This is Marisa's cage for her piggies. This is a great location for her cage providing ample natural light for them. The blinds and curtains can be drawn if it gets too hot in the summer. And the cage itself provides ample shade and hidey's for them. Just like humans, guinea pigs need some exposure to natural light.
This cage features an XL 2x5-grid base with two Wide Lofts and supported by our cantilever style of offsetting them by one grid.
She's also using the double-grid stand technique to raise the cage up to normal table height, making it easier to reach in and maintain and access her piggies.
SWING GRIDS as Doors under the LOFTS
While it's a little hard to see in this picture, she substituted our SWING Grids for the regular grids underneath each loft, making it easier to reach in and do refresh cleanings and hay replenishments.
Size
This cage is an XL size with two offset lofts, so the total length needed is 7 grids or about 105" or 8.75 feet.
The top of the base of the cage is as if it were sitting on a normal table of 30", so the top of the lower level is at 45" high. Reaching across the top of the loft is a bit challenging at 60" high. With the space between grids and connectors, a good rule of thumb is to consider each grid length or height to be about 15".
Cover
This is built as a covered cage for cats as Marisa is using the Portal covers over the ramp openings. Because of the special configuration of this cage, the cover needed some additional components as listed below.
How she made it
When creating a special layout, you need to start from the bottom up when building. On cage stands, especially a double stand, it's important to reinforce all the connections properly with zip ties per the instructions as you go. Slow and steady wins the race! With multiple levels, remember -- the perimeter connectors are turned on their edge to accept the grid from the next level. It's tempting to do otherwise; that's why the directions are helpful.
With a 2x5 grid-sized cage with double lofts, it's possible to have the ramps coming down in the front or back together in a "V," but in order to make that happen on single-ramp lofts, you need to do 2 things when ordering, you need to put a comment in the order comments at check out that you one of the ramps cut on the other side and you need to email us with the order number after you place the order pointing that out so that we don't miss it.
Item List
STANDS:
2 XL Cage Stands (This setup does not include our bin sets, leaving the stand open for easy storage access.)
Main CAGE with 1 Wide Loft -- COVERED:
1 XL with Wide Loft COVERED (select the Portal Grid guard option if you have cats)
Additional LOFT:
1 Wide Loft with Ramp (select the Offset Kit)
Additional items needed to complete the COVER:
1 Wonder Bar (needed to support the cover in front of the extra loft)
6 Grids (to cover the additional loft) and some more zip ties.
Doors under the loft
2 Swing Grids (replaces 2 regular grids which may be used elsewhere)
Additional grids needed for the cantilever support on the 1st loft:
2 Grids (because the covered deluxe cage doesn't include the offset option)
(If you decide to go with the standard, vertical grid supports (less of a 'wing' look) -- as shown in this article -- you'll need the full offset support kit here.)
Optional, but strongly recommended:
1 or 2 Cavy Cafe Kitchens for under the lofts. These aren't shown in the main image.
Depending on your location and circumstances, you could add the Undercover Canopy for additional shade for the piggies in the lofts, which would cover the back half of the lofts. If your cage is not covered, the regular Canopy would work.
Some extra zip ties, just in case.
You can always check in with us for a consultation about your cage build before ordering to make sure everything is going to work together properly. We're happy to help.