platform advice (Petzy, you especially)

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 43sd replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 7 months ago by RabbitPam.

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- 12/18/2010 at 3:54 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  I keep thinking that if I made Samantha a shelf she could lie under and sit on, she might find it more interesting in her habitat and, well, get off the ground. She NEVER jumps or climbs. I know she’s OK because her binkies are high and she runs fast, I just think it must be so dull for her sometimes. I would definitely need a ramp.
  
  So I started looking around, and even snapped together some nic cubes, but they are way too big for her to jump up onto and I can’t figure out how to make a ramp. Of course, if I had a sturdy box that might be the simple solution, and I’m tempted to empty a storage xerox box – but it there was something easy I could make that’t only about 8″ high instead of 14″, that would be cool. the wood crate from the grocery store didn’t work out.
  
  Maybe I am making this too complicated. I just know Spockie loved his platform, and she didn’t take to it, so……I don’t know.
  
  Suggestions? instruction manuals? ramps are the big ?????
- 12/18/2010 at 4:08 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Would you (or anyone) be able to make a custom wood shelf like Mike made for the buns? You can make it shorter so she could jump on top but still have plenty of lounging space underneath.
- 12/18/2010 at 5:39 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Samantha is a challenge because she is such a Diva.
  She has you wrapped around her little toe. I bet she wants you to jump on a platform for her to test the safety LOL.
  Are you willing to buy something for her for this purpose? I am thinking some cat furniture item. They have good traction but I don’t kow if Sammy will eat at those.
  — I was very unhappy at one point with my quartet having to jump the 14″ to their NIC shelf because they are on concrete flooring, so I got a carpeted cat tunnel which is about 8″ high and it solved the worry for me. It gives them the choice, jump 14″ or only 8″. Cardboard boxes are not so great because they are kind of slippery on the top.
  You can make a ramp using the NIC grids, just ziptie a few together, overlappping, and attach some bunny ton-of-fun paper flooring (from BB store): you can tie it down with wire in a few points. This ramp would be totally safe especially if you make it low-incline.
- 12/18/2010 at 11:08 PM
  Kafrn
  Participant
  747 posts
  Do u have cheap as chips there? They have these awesome padded cat stairs that u can use for platforms such as crates etc. They are perfect for rabbits, they are $5 Australian. I can post u some if u would like?
- 12/19/2010 at 1:13 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Cheap as Chips (variety store) is pretty much S. Aus Kafrn. Lucky us eh?! I haven’t seen those steps before, will have to check them out.
  
  An easy way is do 2 boxes, one to act like a step to the bigger one. Were you attaching the NIC grids to the pen side or free standing? You could probably bend one grid into inverted V shape to act as support under a ramp of grids.
  
  I think that popular cardboard cottage (can’t remember name) has a ramp you can buy separately. Have you seen those RP?
- 12/21/2010 at 11:22 AM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  I built this for you this morning Rabbit Pam so you could get an idea for your little bun bun.
  
  This is made out of NIC grids, and I just zip tied carpet to the ramp but you could use cardboard.
  
  you can see the wood pole i used to support the shelf. ( it is just a broom handle) and for the ramp I used a metal broom handle. haha, I am very cheep!
  
  I am putting the pen out side there condo for them to play in when I am in Florida over Christmas.
- 12/21/2010 at 11:23 AM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  ahhhh sorry for all the weird quoting things I didn’t really quote it.
- 12/21/2010 at 12:29 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  That looks great Mocha! Thanks for taking the time to make it! I hope sammykins approves… We will have to see what Rabbipam has to say about sammy and carpet. Can I ask how many grids yo used for the ramp?
- 12/21/2010 at 12:32 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Your welcome!
  I used 2 Grids for the ramp, and 3 1/2 for the platform ( had to over lap because the grids were to big.)
- 12/21/2010 at 12:34 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Only two grids? Can you show what the ramp is like without the carpet so I can see how you made it rigid?
- 12/21/2010 at 3:01 PM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  I added a small shelf for Sammy, low enough (about 8 inches high) so he can just jump straight on it, with no need for any additional construction (zip-ties etc.) Just put it in his habitat, didn’t take up too much space, put a towel over it and now he LOVES laying down on it, and uses it as his day bed LOL
  
  I got the shelf at the container store. It’s metal but the horizontal part is mesh, so it provides more support on its own than a larger spaced grid would, it’s almost solid. With the towel on top it’s perfectly soft.
- 12/21/2010 at 3:30 PM
  LoveChaCha
  Participant
  6634 posts
  HmmMM good idea!
- 12/21/2010 at 3:47 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Otti, your pen is soooo bright and nice!!!!
- 12/21/2010 at 3:48 PM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  This might have been mentioned, but can you just zip tie a shelf halfway down the grid? I know what you mean about not jumping – no way Otto would jump on a shelf that was a whole grid high, but maybe if you can rig it lower (I imagine you’d need some dowels to support it) she might get the idea.
  
  eta: Otti, I loooove your pen! And what a great shelf idea! Now spill – how long does it all stay looking that nice before he tracks hay all over? Or do you have a great hay containment system too?
- 12/21/2010 at 4:21 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  WOW, OMG, you guys!!!!!
  I got away from the Forums for a bit and just saw all these great posts now. Awesome!
  I should have been on line instead of out shopping for xerox boxes to make it out of this afternoon, LOL. Fortunately I still haven’t started anything, so am seeing these great suggestions.
  
  Mocha, you didn’t really just make that this morning to show me, did you? That is so sweet! Please say you just posted pix of what you had all along.
  And Otti, that is so similar to my set up that I think she could just move right in. Both are what I had in mind.
  
  I found the mesh free standing shelf in the Container Store online, so I think I’ll order that to start with. I would like to try to make Mocha’s ramp, too.
  
  Otti, what is your floor made of? My tiles stuck to plastic have all shifted, and the seams are separating and getting sticky, so I need a better floor solution. I just got a throw rug like yours, and have the willow tent inside the xpen, too. Sammy pulled her cuddlie cup into the center of it.
- 12/21/2010 at 4:22 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Mocha, what’s the stuff on top of the shelf? I can’t tell.
- 12/21/2010 at 8:25 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  I have a fish beach towel on the shelf.
- 12/21/2010 at 8:42 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Yeah I made it this morning. It only took like 10 minutes to make though.
- 12/21/2010 at 8:50 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  sorry for clogging your thread Pam
  
  Here’s the ramp petzy!
- 12/21/2010 at 11:29 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  aha! smart! you used a pipe to support the grids! thumbs up for another cunning piece of rabbit habitat engineering. Mocha, I am a fan
- 12/22/2010 at 1:30 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  Thanks for the compliments! I wanted the pen to follow the general aesthetic of my apartment, which is lots of white and openness with some pops of color.
  
  Pam, the flooring are these foam tiles that you can buy on Walmart.com, four tiles per pack, for a surface of 4 feet by 4 feet total. They’re around $20 a pack plus shipping I think. The only issue is that it really depends on your rabbit whether or not this type of flooring will work and is safe.
  
  Sammy has never shown an interest in it, or even tried to chew it, and I know other members of the forum have also used this flooring perfectly safely, but there is also the chance that a rabbit would find the flooring tasty and decide to eat it, in which case obviously it would be unsafe. You could guess and check, just monitoring your Sammy carefully to detect any early signs of chewing. I think it helps to cover as much of the points where the tiles are joined together as possible, so that you minimize easily accessible places to chew.
  
  Here is the link to the walmart listing for the foam tiles:
  
  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Norsk-Stor-240275-Reversible-Recyclamat-Sport-Multi-Purpose-Foam-Flooring-Black-Gray/13253268
  
  It seems they also have more options now, like a blue/grey reversible option. I bought ones that are black on one side and grey on the other, and i use the grey side.
  
  After the messy-habitat thread, I wanted to show you guys Sammy’s usual mess level, so I actually took before and after photos. I change his litter box and tidy his pen just a little every other day, and then do a big clean at the one week mark. The messy photo was taken right before the big weekly clean.
  
  ‘Mess’ At The One Week Mark:
  
  After Weekly Cleaning: (you’ll notice I flipped his rug over lol)
  
  I have a neat-freak bunny. He rarely tracks hay and never goes outside of his litter box lol
- 12/22/2010 at 5:41 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Mocha, you didn’t hijack my thread – this is EXACTLY what I was hoping to see here!
  
  Otti, thanks for the info. and pix. I think my Sammy is a chewer, but I’ll consider it. I agree with you about those things, and your Sammy is amazingly neat. Mine likes to bunch up the corners of the fabric I have laid over the top.
  
  So last night I placed an order for the mesh shelf, with the shipping costing twice as much as the item. Woke up this morning slapping hand on forehead and ran to closet where I took the two pair of shoes off the Shelf I already had! It’s not the mesh, so I will need to cover it with something like a seagrass matte or a carpet sample or wrap a towel. But it was almost exactly the same! so I emailed them to cancel my order. Worst thing that happens is I have the mesh one after all and put my shoes back.
  
  I like the ramp pix, Mocha. The whole set up is really impressive. I can start with the shoe platform, then maybe I have this week’s little project lined up now. Thanks you guys!
- 12/22/2010 at 5:44 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  P.S. Mocha, is that wood your floor? Or did you put a piece of wood down with the hole for the vent cut out? Is it untreated pine?
- 12/22/2010 at 7:13 AM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  Otti, that doesn’t look messy at all! How do you feed hay? Mine don’t make messes on purpose, but they always drag hay everywhere.
- 12/22/2010 at 8:16 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Elrohwen, Otti posted about this nifty hay rack here. https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aff/4/aft/112155/afv/topic/Default.aspx
- 12/22/2010 at 12:02 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Posted By RabbitPam on 12/22/2010 05:44 AM
  P.S. Mocha, is that wood your floor? Or did you put a piece of wood down with the hole for the vent cut out? Is it untreated pine?
  
  The wood is the floor. we don’t have any carpet in our house because we have five cats who like to throw up on carpet I do have a rug in my room for the buns though.
- 12/22/2010 at 12:20 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Posted By mocha200 on 12/22/2010 12:02 PM
  
  we don’t have any carpet in our house because we have five cats who like to throw up on carpet
  
  LOL…
  
  After this thread I can no longer be considered an expert on ramps and shelves… Wow, BB’ers really know how to make stuff!
- 12/22/2010 at 12:42 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Petzy: You are amazing at that kind of stuff!
- 12/22/2010 at 1:30 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  yeah… but you are my fiercest competition
- 12/22/2010 at 4:28 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  OK. Phase one is complete. I have made this with my shoe shelf that I remembered I had, Sammy’s BB bed,
  
  and a nic cube with a carpet sample on it that I bought about a year ago for a different project. Zip ties are holding them together
  
  and attached. I snipped and filed the turned ties.
  
  Now I need to find a time to put it in her habitat when I can watch her for a while. I am thinking the far inside corner,
  
  opposite the litter pan.
- 12/22/2010 at 4:34 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  That lookas really comfy, and more like a throne than a shelf. Won’t she pee on it? Mine would…. Samantha is eying it out of the corner there.
- 12/22/2010 at 4:51 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  I like it Pam!
  
  Petzy: Lol
- 12/23/2010 at 3:35 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  No, she only pees in her litter pan. A true queen sets an example for the minions.
  
  It is in her house now. She has gingerly walked under and around it. I didn’t nest it tightly in the corner when I saw she needed to be able to get under from both ends. She has yet to try the ramp up. Right now we’re in the other room and she’s under her tunnel. Some things need to stay familiar.
  Stay tuned….
- 12/23/2010 at 4:59 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Then Deirdra is no queen….
- 12/23/2010 at 5:12 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Minions, Herself has shown us how it’s done, and why.
  
  I put a treat in the middle of the bed, and she carefully stood up to get a look at where it was, then figured out she could hop up next to the ramp and eat it sitting there. She hopped off, avoiding the ramp.
  
  So, off it came. I put a new treat on it again, rampless, and she sprung right up. Simpler the better.
- 12/23/2010 at 6:39 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Mocha is the opposite. Lol he will not jump one grid high, yet he will jump onto his box which is the same hight! Haha
- 12/23/2010 at 11:49 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Samantha is an athletic queen.
  Very nice & cozy setup you have for her.
- 12/24/2010 at 5:21 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Meanwhile, I left it there overnight, and I know under it was her usual deep sleep spot. This morning she stood up and yawned from a skinny spot between her dishes on the other side. And she just had a flopped out nap under her basket in the livingroom, so I suspect she’s not liking that spot anymore. I will see how she behaves around it tonight after work. She certainly liked getting treats on it though! (She NEVER jumps on anything – so I was shocked when she bypassed the ramp so easily.)
  
  Dierdra is a queen nevertheless. She just expects her minions to follow her around with a scooper and a towel.
- 12/26/2010 at 11:58 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Pam says “Jump.”
  
  Sammy says “Ha. No. YOU jump.”
  
  Pam jumps.
- 12/26/2010 at 6:35 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  Tttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhhhhppppppppp, Beka.
  
  She is now sleeping under it, after bunching up the fabric nicely.
  I put a treat on top of it again. She couldn’t find it until I started leaning over and waving my arm in that direction.
  
  She jumped up. And down.
  Asked me to invite Beka over so she can jump on her head.
- 12/27/2010 at 6:26 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  LOL! You’re just jealous that…
  
  (Oh, what was that? Yes of course, right away.)
  
  Wait Pam. Hold on. Meadow needs something.
- 12/27/2010 at 5:13 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  LOL
  
  Bunny whipped.
- 01/04/2011 at 11:04 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  Hi, Sorry I left for holiday vacation right after I posted the pics so didn’t respond till now. How is you Sammy liking her new shelf bed? My Sesame loves his so much but he also just loves being anywhere up high, so I think he adores it because it’s the highest spot he can sit or lay on in his pen LOL
- 01/05/2011 at 8:35 PM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  She is sleeping under it each evening.
  
  She never gets up on it. I swear she thinks she’ll get a nosebleed if she’s more than 4″ off the ground. She’s like a penguin – got wings but just never can fly.
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