Critter home a success

The modified critter home is a great success, passing the winter flood, storm and cold with flying colors.

The insulation is great.  It's water proof.  And even water leaked from the tiny cracks in the roof, they are still held in place by tapes even when wet.  They don't get wet and still functions, and water didn't drip from the ceiling.

The flaps and magnetic closure were designed to keep warm from cold draft.  It also prevents rain storms that went horizontal.

Well before the severe weather, we put the home on a pile of paving slaps to raise the height.  We can use a big bucket under the litter opening to collect waste in one go.  The horizontal rotating/sliding door works well for it's simplicity.

The raised acrylic platform inside the home is good.  Dirt mostly fall down onto the floor level.  The acrylic platform is kept clean by newspaper on top, fresh every day.

The gap below the platform and above the floor is filled with compacted plastic bags from the supermarkets.  They are pretty warm.

Washing the home frequently is a bad idea.  Too much work and it takes time to dry.  Now the platform is mostly clean, if not you can  pile more newspaper on top for a day or two.  You can empty the dirt on the floor once a week.  The wet litter has to be emptied through the hole daily or every other day if the weather is bad.  Once a month or so I use the steam cleaner to clean the house thoroughly, without moving the whole thing.

The heater using broken soldering iron is good.  It's simple mounting near the top so the critter cannot play with it.  It's shielded with wood plates.  Now that I don't wash and move around the house the mounting and wiring is simple.  It will never overheat.  It may be too mild but a warm wall instead of a freezing wall makes a lot of difference.  You can always use a higher power soldering iron when not in use, taking the tip away.

Improvements: kids can do the upside down bottle, but will wet the place a bit.  Keep the wet area away from the dry area so it will not make a wet mess.  The gaps on the side of the platform could be sealed to control where the dirt collects.