My DIY Project Ideas

DIY Projects.

For those of you that don't know, DIY stands for Do-it-Yourself. I've made a few things for our pets that you might be interested in. First, I've modified the shelves in the Rat cage so the rats can get about easier. It's also easier to clean...

I've made a wheel for the rats out of a cake tin and a micro-scooter wheel. See below for details on how to build it.

I've also made a cheap hammock for the rats out of the sleeve of some old kids pyjamas.

Anyway, have a look at these pictures. Just hover your cursor over the picture to get detailed explanations.

The "Cake Tin" wheel: Find a large cake tin (12 inches or larger diameter) and a micro-scooter wheel. The cake tin is mounted to the wheel using three self-tapping screws and the wheel is mounted to the cage by a nut and bolt, with washers either side of the cage.
Here's a shot of the hole in the centre of the cake tin to clear the head of the bolt and the three self-tapping screws which screw into the soft rubber of the wheel.
Here's a shot of the nut on the end of the bolt and the washers either side of the cage. The hole in the washer needs to be just big enough for the bolt to pass through. Any bigger and the bearing for the wheel will pass through the hole and jam the whole thing solid.
Here's another shot, this time from above. It shows the washers a bit more clearly.
The Pyjama Hammock: Cut the sleeve off a child's fleecy pyjama jacket (nice and soft and warm).
Thread two pieces of string through the sleeve and tie them to the roof of the cage. Trial and error will get the right position, but I tend to tie the string a bit longer and a bit wider than the sleeve itself
That gives the hammock a nice bowed look, like this:
Here's Buffy demonstrating it:
Buffy again, this time keeping a look-out on the other rats from above. The other hammock is a shop-bought Ferret Tunnel hung from the cage roof. There's room in there for four rats to sleep, as ours prove all the time: it's their favourite resting place.
The shelf gap: I've replaced the shelves in the rat cage with perspex sheets. It's easy to clean. I've also left a cut-out at one end that you can just about see here: it lets the rats use the cage sides as a ladder to get from level to level, which they prefer to using the existing ramps.
Half-pipe hideaway: Just a piece of plastic soil pipe, cut in half, makes an ideal hideaway for any ratties that need some solitary peace and quiet... It's also nice and cheap from hardware stores and you get loads of it.