17.5 deep x 22 wide x 24 tall wire cage in a plastic tray.
Top opening door, two shelves and two ramps. Lightweight. Easy to
clean (a little bulky). Can reach all corners of the cage from the
door. Just barely fits into the back seat of a four door sedan. Can
easily be expanded. I've expanded it with a 10 foot gutter running along the
back of the couch. a climbing tower, and a secondary cage on top of a
bookshelf, all connteded with ramps.
Cost of materials: about $50.
MATERIALS
Specifically for cage:
10 feet of 1/2 x 1/2 inch hardware cloth (usually about $1.10 per
foot): $11.
1 large black plastic mixing cement tray (6 inches deep): $9.
1 roll 6 inch x 10 feet aluminum flashing (thin aluminum sheet
metal): $3
2 1/2 inch x 3 foot wooden dowels, each cut exactly in half:
$2
4 small springs to attach cage to tray (C-139 is a good size) (4 x
$2): $8
2 small springs to attach door (one size looser than than C-139):
$4
6 1 inch S-hooks: $1
1 roll 16 gage wire: $3.
TOTAL: $41 (plus tax)
TOOLS:
1 pair sturdy wire cutters to cut hardware cloth
1 pair snub-nosed wire cutters to trim sharp edges
1 pair pliers to bend wire
1 pair needle nosed pliers to bend sharp wire ends (optional)
1 pair kitchen scissors to cut aluminum siding
1 pair Have-a-Heart cage clamp pliers
1 bag Have-a-Heart cage clamps
BUILDING THE CAGE
Measure the bottom of the tray very carefully to determine the
inside perimeter. Round down to the nearest half inch. You want the
cage to be as big as possible, but the entire bottom edge of the cage
must rest on the tray or a rat may be able to squeeze out.
If you use the cement tray, the bottom perimeter should be 17.5
x 22 inches, or 79 inches total. Add 1 inch extra.
Cut the hardware cloth at 80 inches.
Fold the hardware cloth into a rectangular shape: first fold at
17.5 inches, second after an additional 22 inches, third fold after
an additional 17.5 inches.
You will have an extra inch of hardware cloth, fold this back
(along the outside of the cage) to give the hardware cloth some
stiffness. Hardware cloth tends to be a little floppy, but if you
fold it if becomes much more sturdy.
Using the Have-a-Heart pliers and clips, attach the two edges
together with a little clip every three inches or so.
To give the cage even more structural integrity, pick which
side you want to be the bottom of the cage, and fold up an inch of
hardware cloth along the bottom (make a cut at each corner of the
cage first).
ATTACHING CAGE TO TRAY
The idea here is to have a sturdy spring and hook at each corner
of the cage. The cement tray has a sturdy lip that that you can
attach the hooks to.
Take out your four C-139 springs. Place one S-hook into one end
of each spring. Close the S-hook with pliers so it is permanently
attached to the spring. You now have a spring + hook combo.
Cut four lengths of wire and attach one piece of wire to the
other end of each spring. You now have a wire + spring + hook
combo.
Attach each of the four wire/spring/hook combos to each of the
four corners of the cage. Measure and experiment with each placement
so that you can place the hook over the lip of the tray and it holds
the cage sturdily, but does not take so much force to hook and unhook
that you can hardly do it.
An added benefit of the springs and hooks is that they will
pull your cage into a nice rectangular shape. It may have looked
wobbly before, but with the springs it will shape up nicely.
BUILDING THE TOP
About half of the cage top will be a roof accross the back half of
the cage, and the other half will be a door. The roof is a piece of
rectangular hardware cloth that is permanently attached to the cage
body on three sides. The other side "floats" over the middle of the
cage. The door will hinge on the floating side.
To make the roof, cut a piece of hardware cloth from the scrap
that is 9.5 x 24. Fold an inch of both short edges and one long edge
down at a 90 degree angle.
The roof should fit snugly on top of the cage, with the three
bent edges hanging around the outside of the top of the cage like a
tablecloth. The unbent, floating edge spans the middle of the
cage.
Fasten the roof to the Cage body with Have-a-Heart clamps.
BUILDING THE DOOR.
The door is another rectangular piece of hardware cloth that
hinges on the roof.
Cut a 12 x 24 piece of hardware cloth.
As with the roof, fold down three edges: both short edges and
one of the long ones. These edges serve a dual purpose: they keep the
door stiff instead of floppy, and they serve to block any gap between
the door and the top of the cage.
The door should fit more or less snugly on the cage top, the
three bent edges on the outside, the unbent edge resting on the
roof.
Make a hinge by attaching the back end of the door to the roof
with cage clamps. I attached mine not to the very edge of the roof,
but one inch further back.
To fasten the door, make two hook-spring combos out of the two
remaining springs, and attach them to each corner of the door, such
that the hooks dangle down. You can now fasten the hooks to the body
of the cage to keep the door closed.
BUILDING SHELVES
The shelves are made out of strips of aluminum flashing, which are
placed on two parallel dowels. The shelf is not attached to the
dowels, which is actually convenient, because a) you can remove the
shelves for cleaning, and b) if an animal gets his foot caught
between the shelf and the cage wall, the shelf will fall as he
struggles, thus freeing him instead of trapping him.
Cut a 17.5 x 6 inch piece of aluminum flashing.
Fold 1/2 inch strip of both short edges completely under so it
lies flush with the rest of the metal, like a hem.
Fold both a 1/2 inch strip along both long edges down so that
they are at a 90 degree angle with the middle. This strip serves a
triple purpose: a) gives structural integrity to the shelf, b)
removes the sharp metal edge from little feet, and c) keeps the shelf
from sliding off the dowels.
Insert two dowels through the cage walls so that they are
horizontal and parallel, about 5 inches apart. The dowel closest to
the nearest cage wall should not be flush with the wall - leave at
least 1/2 inch of space to avoid pinching little feet.
To secure the dowels to the cage wall, pinch the square of
hardware cloth tight around the end with pliers. You can also wrap a
rubber band tightly around the protruding end of the dowel.
Place the shelf on the dowels.
BUILDING RAMPS
Ramps are easy - I build them out of strips of hardware cloth.
Just cut a strip of hardware cloth to the desired length, and then
fold down both edges to give it strength. Attach to the side of the
cage with twists of wire.
