I got my Ferret Nation cages (two, 3-story cages) when they still had
the old-style shelves (the old shelves have the two parallel bars at
the front of the shelf that are very close together.

I did two thngs....

1. I found a "fix" for the old style shelves as follows: I went to the
hardware store and purchased thin metal rods that are just wide enough
(perfect fit) to slide between the parallel bars at the front of the
shelf. You need to cut a short length to accomodate the ramp. (this
patches the space between the two hooks on either side of the ramp.
This fixes the issue with the double bars. The plastic piece can still
shift forward and backward within the shelf frame. So. I used two more
lengths of the rod across the entire lwidth of the shelf. One is placed
just behined the shelf frame's set of parallel bars at the front of the
shelf. It must be place uer the v-shaped bars that keep the plastic
piece in place. The other is plaed at the BACK of the shelf under the
corner bars. Any bars that tend to fall out are seured with tie-wraps
(AKA zip ties) A note about the rods/bars - get either brass or
aluminum since the steel ones will rust from wet little weasel parts.

2. I contacted Midwest Support and wrote a VERY NICE complimentary
email (telling them how wonderful all their products are and how
responsive they have always been, etc. and I told them about the
product. They had me photograph my cages (6 units built into one huge
cage - it's GREAT) and email back to them - they sent me all new-style
replecement shelves for free. I still use a single bar at the back of
the new style shelves to prevent the plastic from shifting to create
a gap at the front of the shelf. That was years ago, so I'm not sure
they'll still replace the older shelves anyore. But you can always try.

I've attachd pics to this email, but I don't think there's a way to
put these on the FML....I will be posting these to the Holistic Ferret
Forum in the section about cages. You can access the site and pictires
without being a member. Please spred the word on this and PLEASE copy
the pictures and post them around on the web for help prevent other
accidents.

jennifer (AKA mustelidmusk)

[Posted in FML 6551]