These instructions are based on cutting down a piece of Vetbed to fit my 2ft x 4ft hutches. You can substitute the floor size of my hutches for the floor size of your hutch or cage. Read these instructions carefully, because any DIY done using a sharp knife should be done with care and attention.
A piece of Vetbed
We bought an extra foot on top of the length of our hutches to leave room for mistakes.
A DIY knife
Children should never be allowed to use a sharp knife unsupervised!
A tape measure
A retractable tape measure is preferable for the job.
A ruler or steel rule
To draw your straight lines against.
A pencil
To mark out your lines.
A hard flat floor
When cutting Vetbed down to size, do it on a floor that you don't mind marking with a knife, or on tiled floor that does not mark when scratched.
Step One
Measure the floor of your hutch. Mine is 47" x 26".
Step Two
Measure the length of your Vetbed, and cut it to the floor length of your hutch plus 5". For me this was 47" + 5" = 52". I now have a piece of Vetbed measuring 52" in length.
Step Three
Draw a line 2.5" in from each end of the Vetbed, leaving the hutch floor space measurement in the middle. You should have something like this.
Step Four
Measure the width of your hutch floor up from the bottom of the Vetbed. The width of my hutch is 26", so I measured 26" up from the bottom of my Vetbed and drew a line.
Step Five
Now measure 2.5" above the line you just made and draw another line.
Step Six
Use your DIY knife to cut along the line you just made, and remove the spare Vetbed from the top. You should now have something like this.
Step Seven
Now use your DIY knife to cut away the squares in the top two corners created when you measured the lines.
Step Eight
Now measure in halfway across the Vetbed and draw a line down the middle. My Vetbed was a total of 52" long, so I halved that to give me a middle line of 26" in from both sides.
Step Nine
Use your DIY knife to cut down the central line and cut your Vetbed in half. Cutting it in half allows you to fit the Vetbed into the washing machine when it needs cleaning. I clean one half at a time, as both halves don't fit into the drum. You should have something like this.
Step Ten
Take your two pieces of Vetbed and place them in your hutch. The extra "flaps" you cut into the sides and top will sit nicely up against the sides of the hutch to provide extra comfort and insulation. The two squares you cut from the corners of the Vetbed allow the flaps to bend and fit into the hutch properly. You're done!
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