>We are searching for extra "levels" for our Midwest Homes for Pets Ferret
>Cage: the black plastic rectangular inserts.  We want to make extra levels
>for our Boos to romp on.  Does anyone know of a supplier, or perhaps have
>some to spare?  We will gladly pay for them.
 
Alex,
 
You can buy the extra inserts for about $9 each; some of the pet suppliers
on the WWW carry them, as does Foster&Smith catalog, if your local pet
store doesn't.
 
Bob C. recently swung through this neck of the outback and we had a good
visit; he suggested that I tell everyone how I added extra levels to my
large Midwest cage:
 
When I got my Midwest cage (secondhand) I didn't have ANY extra levels.
What I did was, I picked up 3 of those white heavy-duty wire closet
organizer racks -- the sort where there is a small lip on them.  Two of
them I bought at a thrift shop for $1-2 each, and the third I bought
brand-new for about $9.
 
The 2-foot-long shelves fit a Midwest cage EXACTLY and are much wider than
the black plastic inserts.  Plus if you install them with the lip pointing
upwards, you have a bit of a safety rail there that helps hold in bedding.
You do have to put down towels or t-shirts or whatever so the footing is
safe, but I like them a lot more than any old slippery plastic insert!  (I
had wanted to put down solid plywood flooring, but this option presented
itself and it's a lot easier to deal with.)
 
It's a bit of a fight to get the shelf in place, but once it's in, it's
there to stay.  I've made doubly sure that nothing will fall by using those
little bands used to bundle electric wires together and then cutting the
loose end short.
 
I've arranged my shelves so that they alternate from one side to the other,
sort of stair-stepping up, and I've got hammocks slung in between for
safety.  My kids love it!
 
I would assume that if you bought a 3' closet organizer shelf it would fit
just right, the long ways in a Midwest cage, but due to the positioning of
the cage doors I suspect the 2' wide ones are easier to reach around when
you're trying to catch a fuzzy.
 
One caveat: If you do buy these shelves used, be sure to pull off any of
those little round rubber stoppers on the cut ends of the shelf wire.  If
you buy them new, the stoppers aren't installed and you can just throw them
out.
 
(WA-state) Megan, Grover, Onyx, and Cinnebar (missing Sammy-the-stray)
[Posted in FML issue 2500]