# Reusable fabric grocery bag=cheap rat hammock



## DyersEve726 (Apr 15, 2012)

My girls love their hammocks, but they sure can chew through them in no time. Doesn't matter what material I use, they wreck what I make in two, three months tops. For a while I was hand sewing new hammocks for them, and then, on a whim, I used a canvas Trader Joe's reusable grocery bag, cut off the handles and added grommets. Besides that, no other alterations. The results are honestly no better than me spending a few hours making one out of fabric, and these only cost around $3. The grommets are cheap. That, and about ten minutes of hole cutting/grommet pressing is all that's invested. The shape is just right, and they can either sleep on top of it, or actually inside the bag. They like both 

When they chew through it, just toss it out and spend a few minutes making a new one. 

Just thought I'd pass on the idea


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## Rat lover (Dec 28, 2011)

Very good idea. But my rats refuse to use any other hammock but polar fleece. LOL


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## British (Apr 2, 2012)

That's an awesome idea! And it's cute too!


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

Great idea! I have been known to make them out of a folded hand towel when I needed one in a hurry - that one has outlasted almost all the fancy fleece ones I have. lol


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## DyersEve726 (Apr 15, 2012)

Polar fleece only, aye? Wow, you have some picky rats! I like to get material for my rat toys/homes at Goodwill. They usually have a good assortment of cheapo blankets and towels that work really well...I'm not sure about polar fleece though, lol. Anyway, I've found that you can make almost any piece of old clothing into a toy with a few grommets and hoops to hold it up, without really sewing or altering. Leaving open edges for them to sneak between two layers of fabric gives them extra places to explore. A few grommets in a T-shirt and it's a veritable rat playhouse. I just recently scored a 48"x30"x24" cage for $50 and I needed cheap stuff to fill it up...these ideas came of necessity, but they really work 

Here's a pic of the cage I scored on Craigslist. I'll take another once I get more things in it...this is the day I brought it home. It has a HUGE wheel that my girls can't get enough of. Sometimes, they both run in it at the same time, lol.


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

+1 on Goodwill and Salvation Army - I look for bedsheets, both cotton and flannel. Tons of material for a dollar or two.


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## Rat lover (Dec 28, 2011)

Ya my rats rip anything other than polar fleece. *sigh* girls girls girls. I have tried again and again to make them like that but they just shred them. Picky rats


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

Bet you could probably use flannel/fleece children's sleepwear too. Might be able to pick up some super cute ones at a yard sale or Goodwill for a few bucks. I regret having gotten rid of my daughter's jammies before this idea came to me! Darn it!


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## RatMama13 (Aug 20, 2011)

I love goodwill! My solution to rats that chew through hammocks(mainly my boys..but only when housed together...??) is wicker baskets. They come cheap from good will and in a variety of shapes. They dont chew on them and I can line them in fleece to make them cozy. Tshirts, old towels, blankets, and any fabric is fair game at my house! My fiance is a whiz with a sewing machine so he makes me hammocks out of old jeans and fleece or cheap scraps I get at walmart. He's a big softie when it comes to the ratties


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## newkid (Apr 5, 2012)

My boy, Vince, likes to use his hammock as his bathroom. Because of this, I have to change them out quite often. I like the reusable bag idea. I find that fabric remnants are the cheap way to go, or that old sweatshirt you don't want to throw away, but is too embarrassing to wear anymore works great too!


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## PitterPatter (Feb 28, 2012)

DyersEve726 said:


> A few grommets in a T-shirt and it's a veritable rat playhouse. I just recently scored a 48"x30"x24" cage for $50 and I needed cheap stuff to fill it up...these ideas came of necessity, but they really work
> 
> Here's a pic of the cage I scored on Craigslist. I'll take another once I get more things in it...this is the day I brought it home. It has a HUGE wheel that my girls can't get enough of. Sometimes, they both run in it at the same time, lol.
> View attachment 5577


Neat idea, and~. I think I saw your videoes on YouTube. If not.. seen that cage before.


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## moongate (Mar 12, 2012)

My guys like to hide in the fabric bags. I have a couple on top of their cage that I use when I go shopping for ratsupplies. When they are free ranging they like to play around on top of their cage and always hide in the bags. Having said that, if I had a way to attach them, I would opt to make them some hammocks or tubes out of the leftover fleece that I line their cage with. But then again I have tons of fabric scraps kicking around my apartment.


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## DyersEve726 (Apr 15, 2012)

PitterPatter said:


> Neat idea, and~. I think I saw your videoes on YouTube. If not.. seen that cage before.


Hmm...wasn't me. Previous owner of the cage was a young lady in Portland, OR. Could have been her 

Here's an updated look at their cage. I added two new long hammocks with pockets and a fabric slide. What do you think? 

Not sure why this pic is showing up sideways. Looks fine on my computer.


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## PitterPatter (Feb 28, 2012)

It looks pretty awesome. I'd add some ladders.


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## Lohosey (Apr 10, 2012)

I recently made a hammock out of a bit of an old shirt for my rats. They absolutely refuse to climb onto it. I also have a wheel for them to run on to get a workout, but they never use that either. They pretty much just sit in their cage and sleep. How do I get my rats to be more active while in their cage and use their hammocks instead of just huddling up in a corner?


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## DyersEve726 (Apr 15, 2012)

Lohosey said:


> I recently made a hammock out of a bit of an old shirt for my rats. They absolutely refuse to climb onto it. I also have a wheel for them to run on to get a workout, but they never use that either. They pretty much just sit in their cage and sleep. How do I get my rats to be more active while in their cage and use their hammocks instead of just huddling up in a corner?


 I found that my rats weren't very active during their first month or so. Be patient, it can take a while for newly acquired rats to feel at home with their surroundings. Make sure they have at least one place where they can hide away from the light and human eyes. Also, be careful with wheels. A large solid wheel is all they should have. Wheels that are too small or are made of wire can injure your rats. If you have boys, and they're familiar with their surroundings, they could just be lazy, lol. But mostly just keep them engaged. Make sure they get their out of cage time to run and plenty of attention from you. They'll most likely become more active over time. Also, don't forget they're nocturnal. They get sleepy in the daytime and do most of their running around in the middle of the night.


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## Lohosey (Apr 10, 2012)

DyersEve726 said:


> I found that my rats weren't very active during their first month or so. Be patient, it can take a while for newly acquired rats to feel at home with their surroundings. Make sure they have at least one place where they can hide away from the light and human eyes. Also, be careful with wheels. A large solid wheel is all they should have. Wheels that are too small or are made of wire can injure your rats. If you have boys, and they're familiar with their surroundings, they could just be lazy, lol. But mostly just keep them engaged. Make sure they get their out of cage time to run and plenty of attention from you. They'll most likely become more active over time. Also, don't forget they're nocturnal. They get sleepy in the daytime and do most of their running around in the middle of the night.


Okay, yeah, you might be right. I have only had them for a couple of weeks. I make sure to take them out of their cage a few times a day. Usually I take them out and sit them on my shoulder or lap while I work on my homework at my desk. Most of the time, they will just curl up in my hoodie and take a snooze... Is there a way I can maybe get them more engaged in activity? I have a rat ball, but Mojo, my bigger and fatter rat, will not roll around in it at all, but only sits in one spot the entire time. Gregor, on the other hand, is much more adventurous. (this might be because I think he is younger, as he is much smaller than Mojo)I really want my rats to be happy and active. I'm thinking this could just be because I haven't had them for very long and they are still getting used to their surroundings.


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## DyersEve726 (Apr 15, 2012)

Lohosey said:


> Okay, yeah, you might be right. I have only had them for a couple of weeks. I make sure to take them out of their cage a few times a day. Usually I take them out and sit them on my shoulder or lap while I work on my homework at my desk. Most of the time, they will just curl up in my hoodie and take a snooze... Is there a way I can maybe get them more engaged in activity? I have a rat ball, but Mojo, my bigger and fatter rat, will not roll around in it at all, but only sits in one spot the entire time. Gregor, on the other hand, is much more adventurous. (this might be because I think he is younger, as he is much smaller than Mojo)I really want my rats to be happy and active. I'm thinking this could just be because I haven't had them for very long and they are still getting used to their surroundings.


I wouldn't be too concerned. Male rats are notoriously lazy and ALL rats get nappy during the day. I am a night owl, and have noticed that my girls are most active around 3-6AM. They could be running around like mad rats while you're sleeping, and you'd have no idea  I would feel a bit lucky if I were you...my girls are a handful and hard to control when out of the cage. They get into EVERYTHING...I wish they'd just curl up and nap in my sweater from time to time.


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## Lohosey (Apr 10, 2012)

DyersEve726 said:


> I wouldn't be too concerned. Male rats are notoriously lazy and ALL rats get nappy during the day. I am a night owl, and have noticed that my girls are most active around 3-6AM. They could be running around like mad rats while you're sleeping, and you'd have no idea  I would feel a bit lucky if I were you...my girls are a handful and hard to control when out of the cage. They get into EVERYTHING...I wish they'd just curl up and nap in my sweater from time to time.


Last night, I was up until midnight or so studying and I noticed that my little ratties were so much more active than I usually see them during the day. You are right, they were running around in their little cage, up and down their ladder to get food. Because my roommate is an extremely light sleeper, I have to slide their cage in my closet to keep their noises and occational sniffles from waking her. I wonder if they run around in the middle of the night while I'm sleeping... Hmmm... Curious little things!


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