# Using Velcro with fleece in cage?



## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Very new here, I don't have any rats yet, but I'm doing my research for when I decide to get some. I want to use fleece as a cage liner and I have some good ideas on how I'd like to do it. One of them is to use velcro to attach the fleece to the shelves so it doesn't get thrown around, etc. I would attach one side of the velcro down on the shelf and the other to the fleece. Do you think the ratties would be able to pull the velcro apart? I mean, ideally the velcro would always be covered, that is if they can't pull it apart to get to it. I'm thinking it would be fine, but thought I'd get some feedback from people who actually own rats already  
I would also line the bottom of the cage/shelves with puppy pads, under the fleece. So, if the fleece stays in place then the puppy pads would always be covered and hopefully work well in containing the pee and smell.
Am I delusional to think the cage would stay nice and neat that way?! Of course I now that it would just depend on the rats I got. My luck I'd end up with insane destroyers.......


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## clossboss (Mar 22, 2010)

are you planning on sewing the velcro to the fleece? my rats like to chew random corners of fleece liners and i have to replace them quite often so i would say it depends on your rats....i just use clips found in the office supplies section of a local store...they clip the fleece to the level and fold over themselves, this way if your rats chew the liner your not wasting velcro each time. after my liners get chewed i just cut them down into hammocks. i dont know how much velcro is but if its expensive i would avoid it. the only velcro im familiar with is the industrial stick-on kind which i use to hold my bearded dragon UVB bulb . on the issue of your rats pulling the velcro off, i doubt they can pull it apart but when my rats find something they cant pull or move, they chew around it. im sure no matter what you decide, your rats will make your life difficult ;D


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Yup, I'd be sewing the velcro onto the fabric. I sew for my small business so I'm decently handy with the sewing machine  I was thinking of putting the velcro meeting at each corner so that hopefully they wouldn't be able to pull it up from there, and then spacing it out along the sides. 
I was thinking of doing the clip thing with the floor part of the cage, and doing the velcro on the shelves and second level. Velcro isn't cheap, really. I have it on hand at all times for my biz, but I buy the regular sew on type. But you're right, it is risky in case it doesn't work and they just end up chewing it up anyway. I don't know, I'll just have to think on it some more and see how it goes.....
Thanks for the insight


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## riotfox (Apr 16, 2010)

i reckon it would work well so long as your rats dont take a special interest in destroying the velcro . and yes you are delusional for thinking the cage will stay neat lol .


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Heh, thanks for shattering my delusion, Riotfox  
The clip technique is probably the way to go to start out with. I suppose I could experiment later on if I wanted. 
Thanks guys!


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## BigBen (Nov 22, 2011)

Bleu said:


> Heh, thanks for shattering my delusion, Riotfox
> The clip technique is probably the way to go to start out with. I suppose I could experiment later on if I wanted.
> Thanks guys!


Yes, rats exist to make our lives difficult and we always forgive them because of their insane cuteness, LOL!

If you want to try the velcro, let us know how it works. But I wouldn't go crazy and make, say, eighteen sets of cage liners with it, just one or two till you know how the dear wee ones are going to treat it. I put grommets in several cage liners, put a set in the cage, and within about eight minutes the grommets had all been chewed out! Ratties! ;D


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

I used velcro in the cage once- how are you planning to attach it to the floor?
It works pretty good once it's in there- the rats aren't strong enough to pull it up so then it would depend if they were that determined that they would chew through it and ruin your liner. Mine actually weren't that bothered and gave up lol, so that was ok.

The problem came first off with attaching it to the cage- I had to find a rat-friendly glue that wasn't designed for paper so would adhere to the plastic. Weeks of searching but it was solvable.
Then I had to stick the velcro down which meant hours of curing. I mean the rats loved it- they got a whole day's free-range! 
Then 2 weeks later the glue and velcro was filthy. Dirt had got trapped all around it and it was a health hazard. So I had to pick it all off- not a fun job let me tell you- and restart all over again. 2 weeks later, same thing happened. So I gave up.
Now I just leave the liners laying flat and it works out ok. They can get under if they want so they don't chew through them which means they last longer. 

I would suggest steer away from the velcro if you can- it's more hassle than it's worth just to have an orderly cage!


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Ahh, see, I hadn't really thought about the velcro getting all yucky. I guess I just assumed that it would stay covered, but obviously there is no guarantee of that. I figured there had to be at least one person here who had tried it!! Thanks for letting me know how it went


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Hey Maltey, I just checked out your sig link, have you ever thought about starting a shop on Etsy.com? Or do you have one there and I just didn't see it? Just thought I'd ask, I think your stuff would be great there


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

I predict that the velcro wil be the first they will take on. If something is stuck, they'll fix it. I have seen neat rat cages; after cleaning and before the rats were put back in it. The messier the cage, the better they like it, especially with their added on scents.
But of course you could try...... Anyway enjoy your ratties.


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

Truth be told, I don't 'get' Etsy. I've been putting off trying to set up shop there! But now, maybe I'll tackle it again!


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Oh, Etsy is awesome! Great place to find all sorts of handmade goods, from soap to clothing to candles, etc. Really, anything that someone made by hand, it's there! They also have a vintage category. I love using it as my storefront. You could open shop and then link your own website back to it, the same way you link to flckr. You could also still keep your own site with it's shopping cart, of course. It's just another venue. I have my own website but I don't have a checkout on it, I just link it all back to my etsy shop. 
Anyhoo, now that I've hijacked my own thread, let me know if you have any questions about it


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

Lol. Are you in the US? Everytime I've looked on there it always seems to be in dollars and stuff. I'd like to find out how much the UKers use it. Do they charge you loads of fees?


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

You know, I've been playing around with it, and I really like that you can connect your store with your facebook page. Maybe this relationship will work out after all


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Yup, I'm in the US (I really need to update my profile on here!). It might have changed since the last time you really checked it out, but now you can choose your currency for your items. And there are TONS of people from the UK there! From all over, really, it's a really global website. 
Fees, umm, I don't think they're outrageous. I can't remember all of the specifics, but it's 20 cents per listing, and 3.5% of the sale price when something sells. And of course there are the fees that Paypal charges. But it's way cheaper than Ebay, I do know that much. 
Glad you're checking it out, let us know if you open shop!


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

I'm doing it! I've taken that final leap! It's much easier than the last time I looked at it, as I said I really like the facebook feature and the fees aren't that bad- especially as the conversion is awesome so it's like 10p to list something! 
I don't like that it charges you per size, and I don't want to have a billion sizes anyway as it looks messy, but I have been linking back to my site. The other thing is I have shipping brackets on my site which I can't do on here (unless you know of a way?!!) so sometimes it'd be cheaper to order off Etsy and sometimes it'd be cheaper to order off the site. *shrugs* not much I can do I guess. It's definitely worth the time I've spent setting it up though so thanks for the shove!


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## sewbama (Oct 1, 2011)

I know this thread has moved around a bit, but I wanted to mention my use of velcro in cage liners. It's worked great, allowing me to keep my liners in place, but still letting me get them out pretty easily so I'll actually change them when they stink. My rats are strong enough to pull it apart. They only pull up their favorite corner, and I can easily reach in and put it back. It takes them some time and work to get it, so they don't immediately just yank it up again. Other than that, it's worked perfectly. (And I do recommend sewing it on to the fleece)


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## EleashaC (Jan 30, 2012)

Hey, just jumping in here with a question about the original post. You mentioned, Bleu, that you'd be using puppy pee pads under the fleece. I'm about to be setting up a proper cage with fleece liners, myself, and I'm really interested in the idea of the pads beneath; it seems like such an obvious, good plan. Has anyone else used this method? Is it safe (is the plastic part of the pad okay for ratties to chew?)? Does it actually work?


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## Bleu (Feb 2, 2012)

Oh cool, thanks for the feedback, Sewbama! I'm thinking of maybe doing a combo metal clip/velcro thing. Doing the metal clips on the shelf part and some velcro in the corners where it's hard to get clips. I don't know, I'll have to play around with it a bit to see what works best. Since I enjoy sewing and am pretty crafty it's no biggie to try a few things until something works.

EleashaC, I actually saw the puppy pads mentioned here in a few threads (can't remember which ones) and thought it sounded pretty good. I think I may stick with those on the floor of the cage, and use towels under the fleece on the shelves. On the floor of the cage I have I should be able to put the fleece all the way over the sides and have the top cage part sit on it to keep in place. So hopefully they wouldn't be able to get to the pads. Of course they may just chew through the fleece, so who knows. I thought that maybe the pads would be better at absorbing odor, etc.


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## giggles_mcbug (Sep 10, 2011)

I used Velcro on fleece for a while. My rats never chewed the Velcro. Not once. So it depends on your rats.


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