General help for a first time condo builder…

[bunnygirl]

 Turns out, I’ve managed to get some grids! Roberta (the saint!!) managed to find some online, at a fair price and within Australia, so I’ve ordered some to get Apollo a bigger cage! And I thought it wasn’t possible!  The parents (BOTH, DAD INCLUDED!!) have agreed, and dads even promised he’ll help me put it together, make shelves etc! 

 

Ive ordered enough to make a 3x2x3 (3 grids wide, by 2 grid deep, by 3 grids high.) Apollo is a mini lop, he’s 4 pounds. I think a condo this size will be okay for now, but, with the beauty of them, I can always expand later. 

My questions to you guys is, how should I plan my shelves to maximise space? I’ve measures the size of the nic base compared to his current cage base, and they’re the same. This means that I can use his pet store base for the base of the condo. But I’m stuck with shelves. What materials do I use? What size do I make them for the condo plan? 

General help needed for a first time condo builder! 

– Thanks everyone! 

[MegaPixel]

I built the same size condo but Pixel is 2 months old and he is supposed to get around 4 pounds. So as it is my first rabbit i can’t say if the size is enough.

As for the floor, i have paid the price hehe (plywood and 1” x 5” plank was 50 Canadian dollars)… I bought a plywood sheet and cut it in 3. I did some ramps in case he is too lazy to jump.
I will add carpet on the top floor (I will monitor if he tries to chew it though).
As for my ramps they are too slippery so I added some grip and he seems fine. (But I think I will try some carpet pieces just to add some grip)

As for the size of the floors, the grids I have are 14 inches (14″x14″) so my top floor is a full floor with a ramp (34″ x 28″ as the ramp is 8 inches wide)
The second floor looks like a “U” shape with 14 inches on the left, the bridge and the right side are is 8 inches each. So the hole would be 20″ x 20″
And the lower floor is full, except i cut a hole to put the litter box under it so i can slide it out to clean it (like a drawer)
I took the remaining plywood to add walls on the lower floor because I use cat litter in the litter box and he kind of dig in it sometimes so I did not want him to make a mess all around the cage.

good luck in your project!

[bunnygirl]

Ah thank you! you’ve given me some good ideas!

[bunnygirl]

Can nobody else help me out? Post your condo pics? I don’t know, I just need more ideas! I’ve been to the habitat section already

[MoveDiagonally]

You want him to be able to periscope so I would keep that in mind when planning your shelves (I don’t know how “tall” your bunny is).

If the grids are the same as the one most people here use they are 35.56 cm (14 inches).

3X2 grids = 106.68 cm X 71.12 cm (3 ft 6 inches X 2 ft 4 inches)

Your current cage: 117 cm X 56 cm (3 ft 10 inches X 1 foot 10 inches)

I’m not sure if your current cage bottom will work for the condo because of the size discrepancy unless the cage bottom is disproportional to the size of the cage. I think you want to go with the 3X2 grids without overlapping or downsizing it to fit the base because it’s just above the minimum while your current cage is below.

My NIC habitat is more like two cages stacked than a leveled condo so I can’t really comment on shelves. I built my bases out of plywood with lumber around the edges and cheap vinyl tile for flooring (because I have a messy bunnies) you can see it here:

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/124631/Default.aspx

I know some people use coroplast really successfully for flooring and as shelf covering.

I see a lot of people doing variations of this with their shelves (blue lines = shelves):

Here are two videos from 101 Rabbits that show NIC Condo construction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch

[bunnygirl]

^^ thank you for pointing that out about the cage bottom!! Your right! I think I’m going to measure some wood out for a base, I know our local hardwear store will cut it to size for me, and cover it with either just Lino, or those peel and stick tiles if I can find them! I just spoke to dad about it, and he says okay, he can help me do that, and put a lip around the edge to keep in the mess! Thank you MD!

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