So I've been doing a lot of fiddling about with Pip's Plaza and nearly done. Here's what I would have done different in hindsight!
1) Bought the full perspex - with the substrate deep everything is nearer the roof and there is plenty of ventilation. And a lot easier than contorting yourself screwing umpteen panels to the bars.
2) Used the second platform in the front corner with shorter legs so it's at substrate level and had the ceramic water bottle holder on that. But I am not chopping or sanding any more platform legs to fit a curved cage base. Plus that limits the floorspace and would lose a couple of items.
3) It would have been easier to buy a new lower barred cage! But then it wouldn't have 30cm of substrate (but I wonder if that depth will actually get used).
4) Ideally I'd have bought a bigger cage. The depth of the Plaza is limiting with larger items. I was also toying with the XL Grosvenor like Beryl (which does have more depth) but already had the Plaza (two in fact) and like the front door, so bought the perspex instead. Ideally I'd have got another Plaza 120 which is a great size cage to set up and deeper. I did think about that but - on top of the cost of the cage, I'd have still needed perspex panels and Pip may not be in it much longer (on the other hand he may live another year or 18 months!).
So here's what I have - not yet finished as I now need to add more substrate from his old cage to go on top after compressing the rest down, and fill and level up the back right corner with substrate so it's level with the house. Plus transfer his nest and hoard. I'll do that later today as don't want to wake him up too early. I hope he doesn't wake up before I do it, because his cage is half empty! I've already taken his carrot cottage out to put in the Plaza (smells familiar).
I decided to use one of the Ikea tealights as a water bowl in one corner (where it's full perspex and no bars to climb and fall from - and also so the food doesn't get kicked out of the bars) as no bars. It has two polished stones/crystals inside it. We had a bag of them from ages ago. They're too big to be pouched.
I've left the water bottle attached to the only bit of bars at the left end that is high enough, and just put the little terracotta dish under it to catch drips. It was being used to catch drips at the moment, but was also Pip's veg plate before. So need to think of somewhere else for the veg. I'm not that happy with it, the little plate will end up buried or knocked to one side or covered in substrate! But it'll have to do. I've tried to wedge it between the platform and carrot cottage. It's reminding me why I've always had water bottles over shelves for years, after faffing about with them over substrate in the past.
But it'll have to do. I can still fit a couple of things in that corner but not quite how I wanted so they're a bit squished.
As a result of not using the ceramic bottle holder/hide he does have an extra ceramic salt pig hide at the back next to the wheel which will have cork granules in. The ceramic bottle holder would have just fitted there on that platform but was right up to the roof, and it would have meant sliding it in and out every time to take the bottle out to refill it and that couldn't be done without some noise and awkwardness. Pip wouldn't have liked it and it would have been too fiddly. I did consider lowering the legs slightly on that back platform/shelter, but then I wouldn't have been able to straddle the rock formation thing across the two platforms (before it was just sat on the platform/shelter so then there would be nowhere to put the bottle holder again).
The wheel was catching against the perspex panel which increased the depth beyond the bars. But had a convenient piece of wood that a hole was drilled in to go behind the wheel so that sorted that and it's actually more secure and stable. That wheel came with a wood stand originally. I had chopped the base of the stand and used the long part behind raffy's wheel. So used the base, with a hole in, behind Pip's wheel.
One leg snapped off the house while I was pushing all the substrate in. I didn't want to take it all out and wait to fix the leg on again now. So it's standing on 3 legs and substrate keeping it level. It's kind of very slightly sloping down at that end! I'll push some more underneath to level it up again. It's not going to fall over or subside though.
I've only used one corner platform.
The ladder was to match/fit the shelves. It does take up a bit of room but it's a nice gentle slope - still something to zoom up and down but not too steep. It's supposed to slot onto the edge of the shelves but was too loose and would have kept falling off. So I've wedged bits of hemp mat in the slots to make it a tight fit.
As I say - still not quite finished as things will be at different heights in places when the rest of top the substrate is in from his Mickey 2XL. At the moment the rainbow bridge is too low until the rest of the substrate goes in, and the pear hide at the back.
Even without the curved cage base being awkward for platform legs, I don't like setting up tank style cages! It's difficult working out what height everything should be and having different leg lengths. I much prefer setting up barred cages where the bars allow for a great variety of adjustment of shelf heights and different shelves.
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