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Cutting down cubes?

CBrewton5

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I need to learn to read better! LOL

I have plans to build a 2x6 C&C cage but just now noticed on the cage page that 2x6 grids and 2x6 FEET are different *sighs*. My question is this, I'm wondering if I can use wire cutters to trim down the second grid in the depth to make it 2 feet exactly. I'm concerned that if the entire depth is 30 inches like the front page chart says it would be if it was 2 grids, that I would not be able to reach the back of the cage if the girls go back there trying to get away from me, which I know darn well they would as soon as I didn't plan for it lol. So could I cut along the grid line to reduce that second grid by however many rows I'd need to to make the custom length? Has anybody ever done this to increase or decrease the length or width of your cage? The extra 4 inches of length is no big deal really, it's the depth that's gonna cause me trouble.
 

this_lil_piggy

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You should be able to cut the cubes with wire pliers just fine. Ive cut grids as well as welded wire with mine with no problem.
The only problem I Can forsee as far as the cage goes, is once you cut the grids down, your not going to be able to use connectors on those grids...... You can use lots of zipties to get around that problem though :)
 

Djakarta

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When I built my cage, I needed to shorten the width by half a grid.. I 've found that it's easier to overlap the grids to the required dimension and use zipties to secure them. That way , it's still possible to use the connectors at the corners and there's no sharp edges. I tried to cut a grid and found that bolt cutters were needed and that the cut edges were very sharp.
 

riizu

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One way to get around cutting down the grids, is overlapping them. You can just connect the overlapped grids with zip ties and you're ready to go! The other way I saw someone reduce a grid by half, was to bend the grids and use the bent ones for the corners. That saved them half a grid on each side.

Hope I've been a help!
 

JarBax

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My cage is 3 grids in depth, and I find it a wee bit tricky getting to the back corners. It is on heavy boards, on casters, at ground level, so I can just climb in for cleaning etc!

I can't imagine, unless you have very short arms, that you will have a problem reaching your piggies with a 2 grid wide cage. While the extra 4" may make some difference to your comfort in reaching them, times the 6 grid length of the cage, that is some space you are depriving them of in their environment, especially if space in your room is not an issue.

Just seeing it from a different angle!

Try making up a 2 x 2 grid pen, and see how well you can reach to the back, before getting the wire cutters out!
 

riizu

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Try making up a 2 x 2 grid pen, and see how well you can reach to the back, before getting the wire cutters out!

I have a 2X3 and I don't have any trouble getting the piggies out of a 2-grid depth cage. Just to share!
 

Djakarta

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I believe the original poster is in a wheelchair.
 

JarBax

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Thanks Djacarta - I didn't know!

In that case, I would consider trying to bend - rather than cut the grids, because of the sharp edges - though I've not had much luck with bending (am lucky if I don't get a snap in the middle!) But just tape up the snap ( I use duck tape), and use at the bottom, where piggies can't reach!

Have you thought about a U shaped cage? (If space is not an issue).

Edit: Just re-read my first post - sorry about that CBrewton - that came across as a bit harsh! :sad:
 

CBrewton5

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I can't imagine, unless you have very short arms, that you will have a problem reaching your piggies with a 2 grid wide cage. While the extra 4" may make some difference to your comfort in reaching them, times the 6 grid length of the cage, that is some space you are depriving them of in their environment, especially if space in your room is not an issue.

Bear in mind that I'm in a wheelchair....to get perspective of it have an 8-10 year old child (cuz that's about how tall I am at 4'4'' STANDING) sit in a chair that is approximately 18 to 20 inches off the ground and put it parallel to a cage of the same height and have them try to reach an egg on the far side of the cage without leaning WAY over and without breaking the egg. 2 ft was the max distance I could do it at. We used an egg in testing because if I had to squeeze the egg reaching for it to the point of cracking or breaking it then obviously I'd hurt a squirming piggie doing the same......that should give you a perspective of what we're dealing with ;)

Sounds to me like the overlapping of the grids is gonna be the best and easiest solution, I didn't realize you could do that successfully. Thanks for the brainstorming ideas once again guys :D
 

fourbwabbys

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My current cage can only fit if I bend the last grids, otherwise it would be hanging off the table. So the corner grids are bent. Here's a picture:
 

this_lil_piggy

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CWB,
When your hubby gets ready to bend the grids tell him to look at them in a well lit area and on the outer edge he should be able to find a seam (its kind of hard to see, but youll see a small line of raised paint). He needs to make the bends on the sides of the grid that dont have a seam....this will prevent breaking the grids like some have mentioned. I broke a couple of them before I came searching and figured that out ;)
 
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