What fabric to use for hamster things?

[hannahbubble]

Going into Manchester to the amazing fabric and craft shop there on Wednesday with my mum, because she is wanting to start knitting baby blankets to sell on ebay, and I'm going to make some cute stuffed toys like owls, and of course hamsters!

Want to make a few things for Ponyo as well, and for when I get a syrian! What is the best fabric to use?

Also does anyone have any patterns or ideas for things to make? I can only think of hammocks at the minute.

[Mikayla]

Fleece is what is most commonly recommended because hamsters chew on fabric and fleece won't unravel and pose the rick of getting all caught up in their intestines. There still shouldn't be any seams available though. If your ham chews it it should be removed.

[hannahbubble]

Thank you! I will keep an eye out for some.

[Demecat]

Fleece is what is most commonly recommended because hamsters chew on fabric and fleece won't unravel and pose the rick of getting all caught up in their intestines. There still shouldn't be any seams available though. If your ham chews it it should be removed.

Don't you mean felt?

Fleecy material isn't recommended as it is similar to cotton wool bedding.

[hannahbubble]

I will get some felt then! That would be helpful actually because I'll be getting felt anyway for my plushies.

[StarlightSerenity]

Don't you mean felt?

Fleecy material isn't recommended as it is similar to cotton wool bedding.

I would have thought felt was more like cotton wool bedding than fleece? Felt is matted wool fibres which are obvious to see (well, expensive felt is wool, most are wool mixes lol). Few scratches with tiny hamster claws and strands of it will stick out which won't happen with fleece.

Are you going to Abakhan Hannah? I love it there :D

[hannahbubble]

Yes SS, Abakhan! Not been there in a while. I only got a few things, just enough to make my first owl plushie for myself, to see how it goes! If I have any material left over I might attempt a corner hammock for the piggies, they need a new cage layout!

[racinghamster]

Hamsters don`t need or require material in their cages, In fact, I would say it was too dangerous to leave in unsupervised. I use an old mouse pocket hammock (with the straps cut off) to use for my chinese hamster to hop into when I`m transferring her from her cage, but that`s all it`s used for. It smells of her scent and she does love to climb in and have a play inside it, but only when I`m watching. I would be too scared to leave it in permenantly incase she chewed it and got threads caught in her teeth, pouches or got caught up in it during the night.

Better to make Ponyo a wee pocket carry hammock and leave it at that and just use it for placing her into a holding cage or a carrier when going somewhere.

[hannahbubble]

That sounds like a good idea RH! Thanks. What materials is your carry hammock made from, because if I have anything similar spare I will make one.

[StarlightSerenity]

There are a lot of people who use fabric items in cages, Luna has two hammocks and has never chewed them - anything fabric must be removed as soon as there are any signs of chewing though and it's best to supervise them with them for a while but a lot of hamsters wont chew them :)

It's necessary for Luna to have one of her hammocks - she fell from one of the shelves in her cage and landed on her back, the hammock stops her falling of the shelf :)

[Mikayla]

There is nothing wrong with having fabric in the cage. You'll find that most people find this to be the truth. I'm not sure if you got felt or fleece, I'm a believe in fleece, but I'm sure felt is fine.

RH-Who told you that hams couldn't have fabric? I large amount of people on the forums have fabric in their hamster's cage. They don't seem to have any issues.

[racinghamster]

My experience of this comes from keeping mice for many years and mice climb and use fabric better as they are very good climbers. However, I have witnessed mice getting a claw caught in the tiny threads when climbing out of a hanging hammock and it`s leg was suspended as a result. Luckily, this happened while I was watching, so from then on, I never suspended fleece or anything made from material from the cage. I did allow fleece and cotton covered cubes called `Homer Cubes` here in the UK made by a company called Fuzzbutt.co.uk , who mainly make home comforts for rats/chinchillas/degus etc, but also make smaller items for smaller rodents aswell.



So I guess I`m basing my concerns on that same basis and the fact that hamsters have pouches and are not as good climbers as mice are, I just presumed that leaving materialistic accessories in their cage might be harmful, but you guys seem to say otherwise. I just wouldn`t want to risk it personally.

hannah, fleece folded over and stitched up both sides (to make a `pocket` shape with one open end is a good way of making a quick `pocket pouch`! Just cut a piece of fleece in a funky colour about 18" inches long x 6" inches wide. Fold it over longways and stitch up each side with a sewing machine (or by hand) and the open end can be folded over at the edges aswell. When folded over and stitched up, the size should be roughly 9" inches long x 5" inches wide. Depends how small or how big you need it really. This size is fine for a chinese or dwarf hamster. :) Felt can be more fibrous, so I would go with fleece. Felt is better to make felt creations from. ;)