making shelves?

so i have a big dog crate that i once housed luna in before i had to go with split cages for snoopy.

however - i'd like to add her back to the crate i think. it would allow me more space as i could place some things on top of the crate, its a bit easier to clean and i could allow her to have a few levels added instead of just her current one level 180cm layout. however this would mean she would be in a smaller space. the crate is either 109 x 69 x 75 cm (L x W x H) or Size XXL: 118 x 78 x 84 cm (L x W x H). I have a feeling its the 109cm one however. do you think this would be a decent size ? i could possibly look at buying the 118cm one (money permitting for luna's vet appointment this thursday).

the crate is this http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_cages_carriers/carriers/metal_cages_and_boxes/30024

if it would be okay - how would one go about making shelves?

i dont have access to wood. although i have toyed with the idea of asking if somebody could make some for me.

another idea i had was getting c&c cubes to make shelves out of.. no idea if this would actually work? id make some fleece coverings to go over them as i wouldn't have her standing on the actual grid at all.

i might not change her living at all and leave it as it is - just toying with a few ideas i feel her life is very lacking and i'd really like to fix that.

A crate on its own isn't big enough, even with shelves, but might be a nice base for her stuff. I personally found it harder to clean than just having bunnies free ranging. Was handy for storing stuff on top of though.

If you still wanted to make shelves, there is a walk through of how we made a shelf in the indoor housing sticky. There is a link in my signature.

Basically we threaded wood batons through the bars and put screws in the underside to stop them slipping out and then they acted as joists for the shelf to sit on. Was relatively straightforward to do.

Elena said:

A crate on its own isn't big enough, even with shelves, but might be a nice base for her stuff. I personally found it harder to clean than just having bunnies free ranging. Was handy for storing stuff on top of though.

If you still wanted to make shelves, there is a walk through of how we made a shelf in the indoor housing sticky. There is a link in my signature.

Basically we threaded wood batons through the bars and put screws in the underside to stop them slipping out and then they acted as joists for the shelf to sit on. Was relatively straightforward to do.

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I can not have luna free range as much as i would love. the house is a tip and no matter how much i personally clean it my parents make a mess of it again. there are too many dangers, wires and mess for her to be constantly free range. we have a broken stair on top of that so i have to carry luna from upstairs to down, or down to up. so yeah - not something i can do until i move out.........

she is currently out for 8 hours a day and most of the time has free run of my bedroom until i go to sleep.

i'll have a look and see what i can do. i'm not a very crafty person so im looking for the simplest option :lol:

binkyCodie said:

I can not have luna free range as much as i would love. the house is a tip and no matter how much i personally clean it my parents make a mess of it again. there are too many dangers, wires and mess for her to be constantly free range. we have a broken stair on top of that so i have to carry luna from upstairs to down, or down to up. so yeah - not something i can do until i move out.........

she is currently out for 8 hours a day and most of the time has free run of my bedroom until i go to sleep.

i'll have a look and see what i can do. i'm not a very crafty person so im looking for the simplest option :lol:

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Aw that's a shame. My parents are similar (not the tidiest people ever!) but are quite supportive so have helped me to bunny proof my room and the spare room. We have a stair gate as downstairs wouldn't be safe for them, and keep the doors to rooms with dangers (or edibles!) shut when they're out.

If you could get someone to cut the wood for you making a shelf that way wouldn't be too difficult. The ramp might be harder but maybe you could have it half the size and use a step stool?

Elena said:

Aw that's a shame. My parents are similar (not the tidiest people ever!) but are quite supportive so have helped me to bunny proof my room and the spare room. We have a stair gate as downstairs wouldn't be safe for them, and keep the doors to rooms with dangers (or edibles!) shut when they're out.

If you could get someone to cut the wood for you making a shelf that way wouldn't be too difficult. The ramp might be harder but maybe you could have it half the size and use a step stool?

Click to expand...

sadly yes they're very messy the most ive managed to do is have them place shoes in a box so luna can't chew them when i bring her down. even so they still leave boxes or papers out and complain when luna has nibbled one :roll: its very frustrating. i did tidy up the kitchen - its a tip again. everything in front of cupboards, microwave, stuff on top of the toaster. they've been like this since i was born, thankfully i was a good kid and never pulled out stuff from the bottom of piles. but it was a risk and i dont understand their thinking of bringing a kid into it lol. part of me wish i had been a naughty kid and pulled something and got injured - maybe they would have changed!

but anyway, small rant there :lol:

in all honesty i was possibly thinking she could jump. the crate is quite large and id place it lower down. or i have a wooden house, she could jump on the house then the shelf perhaps? she really loves sitting on top of her house - so i'm sure she wouldn't be too phased lol. Luna loves being high up and is forever jumping on top of pillows or when i have her downstairs she jumps on the back of couches.

i just want more for her as i feel her life is quite lacking, but its so hard when you feel so limited :?