Ornamental rats, like other pets, need comfort and coziness. Therefore, we must responsibly approach the issue of housing arrangement of rodents. In addition to toys and eating areas, you need to arrange a place for rest in a cage. As a bed for rats, you can use a hammock. This article will discuss how to choose the right version, as well as how to make a hammock with your own hands and arrange it.
Why do you need a hammock?
Domestic rats need a comfortable place to sleep and rest. Hammock is perfect as a bed for a pet. However, many rodents use this item also as a place to play. It's no secret that the rats are happy to jump, crawling on the ropes and climb on the hill. A hammock can be considered an additional attribute in the game cage. Since it is required to climb and you can wiggle a little.
If you compare a hammock with other ways of organizing a berth, then it has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include saving space on the floor, as the hammock is suspended at some distance from it.
If we talk about the minuses, it is worth noting that not all rats would like such a sleeping place.
Varieties
Hammocks for ornamental rats vary in shape, size and material that was used for making. Different types of dense fabrics can be used as materials. As for the shape of a hammock, the simplest option is a solid canvas. Products of more complex shape are made in the form of tunnels, square houses or multi-storey suspended structures. Hammock sizes also vary from small to large. There are products that are designed for several individuals at once.
Recommendations for choosing
When choosing a finished hammock in a pet store, you must first pay attention to its quality. The product must be reliable and durable, otherwise the rodent may fall and be injured. To make the animal comfortable in the stove at any time of the year, it is advisable to purchase several hammocks.
In the summer, it is best to hang a cotton bed in a pet's cage. In such a hammock, rats will not be so hot. In winter, it is better to use closed models of thick and warm fabric. The dimensions of the beds should be selected based on the area of the cell and the number of rodents in it.
How to make yourself?
It is not necessary to buy a hammock at a pet store for a pet. Store products are not always of good quality and reasonable cost. From available tools you can make a good and reliable model of the desired size. In the manufacture should take into account a number of recommendations.
- No need to try to save free space in the cage and make too compact stove bench. It is better if the hammock is 2 or more times wider than the rodent.
- As fasteners for the product is best to use objects made of metal, such as paper clips and chains. Such mounts will be more reliable than a simple rope that a rat can gnaw through with ease.
- The fabric from which the hammock will be made must be not only durable, but also safe, in terms of toxicity. If she was painted with harmful dyes, then the pet can get poisoned.It is best to use natural types of fabrics, not synthetics.
- Metal parts can only be used as fasteners, but not in the form of the main bed for the beds. The metal mesh is stronger than the fabric, the animal is unlikely to gnaw and ruin it, but it can hurt the pet. In addition, the metal is too hard and cold material, so on such a hammock the rodent will be uncomfortable and uncomfortable.
For the manufacture of a hammock is not necessary to acquire a special fabric. You can make a bed from old clothes or knit from woolen threads.
From jeans
Using old denim clothes is one of the easiest ways to make a hammock for decorative rats. In this case, do not even need to pick up the needle, thread and sew. All you need to make a hammock is:
- unnecessary jeans;
- stationery scissors;
- ruler or measuring tape;
- a small piece of old soap;
- metal chain or paper clips.
To make a denim bed, take no more than 10 minutes. It is best to use old wide men's jeans. From the bottom of the leg you need to measure 25 centimeters and mark the cut piece of soap. Then you need to cut a piece from the leg and start making fasteners.
If there are ready-made metal chains, then you just need to adjust their length, removing unnecessary links. If clips are used, then you need to make 4 of them fasten, connecting with each other.
The number of clips in the chain will depend on how high it is planned to hang the hammock. The materials used must be fairly durable so that the fasteners withstand the weight of the decorative rat. Chains or clips are threaded through a single layer of jeans in the four corners of the cut piece. After that, you can place the bed in a cage and attach it to the metal bars. The rodent can be placed on a sun bed, both on top and inside the leg itself.
By analogy, you can make a hammock from an old sock. Such a product will resemble a narrow pipe in shape and due to its small size it may not be suitable for all rodents.
From the hood
Under the hammock for a rodent, you can remake the hood of an unnecessary thing. In this case, the process will take a little more time and effort than in the manufacture of beds from denim. In addition to the hood itself, you should first prepare the following things:
- stationery scissors;
- a sewing machine or a regular needle and thread;
- metal wire of large diameter, which will serve as a frame.
If the hood was originally attached to a sweater or jacket with a zipper, then it must be cut off. To create a hole under the wire, the uneven edge must be bent 1-1.5 centimeters and well stitched. A metal wire is inserted into the hole, after which the edges must be sewn up. The hammock from the hood is usually made in the form of a bag. For this edge of the hood, which were located closer to the face, sewn together. The finished product can be attached to the cage with the help of sewn strings of thick rope or on a chain of clips.
From a piece of cloth
For the manufacture of a hammock, you can use a solid piece of cloth. It can be purchased at the store or use old unwanted items. For example, you can fold a pillowcase, a sheet or a towel several times and sew up the edges. If the material will be purchased in the store, it is best to buy a fleece or cotton fabric. It is necessary to select the size of a piece of fabric in accordance with the dimensions of the cage and the animal. Standardly, you can use the canvas 30x60 centimeters. In addition to the base for the hammock, you will need the following things:
- needle and thick threads;
- stationery scissors;
- fittings (eyelet with washer) for edging holes;
- a hammer or special tongs and a hole punch for mounting eyelets;
- hooks for shower curtains in the bathroom.
On the two narrowest sides of a rectangular piece, you need to bend 1 centimeter of fabric and sew up the folds.Stitched ends need to be connected to each other in the center of a piece of fleece or other material. Next, you need to flash the long edges. The resulting fabric through the hole in the center must be turned inside out.
In the four corners of the piece of fabric must be installed eyelets. Then, the hooks are threaded into the holes reinforced by the fittings, after which the hammock can be hung in the rodent's cage.
Useful recommendations
Not all rats like hammocks, and some animals just need time to get used to a new thing in a cage.
If the pet does not show much interest in the bed, you can try to lure him with a delicacy. You shouldn't take a rodent in your arms and forcibly sit in a hammock - the animal will only be afraid.
Some animals can use a hammock not for its intended purpose, but as a subject for games. You shouldn’t blame your pet for this, and you don’t need to try to make him sleep in a hammock either. For whatever purposes the animal uses the product, it must be periodically washed, as the fabric will become very dirty. Decorative rats have a good sense of smell and can react violently to odors. So that a new thing in the cage does not repel the animal, it is best to put on it any toy or piece of cloth with which the pet has already contacted.
Learn more about how to make a hammock for a rat with your own hands, you will learn from the video below.
