DIY corner shelves for cages!

Super proud of these corner shelves I made for the boys cage! They were easy to make, easy to move/install, and easy to clean. All items used can be purchased at Lowes/Home Depot. Here's the step-by-step info!

**What you'll need:
Coroplast(correx/corrugated plastic. Located in the sign making section)
Hardware cloth (Found in the outdoor section, by the chicken wire.)
Hot glue gun and non-toxic glue sticks
Duct tape
4 washers, 2 bolts, 2 wing nuts.

-Measure and mark your coroplast. I used the corner sections, so I already knew they were a right angle. I measured 10 inches on either side, and sketched out the rounded ledge.

-Then I cut it out. I used the first one as a template for the other, so I had matching pieces.

-Then, cut out an 5x5 inch square of hardware cloth. Place this on one of the coroplast wedges, on the squared portion. Make sure that there are 3 squares of hardware cloth on both sides, these are what you're going to use to hang the shelf.

-Cover the whole thing in a generous layer of hot glue, and then press the second wedge over top of it, sandwhiching the hardware cloth in between the 2 coroplast pieces. Apply even pressure over the whole thing, to make sure that it bonds tightly.

-When it's all dry and cooled down, inspect it. If there are any gaps, fill them with hot glue and press down, to bond them tightly.

-cover the shelf in duct tape. This is done for a few reasons, it adds traction, makes it look pretty (You can get so many different colors/patterns), and it deters chewing. Rats don't usually like chewing duct tape because of the sticky residue it leaves on their teeth.

-Bend up the hardware cloth, and press a washer, then a bolt against one of the holes. Do the samething on the other side.

-Put the shelf in the cage, pushing the bolts through the bars. On the other side of the cage, press another washer onto the end of the bolt which is poking through. Screw on the wing nut. Repeat for the other bolt. This holds your shelf in place in the cage, and makes it sturdy for your ratties to climb around on!

-Enjoy!

Wow! That's fantastic! You are so creative.

You think this would work for a flat shelf?

clmntine said:

You think this would work for a flat shelf?

Click to expand...

It might, but instead, for a flat shelf i'd suggest using a cookie-cooling rack (You can get them at walmart, the dollar store, anywhere that sells kitchen stuff really ). You could cover that with a piece of coroplast cut to size, or just cover it with fleece. This is a video I made for shelves like those.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWLwf15bVQ[/ame]

I saw you post this somewhere (facebook probably) and have been keeping an eye out everywhere for cooling racks like this. Went to Walmart today and they literally had NO cooling racks at all! I need to make shelves/ledges, but would really like to avoid using wood.

clmntine said:

I saw you post this somewhere (facebook probably) and have been keeping an eye out everywhere for cooling racks like this. Went to Walmart today and they literally had NO cooling racks at all! I need to make shelves/ledges, but would really like to avoid using wood.

Click to expand...

Seriously? My walmart always has them, right next to the cookie sheets and cake pans. That's so strange. Have you maybe checked Target? Or the Dollar store? You can order them from Amazon

The superstore has excellent sturdy cooling racks. Canadian tire also has very strong cooling racks of various sizes.

I have found that just cable tying the rack to the side of the cage works well if you use several cable ties. The benefit it that it is easy to do and does not damage the power coating on your cage
I have also found that cable tying dollar store dish drain trays cut to fit, over the cooling rack works well to give a good, solid floor that is easy to clean. It is also easy and inexpensive to replace if it becomes chewed ...... these floors would also be great if covered by fleece as suggested by KatTheHippie

Here is a link of a post I made in 2008 that shows a corner shelf http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2279
as well as a cooling rack shelf if you scroll to the bottom of the page

and a link showing 2 cooling rack shelves I added to a rabbit cage in 2008 (bottom of page) ... not a CN but the same idea, cable ties on two sides will make a good, stable shelf http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7730&page=2&highlight=rabbit+cage

I WISH I COULD CHECK TARGET! But I am in Canada.. I just checked Canadian Tire too, and they only had one cooling rack and it was HUGE. I will be on a hunt forever. Amazon is a good idea though.

Did you check the superstore? They carry some.
Walmart also has cooling racks although not as strong as the ones at the superstore or Canadian Tire (they carry several different sizes so you might want to see if they will be getting smaller ones in)

Canadian Tire in Ontario only has large ones, both in store and online. I have been checking everywhere! I feel like a crazy cooling rack lady! I am not sure what you mean by superstore, grocery store? I checked Loblaws today, and they also only had very large ones. I pretty well checked everywhere my boyfriend and I could think of yesterday online.