Mobility-Accessible Cage Design

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Evermore

Active Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2019
Messages
27
Location
Ontario, Canada
Long time no post... been busy!

So over the Christmas holidays, our old 4-year-old cage alpha, Bianca, had a stroke while we weren't home. She is blind, mostly deaf, and was already showing some mobility issues (weakness in her hind legs) due to age; though now much of her strength in the right side of her body is gone. She's still eating great, still determined as ever to keep up with her much younger cagemates (1-year and two 5-month-olds respectively), alert, and affectionate and comes right on over when called.

1) Are there any bedding/cage lining materials you would recommend? I typically use fleece, but wonder if more padding might make it easier on her joints, or a more absorbent liner would be better on her belly?

2) Lowering the angle of the ramps is a given. Would anyone recommend using guinea pig-style ramps (the kinds with the 3" walls on either side to prevent falls), or is that unnecessary?

3) I've noticed lately she struggles to reach into the food dish. She can, but the sides of the dishes are a bit too high for her. Any recommendations on sturdy dishes with lower lips that could be used instead? Problem is we have a big boy (Handsome Jack) sharing the cage now, and he's 680 grams and tips everything he touches over, so it'd need to be Jack-tipping proof. Water hasn't been a problem at all, and she has access to 3 water bottles at all times (2 on ground-level, and 1 on the upper level of the cage).
 
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