The decorative rat is a fairly popular pet. These animals easily make contact, are well tamed, they are loved by both adults and children. In order for the rat to feel comfortable, grow well and develop, it is necessary to create suitable conditions for it. In the cage, the pet should have, in addition to the feeders and drinking bowls, ladders, shelves, wheels, houses, various shapes and sizes of hammocks. Making a hammock for a rat is quite simple. We will talk about this in the article.
Types of hammocks
Many rats like to sleep not on the cage floor, but on a certain elevation - this is a requirement of their natural instincts, a tribute to safety. In addition, such an accessory, used by the animal for sleeping, allows you to save space on the cage floor. Hammocks for small rodents can be of different shapes: traditional rectangular (square), rectangular (square) with a roof, a hammock in the form of a pipe, a hanging house, etc. Some of them are shown below in the photo.
In large cages where several pets live, hammocks of complex shape are often hung, in several tiers, as in the bottom photo.
Do-it-yourself hammocks for rats can be done by anyone.
Hammock Tips
Fans of decorative rats who have already made the appropriate accessories for them with their own hands are advised to pay attention to the following nuances:
- The hammock should be spacious enough, about twice the size of the animal.
- It should be as harmless as possible, pleasant to the touch and have a neutral smell. The fabric should be soft. It is not permissible to use metal nets for rat hammocks. Despite the fact that the rat can chew on a fabric hammock, it is better to make it a new one. Metal is too traumatic, in addition, it is hard and cold to the touch. An animal may just be unpleasant to be in it, and it will cease to climb into such a hammock.
- The hammock must be securely attached. If your rat is large, it is advisable to hang it not on ties, but on hooks or carbines. They can be bought at specialized hardware stores. Some craftsmen use metal chains instead of ties, but there have been cases when rats got tangled up in them and injured their paws.
Of course, hammocks, like houses and other accessories located in cages, should always be clean. This will help prevent the occurrence of many dangerous and unpleasant diseases of your pet.
What can be made a hammock
For those who don’t like or cannot sew, the following tips may be useful. So, what can be made the simplest hammock for a small rodent?
To do this, you can use:
- An old pillowcase or towel folded in half (four).
- Old unnecessary hat.
- Old head or neck scarf.
- Unnecessary socks.
- Outdated woolen hats.
These objects are simply attached to the corners of the cage at a suitable height, taking into account the fact that the rat can freely climb into the hammock and get out of it.
Next, consider options that require at least minimal sewing skills.
Hammock pipe
Do-it-yourself hammocks for rats in the shape of a pipe, like any other, can be sewn from cotton or synthetic fabric. Caring owners sew them double: on the outside - decorative fabric, inside - soft fleece, so that the animal was pleased to touch its surface. However, not everyone has time for intricate sewing.
The easiest option is to take a piece of sleeve from unnecessary clothes or cut a piece from old trousers. DIY hammock for rats is the easiest way to make jeans. This fabric is durable, practically does not crumble, and the finished product will have an attractive appearance. Strong corners are sewn in corners. They are attached to the cage - the hammock is ready.
Simple rectangular hammock
You can make a hammock for a rat with your own hands from jeans of a classic shape - rectangular, but double, as in the photo below. So it will be stronger and will last longer.
Ribbons can not be sewn to the corners of such a hammock, but they can be threaded through holes made with eyelets. If you do not have a punch, you can take the product to the workshop for this.
Do-it-yourself rectangular hammock for the rat (the pattern is given below), two-layer, with a lining, it is quite easy to sew. The fabric can be taken in single or contrasting colors. The edges need to be tucked and stitched on a typewriter or processed manually.
This pattern is universal, it is suitable for other rodent pets - degu, chinchilla and so on. Only the sizes of the pieces of fabric differ: optimal for the rat hammock - 25 x 30 (30 x 35) centimeters. In such a nest, your pet will feel comfortable and cozy. Also pay attention to the size of the rat cage, because it can be slightly larger or smaller.
Rectangular fleece hammock
If you have the time and burn with the desire to do something intricate for your pet, try making a hammock woven from separate strips of fleece fabric. To do this, you need to take two fleece rectangles (preferably different colors) of the above sizes. Rectangles are cut into separate strips about 3 centimeters wide and intertwined, as in the picture below.
They are fixed with pins, after which the edges of the strips on both sides are tucked and sewn. Now they need to be processed. To do this, take a strip of durable fabric of a suitable color, tuck it, smooth it and make a border around the edges (sew on a typewriter).
Eyelets are installed at the corners of the finished product. They put on strong ribbons of a suitable color. To increase the strength of the hammock, it is advisable to sew crosswise in the middle or diagonally so that the strips diverge less.
The appearance of the finished hammock is presented below. It’s more difficult to sew such a hammock for a rat with your own hands, but the result is worth the effort: the product looks bright and impressive.
Knitted hammock
Those who know at least the basics of crocheting can knit a hammock with their own hands. Such a product will be denser and stronger than many options. For its manufacture, a hook of size 4.5 and a thread of a suitable size are taken. First you need to tie a rectangle of 15 by 20 centimeters with single crochet columns. After that, it is tied around the edges with single crochet, and from four angles, the ribbons are tied with air loops to fix the hammock in the cage. The manufacturing process of such a knitted hammock can be seen in the video below. This is a fairly simple and quick option, even for beginner needlewomen.
Finally
The article briefly described how to sew a hammock for a rat with your own hands. We hope the information contained in it was useful. Of course, hammocks must be washed often, and all accessories and the cage itself must be washed. Before hanging a stitched hammock in a cage, put a piece of bedding in it so that the rat is not afraid of a new accessory.
Provide your pet with comfortable conditions - and he will always be healthy, mobile and cheerful!