How to Make a Shelf for a Hamster Cage

Pet stores carry dozens of hamster habitats with a variety of designs and shapes, all designed to keep your hamster safe and active. Of course, the more intricate the hamster habitat is, the more expensive it becomes. If you have a standard hamster cage with a wire frame, adding shelves is an ideal way to build onto the habitat. You can add a shelf to your hamster cage in less than an hour using low-cost materials and items readily available around the house.

Things You'll Need

  • Graph paper
  • Pencil
  • Measuring tape
  • Scissors
  • Packing tape
  • Heavy-duty cardboard sheet or box
  • Zip ties
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Instructions

    • 1

      Sketch the hamster cage and, on graph paper, determine where you want to place the shelf in relation to other objects in the cage. Determine how the hamster will move around in the cage, including reaching the level of the shelf. Attaching string or a ramp to the shelf are viable options.

    • 2

      Measure the interior width and length of cage. Determine how much of this space the shelf should cover and adjust your measurements accordingly. For example, you might determine that the shelf needs to cover the entire length of the cage but only half its width.

    • 3

      Measure and cut a piece of cardboard according to your measurements. Wrap the cardboard completely in packing tape. This helps protect the shelf from liquids in the cage.

    • 4

      Poke a hole in each corner of the cardboard, about half an inch from the edges. Insert a zip tie into each hole.

    • 5

      Position the cardboard shelf in the cage where desired and secure the zip ties around the cage wires.

    • 6

      Measure and cut a second piece of cardboard to use as a ramp to reach the shelf. The cardboard must be long enough to extend from the base of the hamster cage to the shelf but can be oriented however you prefer. Secure the ramp with zip ties.