Rope chew toy help

[Lalsa87]

Hi All

I want to make some of these balls - I hide Oreos food in them to give her a challenge and keep her occupied. I don't do it often as they are so expensive. Surely there is a way to make them? Sspecially the rope ones..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Boredom-Breaker-Animal-Activity/dp/B002NKD0BG/ref=pd_nav_hcs_bia_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=K8HEH56RCYBQ0ZKPZZ0H

Thanks for your help!

[actual junk]

I am aware there is a method of making something similar out of toilet roll tubes, cutting them into even sized rings and loping them over each other, might be a bit easier for her to chew through but dirt cheap!

[Jennie F]

I use the toilet roll version for my little mini and she loves it. Always get up in the morning to the various strips all over the cage

[Drago]

You can attach the three using a sisal string with a knot tied on one end. Cut a hole through the top and bottom of all the balls and have a knot at the end of the string so the balls can't fall off. You can make a loop in the top or attach the string directly to the cage/a clip so it's hangs :) That explanation might be a bit confusing, let me know if you need me to clarify!

[cypher]

There's a vid here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuPeyD6w-CI) that includes the toilet roll things you can make to hide food in.

[SKB_Hamsters]

I would recommend toilet tube to hide food in rather than making balls from string.

I don't know if you knew but you can also get those balls you linked in your initial post from wilko for only £3 (Wilko Small Animal Fun Ball Trio Toy at wilko.com (http://www.wilko.com/small-pet-toys/wilko-small-animal-fun-ball-trio-toy/invt/0303671)). They are the same as the rosewood ones.

[Lalsa87]

Thanks - I have a Syrian and she demolishes the toilet roll ones in about 10 seconds. The balls keep her entertained for much longer. I have her in a large eco tank cage and she still tries to climb the walls to get out from boredom. Not sure how to keep her entertained.

[Pebbles82]

Lol she does sound active. Adding a lot of substrate might help possibly - not sure how much you have now but you could easily get 20 to 25cm depth of substrate in that cage and she might turn to digging tunnels instead. Plus scatter feeding maybe. Sometimes they feel there is too much open space in a large cage, so deep substrate and a shelf or two might help rather than chew toys (or as well as chew toys). I wouldn't use "rope" though as it is bad if chewed. Sisal string or rope is supposed to be ok.

Maybe you could make a couple of platforms (if you don't have any) A piece of wood and stick some long legs on so it will sit above 25cm of substrate. Then she can dig and burrow, sit under a shelf or sit on a shelf as well with extra toys on a shelf. Sometimes a big house helps as well. If you have deep substrate though there's an issue with heavier things sinking on them if they burrow underneath, so maybe put heavier things on the shelf and just have light toys and a light house on top of the substrate. A large shoebox house might be nice as then she has somewhere to retreat to in the dark and can also chew it :-)

[AmityvilleHams]

Hemp string,sisal string,and jute are safe.However,to be safe they must be 100% natural with no dyes and such.Cotton is never safe even if all natural and dye free(it will always fray dangerously,and cannot be digested so it will cause blockages and eventually death if veterinary treatment is not given).Seagrass would be a very difficult material to get in rope form,though in my experience I've never even seen any!You could take some from partially destroyed old toys though and repurpose the leftover parts,as with any toy,as long as the materials are safe :) This can be done with storebought toys too,for example a toy from a store that would be unsafe due to having unsafe string or chain(chain is never safe due to injury risk)getting placed onto one or more toys with safe hanging material or getting strung together with various toy parts.

[flowerfairy]

My female syrian Kashi has made an absolute fitch mountain in her cage. She demolishes one of those balls in less than five minutes!

Lots of cardboard toys with food hidden in them, rotated often and lots of things woven in and out of her bars to chew on.

[Lalsa87]

Thanks for all your helpful responses - I've done all those things! She is just super active. Maybe I'll add a new platform in for her. She has a few already but one more wont hurt. I also use cardboard to make tunnels and obstacles for her to move around.