[chefner]

I have been contemplating a grotto style cage for my rats, but after pricing shelves/bookcases for a while I decided it was too expensive right now.
Well, we went to Home Depot the other night because I found an old gift certificate. I needed some hardware cloth for the playpen I made for my rats. WE got a roll of it for about $8, free with gc.

This past Saturday I woke to find my neighbors having a yard sale! I went over and they had this giant computer cabinet with deep shelves. They were asking $50 and we negotiated down to $40! I was surprised to find that the entire cabinet was 2 separate pieces, not just the one I had thought stood alone. So we are going to use the main cabinets to design the grotto and the second part for parts to make shelves, trap doors, and ramps with! The second part even has hinges and handles on it we can use for spares!
I am attaching pics of what the entire unit looks like if you buy it whole. It is bound to be worth several hundred dollars. It is made by Bush Furniture! The next pictures are what we have done so far. We have replaced the centers of the doors with hardware cloth. I think it looks pretty good so far! Tell me what you think! Any ideas?

Thanks,
Christina

 

[2manyrats]

How are you going to seal the wood so that it doesn't get stinky?

 

[chefner]

I have been thinking about that. Not quite sure what would be the best stuff to use. WOuld a water based paint work? I need to research it further. As for right now we are working on this as a weekend project. Thanks for bringing this up. I would really love some easy, cheap ideas. Anybody?

 

[Forensic]

Get a good water resistent primer and prime it very thoroughly (one or two coats) and then paint it in a good paint?

 

[2manyrats]

Maybe put down linoleoum over the surfaces, too. Urine will corrode paint pretty quickly.

 

[ladylady]

and put it round as a border as ive noticed they seem to pee up the wall :lol:

 

[twitch]

i think the lino would be the cheapest and easiest method to go with. you can get the self-stick ones 2-4 for a dollar at most dollar stores.