 (first half) lay vertical and connect square B ( a whole square) horizontally to square A1 then attach square A2 to square B vertically so on and so fort to reaching the top. then when height is approved attach how ever many squares from the top of the stairs to the bottom to make it more sturdy and then we added a bottom to the stairs to make it even sturdier.

if you dont want to cut try bending that also works. (we accidently broke one so we went with cutting.) we did take it apart because she seemed fine with it so i dont have any pictures but it does work. if i were to use it i would cover the grids in something as charmmy really doesnt like how the grids feel on her feet.

we went with some wood for the shelf because it just seemed sturdier and a really easy thing to carpet clean and if need be re carpet. the carpet is stapled on the under side of the wood so it doesnt slip or move. and is hard for her to dig up.
 
For my NIC cage in Brenham I just covered the bare grid with a layer of fleece. My rabbits like it. For their cage in Spring they have a piece of coroplast covering the shelf and then a layer of fleece over that. For both cages I just use binder clips to hold the fleece to the shelves. I do not use ramps on my cages. Instead I put my shelves in so that they are not quite at the height of 1 grid. Most of the grids are 9 small squares in length. I put my shelves in at 7 small grids up. This makes it so my rabbits can easily jump up and down. What I also found helps is to put their litter box so that they can jump in to it and then jump up to the shelf. They also use that as a safe place to hop down. This helps build their confidence.
 
one more idea for a stepping stool. that i am currently contemplating doing. buying/ building a box either as a dig box or as a hide away. thats tall enough to be jumped up and big enough to fit in. charmmy will use whatever she can to jump on.
 
CharmmyBunny wrote:
so what we did was we built a two story cage.

the second story we used two wooden dowels from home dept that we had cut to fit from one side to the other. then we made a divot on the underside for the dowls to rest and "grab" the grid it is resting on. then we drilled a hole in both ends of the dowels. and threaded a ziptie through the holes and attached to the grid.

we rested a rather large peice of wood we covered in carpet on top of the wooden dowles. the dowels keep the board steady and safe. and it makes the board for easy removal and cleaning.
I just put the dowels under the shelf grids and zip-tied them directly to the underside to make the levels even and sturdy... I've also got a hammock rather than a ramp since it takes up less space and gives them a nice lounging spot.

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