homemade toys

by Uhura Fri 25 Sep 2020, 10:18 pm

The pet stores here don't have many toys for small animals. I would like him to have something to climb but even the bird toys weren't good. I even checked the craft section and didn't see anything.

I don't want toys he can hide in because I want him to see me. But I would like it if he had something to climb or some other toy. He has plenty of bedding he can hide in.

Is there any material or thing that is dangerous for them to chew or play with? For example gerbils should not have cloth or plastic or certain types of wood.

Are there types of wood or anything else that aren't safe for mice?

by MeanMurine Fri 25 Sep 2020, 10:55 pm

Personally for homemade toys I just use toilet paper tubes. I also cut cardboard into little squares, poke holes through the squares and hang them from the cage top with sisal string. Cutting squares of fleece and pushing paper clips through the corners produces a homemade hammock that's massively popular with my mice. Driftwood found in aquarium shops is also nice, provided that it's a safe wood and you've boiled it to sanitise it beforehand. Unsafe items are cardboard/paper dyed with toxic paint, cloth that isn't fleece, and wood from toxic trees (Box, Dogwood, Laburnum, Privet, Horse chestnut, Eucalyptus, Laurel etc). Apple, birch, willow, beech and many other woods are safe. Also avoid using anything they can conceivably get tangled up or stuck in. If you can think of a way for a mouse to hurt themselves on an item, they'll manage to do it. Dig boxes made of anything suitable such as tupperware, and filled with bedding or coconut coir are popular, especially if treats are buried in them occasionally.
Lastly, I know that you want to see your mouse as much as possible and you want him to see you, but he really needs places to hide. And lots of them. Mice are prey animals, without a ton of hiding places and safe spots for nests, he'll be constantly nervous. Also, they can't see well, so he probably barely sees more than a blob when looking up at you. If you want to bond with your mouse using his senses, sound and scent are much better candidates. Talk to him, offer him napkins with your scent on them as nesting material. That way, you will be associated with safety.

by Uhura Fri 25 Sep 2020, 11:12 pm

Are glass bottles with wide openings ok? To fill them with bedding and things and put them in his bin?

by MeanMurine Fri 25 Sep 2020, 11:19 pm

If the opening is wide enough for you to be able to clean the inside of the bottle every once in a while, go ahead!

by SarahAdams Sat 26 Sep 2020, 9:38 am

Agree with @MeanMurine in that mice must have a place to hide. If they know they can retreat to a place they feel safe and secure, they are more likely to feel braver about coming out. Bedding is not solid and doesn't make them feel protected enough.

With no safe house, they will feel very exposed, trapped, and vulnerable. That makes them even more fearful and very stressed. The more hiding places they have, the more confident and willing they will be to come out. In nature, being out in the open means certain death from an army of predators both on the ground and the air.

I think I posted this before, but "ErinsAnimals" on YT demonstrates how to make mousey stuff with just cardboard and one video using only toilet/paper towel rolls. I've done some of these and the mice love them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuPeyD6w-CI

Cardboard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZPE19IDa2o

by Uhura Sat 26 Sep 2020, 12:03 pm

Thanks

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