Step 1:

Mark the lid of the tub to the size you want to cut out. I have chosen to use the section of the lid that lifted in the middle.
 
Step 2:

Measure the wire needed for the top and cut it to size. I have used 13cm x 13cm hole chicken wire, so I have doubled it over to give it extra strength and to make the holes a tad smaller. The roll is 2m long I will be able to make around 4 breeding tubs and 4 travel tubs out of it. Make sure you give the wire a good vinegar wash before you attach it to the tub to avoid zinc poisoning to your fur babies.

Step 3:

Fill the tub/s with about an inch of water so that any hot plastic that may fall won't stick to the bottom of the tub. Put the lid back on the tub.

Step 4:

Using the soldering Iron cut the section out of the lid that you have marked or have chosen to remove.

Step 5:

Using the soldering iron put holes around the section you have just removed. I have placed the holes around an inch apart and about 5mm from the edge of the removed part.

Step 6:

Remove the lid from the tub and place the wire/mesh on the underside of the lid covering the section you have removed. Then attach the wire/mesh. I have chosen to use cable ties to attach mine.

Step 7:

It is up to you how you chose to attach a water bottle. I have decided to attach mine to the outside and using the soldering iron I have put holes in the side to mount it on the bigger cage. The smaller Travel cage I have decided not to mount a water bottle on the outside as it will only be used for short journeys and a carrot will do the job 🙂

Step 8:

If you are going to be stacking the tubs on top of each other and not in a rack you will need to make grills/vents on the side of the tubs. I have made mine in the big sides of the tubs, about an inch from the top and 30cm long and 5cm wide. To make them just follow the steps above that you did for the lid. I have added mine only to one tub as the Doe in it likes to hang from the wire on top and it is getting too big of a stretch for her now she is preg so at least now she can poke her nose out the sides and say hello 🙂

Step 1:

Measure the size of the tubs/cages you will be using.

Step 2:

Measure and cut your hard base to size needed

Step 3:

Measure and cut the new fabric side's (I went with 3 side straps per each side), bottom, lid and pockets (if you choose to add pockets)

Step 4:

Remove the Bag of the trolley frame

Step 5:

Unpick the sides, bottom, and lid of the bag. Place the unpicked front, back, bottom and lid to the side.

Step 6:

This step is for people wanting to add pockets to their trolly. 

• Pin and Hem the top of the Pockets and cut a square wedge out of the 2 bottom corners of the pocket.
• Lay the front of the pocket face up and join the 2 sides from each square wedge cut out and pin (refer to pic below).
• Pin and Hem the bottom and sides of the pocket lid.
• Pin and sew the pockets onto the places you want them.
• Make sure if you choose to add a pocket to the back section you don't sew shut the section where the metal frame slides in and don't sew the top strap that holds the bag to the frame. 

Step 7:

Pin and hem the side straps then sew the side straps to the back section (refer to pics below)

Step 8:

Pin and sew the bottom section to the bottom the back section.

Step 9:

Pin and sew the bottom side straps the base section.

Step 10:

Pin and sew the front section to the base section, make sure to sew the bottom side straps to the back section also (refer to pic below).

Step 11:

Fold the 2 other side straps into the middle with the top facing up and place the Velcro/button in the needed places (refer to pic below).

Step 12:

Pin and hem the bottom and the sides of the lid, pin and sew the Velcro in place.

Step 13:

Pin and sew the lid to the top of the back section, making sure you sew the top strap that holds the bag the frame along with the lid (make sure you don't sew the section where the frame comes through shut).

Step 14:

Slide the bag onto the frame and put the hard base on the bottom, Add tubs/cages and Velcro the straps into place.

And Presto you now have a Travel Trolley 🙂

I have also made another with fully closed in sides to carry all my Critter Comforts wherever I go 🙂

How to make your own digging boxes for your ratties:

There are 2 types of Digging Boxes, both are among the top favourite toy/games with my fur babies.

Digging Box Version 1

For the first one you will need:

• a large litter tray or something of the like (you can make smaller ones, just make sure they have the hight to hold everything)
• Fill it halfway with a clean soil (clean meaning that it has no chemicals, fertilizers, or poisons in it, you can pick some up at your local hardware or gardening store).
• Sprinkle bird seed over the top of the soil.
• Water the seeds daily (Don't over water, your soil should be nice and moist only).
• Within a few days you should have some growth.

I recommend waiting till the growth is around an inch higher than the top of the litter tray/box you are using. Then add your fur babies and watch them go for it.

When they have finished sprinkle it with more seeds and start again.

Digging Box Version 2

For the second on you will need:

• a box, washing basket or something around that size
• a heap of old rags or shredded paper
• put some treats on the bottom and through it all.
• Add your fur babies and watch them go digging through it all.

This is very similar to a version on hide 'n' seek but this version has no other toys or anything hard in it, it is for the purpose of digging through only.

Watching ratties play ball is a lot of fun.

All you need is a ball and something yummy smelling to rub on to it, then sit back and watch.

The ball you use should be no smaller/lighter then a pingpong ball and no bigger/heavier then a tennis ball. Mine love it when the ball is rolled in kitten/baby food. They all chase it and try to get it off one another just to get a lick.

The Bonbon is a remarkably interesting way to entertain your fur babies.

It's one of those toys that you can make harder for them as it gets too easy for them.

All you need is:

• the best way to start is with a toilet roll,
• put their favourite treat inside and wrap it up in something like newspaper, kitchen paper and tie it off at the ends so it looks like a Xmas Bonbon.
• Once this becomes easy try wrapping it in thin cloth instead.
• When this starts to get easy, change the toilet roll for a small pvc pipe
• I usually change the treat as I change the Bonbon, kitten food works great in the pvc pipe.

The Punching Bag is not only fun for your fur babies, but it is also fun to watch.

All you need is:

• food (You can use any type of food for this, but I have found wet/smelly food works best, like veggies, fruit, dog food roll, tuna etc)
• something to tie with (like a shoelace, wool, ribbon etc. to tie it together and then to hang it up)
• something to wrap the food in (you can use kitchen paper, baking paper or even the net bags you buy oranges in).
• Make sure you tie it within reach of your fur babies, but also make sure that they have to work to get it down/open.

You will soon see why it's called the punching bag

Hide 'n' Seek is an extremely easy and fun game for your ratties to play.

Depending on how and where you chose for them to play is up to you, but there are 2 main ways this game can be played.

Hide & Seek version 1

The first way is to hide treats around their free-range area and watch them search and find them.

Hide & Seek version 2

The second is to hide your ratties in places like boxes within boxes and watch them find their way out, then hide them again.

This can also be done with a light blanket, pillowcase, jumper, pillow piles etc. Please only do this if your fur babies enjoy it. If they start to make noise or show signs of distress don't continue the game and please wait a while before trying again, if you decide that it is suitable to try again. Some fur babies will never enjoy this game while others won't get enough of it.

A fur babies Toy Box is much like any toy box, it's filled with all things that fur babies love.

You will need:

• an old box/tub (I prefer to use a cardboard box)
• put some holes in the sides, not to big as they will be made bigger with chewing, it's all part of the fun of the toy box
• fill the toy box with other things like: boxes, egg cartons, old rags, toilet rolls, scrunched up paper, dog ropes, bird purchers etc.
• I also put some nuts in their shell in there also, like walnuts.

Make sure you change things in there regularly otherwise your ratties will become bored, not to mention that the toybox is likely to become very smelly, and some items may become damaged which could run the risk of causing an injury.

Why not make a Playland for your Fur Babies to have free range time in.
Playlands are extremely easy and cheap to make, you can put all most anything in it! Such as:

• Old baby/kids toys,
• cardboard boxes with holes,
• milk bottles/cartons with holes,
• toy boxes (see previous tab),
• bits of pipe etc.

Make sure you re-arrange everything in it every few days and hide treats in it to make it new and interesting for them. Remember everything that you put in their Playland is going to get chewed/damaged and messed up, so you need to make sure that you can clean/replace and check for any sharp edges or anything that could cause injury, as you will need to do this frequently.

Tug-a-Bone is a great game to play with your ratties. Its best done with a chicken bone and a shoelace. It's a very simple and yet very entertaining game. It can be do in 2 different ways:

Tug-a-Bone version 1

The first way is to tie the shoelace around the middle of the chicken bone and put the end with the chicken bone near the fur babies while holding the other end firmly. They will try and pull it out of your hand and will try to take it away from the others.

If they are just nibble away on it then as they start to have a nibble pull it away, they will soon get sick of you moving it away and try to pull it back. Of course, in the end they are going to get it from you anyway, if they get bored of it and walk away then you know you have played the game for too long.

Tug-a-Bone version 2

The second way to play this game is, once they know how to play the game you can tie the other end to the cage instead of holding it and watch them try to pull it away. They will of course end up chewing the shoelace to remove it

The Shreder is another simple game that will keep them entertained for ages. This will work with any type of paper. My fur babies love to do this with the newspaper.

I put the whole paper down in their free-range area and paint a few of the edges and some of the middle sheets of the newspaper with a little bit of juice from some tuna /salmon and then watch them shred the newspaper to try and find it.

Once they have finished shredding, they then get a bowl of tuna for a job well done.

Step 1:

Get yourself a round container that is appropriately deep for your ratties. I got mine from Cheap as Chips, an 11" cake container (cost me $1.50).

Step 2:

Using a ruler, mark the lid into quarters, then mark out spokes. I made mine an inch wide for extra stability and left a 2cm rim around the edge as well. Cut out the spaces between the spokes. I used a stanley-knife and an artist scalpel.
Once cut out, use some super glue in the lip of the lid where it joins to the container, and glue it onto the container.
Tip: You can sand down any sharp edges on the spokes with sandpaper, and then wrap electrical tape around it.

Step 3:

Take an ordinary wire coat hanger and a pair of pliers and unravel the top where it is wound together. Once you have that undone, do your best to straighten out the rest of the bends using the pliers. It can take some practice, but the straighter you can get it, the better.

(To straighten a bend, place the pliers with one tip on the inside and one on the outside of the bend. You want the nose of the pliers to be close to the bend, but on the straight part closest to it on either side. Hold the other side of the bend with your other hand, and gently twist the pliers to bend the wire back from the direction of the bend.)

Step 4:

Cut the twisted tips from the ends of the coat hanger using the wire cutter part of the pliers, then measure the length of the wire. You will need to mark the centre, then appropriate measurements to each side of the centre to fit the container with a little room on each side. My container was 10cm deep, so I measured 6cm each way from the centre.

Step 5:

Slip an appropriate number of wall anchors onto the wire to cover the section you just measured out. You may need to cut one into pieces to get the right length of coverage.

For example, I used 2 and a half. Once you have enough on, use your pliers to bend the wire on the width lines you marked so the the plastic thingies fit snugly in place and don’t move much. You want to bend the wire 90 degrees on each side.

Step 6:

As in step 5, thread on more wall anchors on each side until you have an appropriate length that will be a stable base. I used 4 on each side. This will be the sides to the base of the frame.

Once they are in place, hold the wire so that the anchors are horizontal, and bend the wire upwards approximately 100 degrees. Proceed to thread more anchors onto the wire to make the sides of the frame. I used 4 ½ in order to make it tall enough that the wheel won’t touch the ground. (needs to be a few cm longer than the radius of the circle.

Step 7:

Bend the tips of the side pieces inwards so they are horizontal to the base. I cut out a circle of plastic left over from the spoke holes and pierced a hole into it, and threaded it onto the wire to act as a stopper to prevent the wheel from skewing. This is optional but I think it’s worth it.

Step 8:

Take a paddle pop stick and cut it in half. I coated the whole thing with electrical tape so it won’t get wet but you don’t have to. These will be used as skids on the frame to help stop it tipping backwards. I attached these to the anchors on the base of the frame using a butt load of tape but if you have a better method by all means share it.

Step 9:

Take the container, and pierce a small hole in the centre on the lid and the base. I made mine pig enough to thread a wall anchor snugly into but that is also optional. Make sure the hole is loose enough that the wire will fit in loose enough to spin freely, but not so big it becomes unstable.
Once that is done, you can poke the wire through the holes so that the container is now attached to the frame.

Step 10:

Take some more anchors, and once again use an appropriate amount cover the wires between the lid and the base. Theoretically, you should be able to join the two wire ends together using a wall anchor. Test that the wheel is held on loosely enough that it spins easily, but is tight enough that it doesn’t wobble.

There you have it! You should now have a complete rat wheel (or mouse) that you have made yourself. Congratulations on your crafty abilities!

I also wanted to add that I have made a Version 2.

I used an old, broken pedestal fan I had laying around, stripped it, and mounted it on a frame after cutting holes on one side to enter it through. It is a wire wheel, but Zachie and Tilly prefer it much better to the plastic so it’s fine with me 🙂

Hope this helps and thank you Critterized for letting me share with everyone
Amy Ro