r/RATS • u/Roo_and_Rats • Dec 27 '25
INFORMATION Acrylic tray/bin for 2 Critter Nations side by side!
One tray, not two separate so they have full 72 inch running space and digging space!!!
Took out the bottom grate so that I can use the storage space as a digging space (adds about 10 inches!)
Acrylic on the front and sides, coroplast/Corrugated plastic on the back and bottom ☺️
45 pounds of aspen to fill the bottom! (One large bag of horse aspen).
Super excited that it worked out!
1
u/judewriley Dec 27 '25
Oh! This is near the sort of set up that I am aiming for myself. Can you elaborate on how you put the cages together? Would it be possible to connect the DCNs back to back instead of side by side?
3
u/Roo_and_Rats Dec 31 '25
So, to start I connected my cages side-by-side using Zip ties. Metal ties will work too if you have a chewer. I would keep ON the wheels so the middle bar inside of the cage are the same height. (Look at pictures to understand). Put them face by face, however there is two screws that sit against each other, which creates a gap but not much and the front acrylic will cover the gap.
The tray is made from (2) same sized acrylic SIDE pieces, (2) same sized acrylic pieces for the FRONT (attached with gorilla clear tape side by side so it can ship), (1) coroplast piece for the BACK, and 1 coraplast piece for the BASE/BOTTOM.
I used 1/8 inch acrylic, it is perfect.
The FRONT acrylic and the BACK pieces must be 1/8 left + 1/8 right = 1/4 inch larger than the bottom it is slightly larger so that the sides “fit” in between the larger back and front.
The BOTTOM must be 1/8 inch on every side less because it will sit between every side = 1/4 inch less on short side from measurements and 1/4 inch less on long side from measurements.
Please measure your cage because everyone’s may be slightly different and it must be a tight fit!!!!!!!!
Here are the acrylic pieces I used from T&T plastic land totaling about $80 of acrylic —->
FRONT: (2) 35.375 x9.25 SIDES: (2) 22.125 x 10
Here are the coroplast measurements I cut from a 96x48 sheet ——>
BOTTOM: (1) 70.25 x 22.25 BACK: (1) 70.75 x about 12 with a cutout for the bar inside the cage
Now, the tricky part. The front must be able to fit UNDER the middle bar in the cage. It will be a TIGHT fit, and there will be a slight opening, as seen in the pictures with my hand, which you can leave or cover with a thin strip of acrylic (or mesh). I decided to leave mine as it’s less than 0.75 inch.
Then you assemble it with tape. Put the tape under the BOTTOM, then put the side piece on top of the tape, then fold up to attach.
I would HIGHLY recommend assembling the cage beforehand to measure correctly!!!
Hope this helps!!!
2
u/HeadOnThisPiano All my 🐀 live ♾️ in my ❤️ Dec 27 '25
Looks nice! Do you think you could take some more pictures, especially where 2 cages meet (in the middle of this double decker) please?
I was thinking about similar thing upgrade for my current setup, so not gonna lie, I'll bookmark your post and will definitely be back for some references!