Posted By jerseygirl on 06/05/2010 06:56 PM

Can you post some more pics of your bun pair sometime?

I second this request.

The coroplast near the hay sounds like a great idea, leyley904. Thank you for the advice on how to find coroplast for cheap! I should have no problem getting my hands on some now!

OF COURSE I DON'T MIND IF YOU MAKE ME A COMPUTER SKETCH! Haha. Seriously though, that would be awesome! The design process is half the fun. ;D

If I do decide to cover the coroplast with purple duct tape, I'll only do it on the outside where my bun can't get to it. Thanks for the tip, mocha200. I'm so sorry about your bun. That must have been quite a scare for her.

Okie doke! *drum roll*

Okay, I made everything different colors so that it is easy to see. But, it would actually all be purple. 

I didn't know what you wanted to use as your hay holder, so I just put a box (pink).

Most of the front opens for easy cleaning. But, you can just open the bottom grid for a door for Edmund to go in and out on his own. I suggest just making hinges with the zip ties. 

I did the mat floor.

OH DANG IT! I forgot the coroplast by the hay box!! I'll add that in a minute!!! 

Another view.

This shows just "Edmund's door" open. Nice, eh? 

This is just a thought if you wanted to add a level. It's a larger level (for flopsies!), and for support reasons the door couldn't be on the front. You could do it on the side like in the picture, or you could do it on top and use a step stool to reach it. You also might have to use support beams if you do a fourth level, but that's easy to do if you need it. You might even need support beams for the 3 level cage, depending on how you build the shelves.

 VWA-LA:

(But, the purple would just be on the other side of the coroplast)

(And the coroplast itself would be on the outside of the grids)

So, the more I hear about these X-Pens, the more I find myself seriously thinking of just canning the purple cube shelving idea and going with a large mat and an X-Pen for Edmund's home. It just seems so much simpler, cheaper (assuming I can find an X-Pen for a reasonable price), safer (I won't have to worry about him falling off any shelves or about the shelves themselves collapsing), and more resistant to Edmund's insatiable need to chew everything he can get his little paws on. Plus, I will be having to move Edmund at least once or twice when I go to graduate school, so the fact that it's about 100x more portable is a huge point in the X-Pen's favor.

I've been searching for what I could put underneath the X-Pen, and I found a very nice, large outdoor mat that is supposed to be "great for pets," according to the website. It's waterproof, durable and reversible. I didn't want to use full-fledged carpet because I KNOW Edmund will chew right through it. (He's already proven that he enjoys chewing my bathroom mat.) I don't think he'd be able to chew through this outdoor mat though quite as easily... (Knock on wood.) It's made of polypropylene, which I'm not certain is 100% safe, but after a quick Google search, I found that it's used in pet clothing, animal feed pails and mesh to protect gardens from animals. Hopefully, this means it would be okay if Edmund was able to chew it... Has anyone, by any chance, heard anything about this material?

Here's a picture of the mat and a link to the website:

http://www.yardlover.com/4-x-6-classic-floor-mat-purple

Personally, I think it's a great price for being as big as it is (and as easy on the eyes!). ;D

As for the actual X-Pen, I've been scouring CraigsList the past half hour or so for one that's both cheap and the right size. (I was told elsewhere on the forum that I should get one at least 36" high with a door I can walk through.) One of the ones I found has 8 hinged panels (24"W x 36"H) and is made of gold zinc. The brand is K-9 Keeper. Does anyone know if this is a good brand? Which brands, specifically, are good?

Thanks so much for sharing your expertise with me.