[AnnB]

My sewing skills don't amount to much but I made hammocks for all my mice out of pieces of fleece. The mice love their hammocks but I've noticed that the older mice (with longer claws) sometimes get their claws caught in the fleece material. I decided this morning that it was safer to remove their hammock but they really seem to miss it so I was wondering if anyone knew of a better material to use?

 

[zany_toon]

What about a cotton material or a cotton-polyester mix AnnB? A few of my mice had the same problem with their nails and they were able to run over ordinary pillowcases and duvet covers so chopping up some of them would be an option to make an alternative hammock

 

[AnnB]

Thank you Zany, what a good idea. I was trying to think of something else that would still be soft and snuggly and pillowcases/duvet covers didn't even occur to me.

 

[racingmouse]

I made some lovely purple pocket hammocks from fleece a while ago and stopped using them for this very same reason Ann. What you could do, is turn them into cubes and make little square houses that just sit on your cage shelves? I only have one small fleece `cube` right now. I bought it from a forum member who made them a while back but she stopped making them.

I`ve cut right back on the material items I use. The mice sleep in a Homer cube (from Fuzzbutts) and also have one on a shelf that they sit in but don`t sleep in as I don`t put any nesting bedding in it.

I would`nt recommend suspending fleece items that they have to jump into or hop down from as this is when they can get a claw caught and a leg dangling as a result. My Betsy is only six months old and she was walking across a flat piece of fleece only last week that I lay across the top level and she kept getting a claw stuck while just walking on it, but not so much that she could`nt free her toe, she just seemed to catch on the fine fibres. But it just goes to show that even fleece laid flat can cause issues.

I would like to stop using material items altogether to be honest, but they do love sleeping in their Homer cube, so I allow that but it`s very tight quality fleece that is stitched onto a cotton backing by an industrial sewing maching, so this makes the Homer cubes safer and mine just sits on the cage floor surrounded by Bedxcel substrate, so it`s not suspended.

 

[AnnB]

I must admit it would make cage cleaning a lot easier if there were no hammocks to wash. Most of their toys are plastic and very easy to wash and dry but they love their hammocks so much that I can't bear to deny them the luxury. (How soft am I?) I'm going to try Zany's idea and see how they get on with cotton hammocks.

 

[racingmouse]

A cotton backing would definately help. I know what you mean about depriving them of their little luxuries! The breeders on here will be laughing at us!!! :lol:

It would be so much easier just to throw a pile of nesting material into a corner yes, but once you have used the home comforts and the mice love them, you feel as if your taking away a lollipo from a kid! The little faces at the bars would look at you as if to say `I`m a mouse - get me outa here!`... :lol:

 

[geordiesmice]

I agree RM, wish I had time to lie in a hamock mice have lives of luxury.

 

[zany_toon]

I hope that the use of cotton material works AnnB! I know that it is okay with mine because the little monsters love running around my bed cover and in and out my pillow cases, including Jones - one of my boys who has a nail that grows longer and faster than the others on his toes meaning the only way to stop it interfering with him running around is to trim it every so often! Not many of my mice have material in their cages - was getting too expensive seeing as I have mouse sized vandals who love to tear cosy toys apart :lol: Only my elderly ones or ill ones get something cosy and they are quite partial to slipper socks :lol: