When I first got Byte-me I had no cage so immediately bought a rabbit
cage.  That was fine to start.  I got hammy, water bottle and 'J' feeder
from the Ferret Store.
 
That was fine but she was cramped for room so I bought a second rabbit
cage and put that on top of the first making a two tier.  Ramps were
installed for access and old but good carpeting was used for floors.
That was fine, and eventually a third cage was added to the top.
 
I made a square wood frame to stack it all on and put wheels under it so
it could roll around as needed.
 
A friend saw that and wanted one.  He bought a 100 foot roll of 1 x 2"
galvanized wire and asked me to make one for him.
 
Those rabbit cages all came with a tin galvanized bottom so I had two
left over.  I made wood and wheeled frames for the bottoms and cut the 4
sided out.  Then I cut the top and as many like sizes for the floors to
be used.  They all were held together with 'J' clips found at hardware
stores.  The tool for crimping them was bought for about $8, the clips
were abut $3 for 1000 and I bought several bags.
 
Doors were cut so every floor had two so every part of the inside could
be accessed.  I wrote to the makers of the rabbit cages and was able to
buy a good quantity of the spring latches.  The 'J' clips were used as
hinges.  To cover the sharp edges around the door I got straws, split
them down the side with a razor blade and used 'J' clips to hold them
over the edges so the ferts and I would not be cut or injured but the
sharp edges.  They were filed down but that was not enough.
 
I used rugs to cover all the floors and used wire ties to hole them in
place.  Only needed two per floor to hold the rugs down.  Ramps were just
pieces of 3 inch x 1/2 inch wood cut to length and held in place with dry
wall screws and fender washers.  Rug was contact cemented or stapled to
the wood for comfort and traction.
 
This has worked out well.  Out of that roll, I made two huge cages and
expanded the tripple rabbit cage to the same size.  They are 6 feet tall,
4 feet wide and 20 inches deep.  Plenty of room for a business of ferrets
providing they all get along together.
 
Right now I have Pete and RePete in one but have the cage divided in half
so each has half a cage where they fight terribly.  This keeps the peace
but they have a common wall where they may some day make friends.  That
has worked in the past but not with these two.
 
The 'J' clips are great for binding two of the wires together and just
barely do 3 ok.  Great tool.  The 1 x 2 wire is great where is the right
size for most self filling water bottle bases to be cut out for leaving
the water bottle outside but the water part inside.  I made a small wood
base to support the bottle and this works fine.  The 'J' feeder fits
perfect and the clips that hold it on are exactly right for this size.
The 1 x 2 is great for any size fert, none will get out or in, except
Nibble-ed, that little chit got into an empty cage by climbing up the
outside and getting into an empty 'J' feeder and wriggling her way
inside!  What ingenuity !  But she figured out how to get on top of the
fire place mantel and the kitchen counter and inside the dresser with
the drawers closed so little wonder she could get in that empty cage!!!
 
Aarrow Ranch Aviation
Rev. J Gordon Bengtson
7302 Hunterbrook Drive, Suite 100
Mechanicsville, Va. 23111
USA
[Posted in FML issue 5182]