OK, here are some pix of Ellis’s space. I cited the fencing and cable covers in my previous email in this thread. The other, more smoothly finished pieces are NIC cube sections. We used them in the corners at the bottom and top to add some stability to the structure, since the fencing wire is pretty flimsy.
(PS – Hope this isn’t too long for one post, either technically or BB-best practices. Please let me know if I’m breaking any protocols here.)
(PPS – Credit for design and construction go to my darling daughter and her awesome boyfriend, who completed the design, construction and installation on one afternoon, making us all very happy. When Ellis moved in, he at a little hay, pooped a little, then flopped for a long nap. Can’t ask for more from your bun-bun.))
1) Corner of gate section. Top is NIC panel, connected with carabiner so we can open the gate completely if we need to go all the way into the cage; otherwise it’s there to stabilize the gate corner at least a little. White tubing is the cable cover, slid over the cut edges of the fencing. Corner pieces are available with the tubing. Little black straps are zip ties, pulled tight and trimmed close to hold the corner piece in place.
2)Detail of how the tubing slides over the edge of the fencing. This is a section of NIC grid, but it works the same for the wire fencing. On the flat side is an adhesive tape. If the tubing were being used for cable management, you’d pull the tape off and stick the tubing to the wall, floor, etc to anchor it.
3) The hay bale is a wire letter bin, like you’d use in your office. Again, attached to the fencing with zip ties. We can fill it from the to p and Ellis can get to the hay from pretty much everywhere he wants to. Keeping the hay off the floor helps keep it fresher and gives Ellis more exercise picking out the good pieces. I sweep up what ends up on the floor every day or so and toss it in the litter box until it’s time for a “fresh box” (every 2-4 days). You can also see the rest of the bun shui – where he likes his wooden shoe rack (Ikea), den box (from the liquor store, with holes cut on both sides and half a flap off of the top), blankets for nesting, and his water bowl. And, of course, Sir Ellis Lord of the Manor in his corner. Cage dimensions are about 4ft deep and 6ft long (and 4ft high – he’s a jumper).
4) Closeup of the hay/litter box arrangement, from the open gate. Location makes it easy to get to the parts of the cage that need regular maintenance. Litter box is a large cat box, but could be a plastic dishpan as much as he cares. He *always* poops in the back left corner and doesn’t really like hay in his box, so it’s recycled newspaper pellets (“Planet Petco Paper Pellets for Small Animals”). The box gets dumped in the no-mans land between our house and our neighbor’s and is completely biodegradable. Can’t wait to see how the wild rose in that corner does this year. Anyway, we rotate the box 180 degrees every day or so to give him a fresh corner to poop in. At that point, I sweep up the loose hay from under the hay box and put it over the old poop. Once he’s filled up both corners, it’s time for Clean Box. If I don’t catch on, he’ll poop outside the box to let me know.