Playpen - how to make a Correx playpen

[heleni0]

For a long time now i've wanted to make a playpen to better free range my hamsters and mice, but I was never really sure how to do it.

*insert lengthy "ideas I had" paragraph here*

Long story short, a girl on the rattie forum made a playpen out of coroplast, shared the idea with the rest of us, and we all followed suit :P

I bought 10 sheets of coroplast, and this pen only uses six, so I can always make it bigger if I feel the need!

atm it's 5ft long and 2.5ft wide [it's also really shiny and drives the dog mental]
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3859831163_9101000659.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3859831163/)

binder clips. They were slightly more expensive than the plain black ones, and you got less of them, but they came in assorted patterns :oops:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3430/3859831677_d04bf10431.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3859831677/)

Pip used it first, because she tends to be the first to wake up.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2457/3860616818_8159cf8a4d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3860616818/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/3860616390_e26aff026f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3860616390/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3468/3860617794_e82bbbd37d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3860617794/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3457/3859833169_73d50f8287.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3859833169/)

Then Callum.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/3860618330_db37fac21b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/heleni0/3860618330/)

Contrary to my assumptions, it was Callum who (eventually) tried to dig his way out :roll: I really thought Pip would hate it.

but after hearing about how his sister, Toffee, reacted to her new playpen, I really should have seen it coming :roll: Still, he genuinely enjoyed it for over half an hour. after that i got in with him and he was okay again.

i'll just have to add more stuff and make it really FUN.

[merita]

That's a brilliant pen, it gives me more ideas now.

[Katty_Sheldon]

Ha, finally a simple idea for a playpen in an apartment! I really dont have much space and i need something i can store away when im out... great!! Thank you for posting this:)

[souffle]

That really is fab helen. It is perfect for putting up and easy storage. Great idea :)

[merita]

Helen, where did you get the coroplast from?

[heleni0]

Ha, finally a simple idea for a playpen in an apartment! I really dont have much space and i need something i can store away when im out
I'm in the same situation as you! My rodents do have their own room (a family friend worked for the housing sector at the time I applied for a flat and she managed to pull some strings and get me a two bedroom!) but it is fairly small. and all the rest of my stuff is in there :roll:

That really is fab helen. It is perfect for putting up and easy storage. Great idea :)
I only wish I could take the credit :wink: The original coroplast pen idea was sassy73's, and lynnb though of using the binder clips (both Fancy Rats members) 8)

Helen, where did you get the coroplast from?
The correx came from Mulberry Design and Print. The have plain white (http://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/corrugatedplastic.asp?parentcatname=Corrugated%20P lastic&parentcat=32&gclid=CK2HkZ3a3ZsCFY4U4wodKxSqAQ) or coloured (http://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/colouredcorrugatedplastic.asp?parentcatname=Colour ed%20Corrugated%20Plastic&parentcat=75). I bought a ten pack of white 32"x24" short flute for £25.94, including delivery.

[Long flute means that the "flutes" follow the longest dimension, and short flute, the shortest dimension. So basically if you were buying 32"x24" sheets and wanted the playpen to be 24" tall, you'd want to buy "short flute".]

[merita]

Thanks for that info Helen.

[ameyjaney]

That is such a good idea :)

[Katty_Sheldon]

Hi! So it took me some time to find the material (i had no idea where to search), and i had to use a box and cut it up, instead of that color..thing you mentioned, but here it is! Finally Sheldon has a proper playpen... now he is totally spoiled.
I will post this thing in another forum and put all the credits you put, i hope its ok:)

Here are the pics:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m142/crazyveronika/IMG_0003.jpg


http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m142/crazyveronika/IMG_0002.jpg

Thanks so much from Sheldon and me!

[souffle]

Wow Sheldon is one lucky hammy :)

[Lizzie]

This is genius and so simple! I will be making one ready for my next hamster. x

[Fidgetthefirst]

@Katty_Sheldon
How did you cut the cardboard, i've tried several time but failed - every time. Did you use scissors or something else? Because when i do it, its all wonky, different lengths, i was looking at the playpens with the bars - but yep they climb out and its pointless so this is much better!

[Katty_Sheldon]

@Katty_Sheldon
How did you cut the cardboard, i've tried several time but failed - every time. Did you use scissors or something else? Because when i do it, its all wonky, different lengths, i was looking at the playpens with the bars - but yep they climb out and its pointless so this is much better!

I used big, kitchen scissors (i guess the bigger the better). I cut it at the edges, where it was naturally folded, and even there it was rather hard. I really advice giving it a try with some big strong scissors, and using lots of force, maybe someone to help you? This is really a good playpen so good luck!

[Fidgetthefirst]

thanks very much :)

[fluffymunchkins]

*bump*
Just found this thread thanks to Souffle :)
I know its old but i wanted to bring it to your atention (save it in favourites for future use etc.)
Fabulous idea that i'm sure some people would like to try, i'd like to have a go myself x

[Hope]

Thanks Mel (and Souffle) this was from before I was even a member, so thanks!! It certainly a really good idea, safe floor time has always been a bit of an issue for me and my hams!! (noone mention the dishwasher incident!) A very good idea indeed!

[Humphrey Furball]

Brillliant! I had a cardboard box one but it was too springy to fold up; this is much better cos it comes apart! I love love love it! Christmas present for Mr P I think :mrgreen:

[wofunny]

Amazing! i am so thankful to you!

I am ordering some as i type! really excited http://www.forumsextreme.com/images/sHa_dance.gif

[wofunny]

i am having problems ordering :(

[SnickersTheFirst]

I had to make mine from cardboard as I couldn't find the plastic at a reasonable price. It's good for a temporary playpen but it got chewed after a couple of months. :/

[wofunny]

I ended up ordering on the phone, its arriving on monday :D

[wofunny]

It arrived today! :D

It inst half fiddley to setup though!

[Scarlett]

This has inspired me to make my own playpen for my new little hammy, Heaven. Since her cage is extremely small ( it does have three stories, but still. ) and I can't get her a new one just yet, I'll make her this and let her play in it when she wakes up at dusk. Mostly, I just let her roll around in her little rolly ball, which she adores. :)

[Biscuit]

Hey. I made a playpen too. I even put carpet on the bootom because my hamster would slip and the noise her feet would scare her!!! lol. Heres mine:8316 (sorry-bit small :()

[Clare]

Loving this idea... but is there anywhere to get smaller bits of the plastic? I don't particularly need it 24 inches high, at that height you could probably keep a toddler from escaping lol

[Mona's Humans]

ebay sells lots of different sized correx, but be careful with reducing the side height as toys act as great climbing toys for escapes.

[Clare]

I must have spent the last hour looking for correx, cant find a decent size.

So going for corrugated cardboard which wont last as long but ive found 20 sheets for £6 something, the correx was going to be £27!

[student1304]

Don't buy cardboard off ebay!!! You can get it for free.
I've been looking at this thread and thought this was a great idea, but the correx was way too expensive.
So today I went to a local shop, got some huge boxes from them and I've cut them up to get the right sized panels.
I bought some food bag clips and used them to hold the panels together. It looks just like the correx playpens, but it's made out of cardboard and it cost me two pound!!!
I can't wait to test this out tonight :) I'm gonna put my syrian Gimli in it and see if it's escape proof and most importantly if he actually enjoys it :D

[fluffymunchkins]

I happend to have printer boxes and a television box which i used. But you could probably get cardboard if you ask at a store somewhere (IKEA is good, they usually have some lying around outside)

[Mikayla]

I've got the coroplast...now I need time!

[student1304]

I take back my earlier post, set up my cardboard playpen and it failed :(
My chinese loved up, but unfortunately my syrian got smart, he pulled up the edges and escaped under the gap (I was watching him so it was all good)

it still worked if I sat and watched my syrian, to be fair he had a great time. But I couldn't turn my back or leave him alone because he could get out :(

[emotionalcynic]

Bit late to the party... But I think this looks like a great thing to do, especially as Gaius just wants to chew and chew and chew on the metal playpen we got him from Pets at Home. I also know that soon he will be big enough to climb over, so I wanted something sturdy and also that he won't get obsessed with chewing on.

I'll let you know how I get on :-)

[HorseyMandz]

For just over the cost of the correx, you could go onto Amazon and get a fabric dog/guinea pig playpen? :)

[Kissa]

A fabric playpen sounds like a spectacularly bad idea if your ham is a chewer ;) I believe parts of those types are made from thin, easy to nibble mesh.

[Johnnywalnuts]

very nice design. i would say i wouldn't want the walls as high soi could interact with my hamster while they were out.
i didn't even really "make" my playpen. i found a twin bed sized storage container and i thought "wow, this would make an excellent playpen!". and the walls of it are low enough that my babies can't get out but i can easily play with them.
job well done!!!=D>

[My-pet-Pip]

Hey!! My hamster's name is Pip too!!! Yay!! :)

[Kissa]

Bought some correx, made a playpen ;) Whole thread about it over here (http://www.hamstercentral.com/community/diy-do-yourself-hamster-projects/29404-adventures-correx.html) :)

[DwarfHam]

Wow, what a great idea. Can I make a blogpost about that and use the same pictures so others can see it too? :)

[Imbrium]

I used big, kitchen scissors (i guess the bigger the better). I cut it at the edges, where it was naturally folded, and even there it was rather hard. I really advice giving it a try with some big strong scissors, and using lots of force, maybe someone to help you? This is really a good playpen so good luck!

I had to do a LOT of coroplast cutting when I was making a C&C cage for my bunnies and found that box cutters are the easiest tool to use for cutting it. I would cut halfway through, then flip it over and cut the rest of the way.

home depot sells it in 24''x36'' and 24''x18'' sheets... someone else told me they had the full 4'x8' sheets (which are the best value), but my home depot doesn't carry those, so it depends on where you live, I guess.

thanks for this thread, btw, this is a great idea! I just got a hamster for the first time in about 13 years. I still have some big coroplast scraps left over from building my bunny mansion (and binder clips left over from attaching fleece to the bunnies' coroplast floors, too) so I can get started on a playpen for my hamster ASAP! :)

[flybynight78]

ok, very easy,
white faced hardboard ( makes it hard to climb as its shiny so put the white side to the inside)Hardboard White Faced (L)1220 x (W)610 x (T)3mm, 5022652560188 (http://www.diy.com/nav/build/timber/sheet-materials/hardboard/Hardboard-White-Faced-L-1220-x-W-610-x-T-3mm-9276446) from B&Q £5.08
cut as per the pic attached ( i use a jigsaw but you can get through it with tin snips, hacksaw or even a stanlley knife if you need to ( score it and then snap)
gives you 8 panels 305mm x 305mm. then make 2 holes on opposing sides of each piece. attach the panels together with cable ties ( if you dont over tighten them it means you can still move the panels so can fold up the pen. if you need it really flexibleleav the last set of cable ties off and jsut tie em up with a boot lace, then you can fold the entire thing like a concertina and store it .

[Petite1]

Hi ive been looking for a pen to put honey into, great idea thanks

[Stripe]

I can get 5 A1 sheets in red or yellow or £23.95- is that about what you would pay?

[Gingamonkey]

Hi everyone, I saw the first people to post about making a Correx playpen after buying a metal vertical wire playpen, which lasted about 5 minutes before the hamster escaped. Anyway the Correx playpen is perfect and the hamster cannot escape although she has tried all that she can. Little houdini she is. I bought 20 sheets of A3 Correx with a Short Flute (this means the bendy flute bit is vertical so the pen is only A4 height, so kids can step into the pen to play with the hamster, but the hamster cant get out. If you were to have long flute then it would be too tall. I bought from e-bay from trent plastics for around £20. Just make sure you specify "Short Flute" as this is important and if possible put the request for this on the actual order itself somewhere, if not on an e-bay message to them against the order. I also bought bulldog clips to suit to clip it all together. I bought 36 x 32 mm bulldog / foldback clips from Euroffice for around £8.30 inc packaging. This means I have enough to clip together up to 18 pieces of the Correx. You only need about half that, but its up to you and the size of your house.

It really gave the hamster lots of room to run around in and you can put plenty of toys and loo rolls and all sorts for them to investigate.

[Truffle]

Good idea... I will have a going at making it over the christmas holidays :)

[HammyMommy]

I'm from the U.S. what is coroplast?

[Cindyrads]

Coroplast is corrugated plastic sheets. They use it to make signs from. The signs you see on the side of the road stuck in the ground are made from it. The cheapest way to get it in the US is to call around to sign companies in your area and see if they will sell you some. Tell them what you want to use it for and they will be more agreeable. we bought some when I was making a guinea pig cage. The size of the sheet was 4 foot by 8 foot if I'm not mistaken and was $10 or $15 a sheet. much cheaper than getting it online.

[Esmy]

I got mine online- 29"x48" each sheet, $22 for 5 sheets + shipping. I have bought from them twice.

C&C Cage Clearance Items (http://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/clearance)

[Pebbles82]

I think it is called Correx (or Corex) as well - so if you can't find Coroplast in the US try searching for Corex. I got 10 sheets of A1 Corex on ebay uk for £29.95 which included the postage. They are huge and would make a pen half the size of our living room! They arrived within two days, well packaged as well. Here's the link for the seller I bought from:

The link is for White Corex even though it shows lots of different colours, it does say white: Must get round to making ours!

10 sheets of A1 fluted plastic corex board for out door signage and display | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140734396334?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&var=440054559294&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)