Another thing you can do to modify the Midwest playpen, no tools or woodworking experience required, is to order additional shelves from the manufacturer (1-800-428-8560). We ordered 3 of them: put two on the second floor under the upper ladder(there will still be enough room between this and the original second floor shelf for the fuzzies to get through) and the third on the third floor opposite the original third floor shelf. Connect the third floor shelves with a piece of 4 inch PVC pipe(your local hardware store will cut it for you) tied to the back of the cage, and tah-da- much more usable cage space! Total cost was less then $30 if I remember right. Another suggestion I have heard for getting more hammock space in the cage is to A) get/make hammocks big enough to attach to the sides of the cage rather than hang from the top, and B) make a hammock like this: get two pieces of (sturdy) wooden dowel long enough to reach through the bars of the cage,front to back (a bit over 2 feet). Get a piece of some nice fuzzy fabric (or an old towel,etc.), sew a pocket into 2 sides of it, to slide the dowels through(heck, you don't even need to sew, get some good safety pins). With our modified Midwest cage, this hammock fits well on the second floor, under the ladder. Our midwest cage is set up as described above, with litterbox, food, and water on the ground floor, and another water bottle on the third floor. The single shelves are covered with pieces of old towel, cut to fit and pinned or tied to the cage so they don't slip, and there's a nest of old t-shirts on the large side of the second floor. There is also a cardboard box "hidey hole" with a blankie in it on the ground floor next to the litterbox, for ferrets who are feeling too lazy to climb the stairs :) Note to Palsha's- 8 weeks is still really little, I'm sure your little guy will catch on to the stairs. Until he's comfortable with climbing them on his own, I would give him some blankies to sleep in on the first floor. Putting blankets on the first floor may help with getting him to use the box, too. Also, how high are the sides of the litter box? you may want to cut down a bit of an entrance for him, since his little 8-week old legs might have a bit of trouble navigating a full size litter box edge. Janna and Aron Einstein, Daisy & Bandit [Posted in FML issue 2191]