Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 13:33:28 GMT -5
I was very excited when my husband and I purchased a home in late September 2016 with enough bedrooms that would allow me to build a room for Monster. Shortly after moving in I rescued Brandi so now the room will be for two! It is a slow process. I am not "mechanical" and require my husband's knack for building things. He works long, and sometimes odd hours, so I sketch and wait for him to have time. We're currently working on a garage renovation as well, causing further delays, but I wanted to go ahead and share what we've gotten accomplished so far. I will add as we progress.
First thing was to get the horrible Kaytee cage that came with Monster when I brought him home; he was the "pet" of a friend's 11 year old grandson and rarely let out of it. Knowing he was to be a member of our family, not a pet, first thing was to have a place for him to call a "bedroom". Now there are two. These are their bucket beds! We used fairly large plastic storage totes. Air holes are drilled at the tops along both sides using a simple drill bit. A hole was drilled to insert a tunnel/tube for access in and out of bed using a hole saw bit sized to match the tunnel end. I just put an old sheet in the bottom of the bucket for cushion and insulation. I then either use the sleep sack (they both have their own), as shown in the photo, or a couple of fleece throws that they can burrow into. If I use the sacks, there is also a small, baby sized, fleece blanket inside of the sack for burrowing. We decided to use the tubes for entrance/exit to encourage climbing, to build and maintain muscle strength. They both seem to really love them! You will also notice one of the bed buckets also has a hammock. This is simply tied on with some paracord for ease in removing for wash day.
The next thing we built was the tunnel maze. I'd seen this idea on Pinterest and really liked it. Our first attempt was a failure in that the high point was too high causing Monster, the strongest of the two, to be unable to get up it without serious struggle. We wanted it to be fun, not too difficult, so we lowered that portion. Monster is demonstrating in the photos! I'll cover a portion with a fleece throw to make it dark in a portion hoping it is more enriching for them. I change it up from time to time and move it around the room.
I've just unpacked and set up my sewing machine so that I can work on some platforms and suspended sleeping sacks. I've got the sketches for the framework, which can be attached to the bed buckets. Stay tuned for those!
First thing was to get the horrible Kaytee cage that came with Monster when I brought him home; he was the "pet" of a friend's 11 year old grandson and rarely let out of it. Knowing he was to be a member of our family, not a pet, first thing was to have a place for him to call a "bedroom". Now there are two. These are their bucket beds! We used fairly large plastic storage totes. Air holes are drilled at the tops along both sides using a simple drill bit. A hole was drilled to insert a tunnel/tube for access in and out of bed using a hole saw bit sized to match the tunnel end. I just put an old sheet in the bottom of the bucket for cushion and insulation. I then either use the sleep sack (they both have their own), as shown in the photo, or a couple of fleece throws that they can burrow into. If I use the sacks, there is also a small, baby sized, fleece blanket inside of the sack for burrowing. We decided to use the tubes for entrance/exit to encourage climbing, to build and maintain muscle strength. They both seem to really love them! You will also notice one of the bed buckets also has a hammock. This is simply tied on with some paracord for ease in removing for wash day.
The next thing we built was the tunnel maze. I'd seen this idea on Pinterest and really liked it. Our first attempt was a failure in that the high point was too high causing Monster, the strongest of the two, to be unable to get up it without serious struggle. We wanted it to be fun, not too difficult, so we lowered that portion. Monster is demonstrating in the photos! I'll cover a portion with a fleece throw to make it dark in a portion hoping it is more enriching for them. I change it up from time to time and move it around the room.
I've just unpacked and set up my sewing machine so that I can work on some platforms and suspended sleeping sacks. I've got the sketches for the framework, which can be attached to the bed buckets. Stay tuned for those!