twisty ties?

[babygirl12]

i made a hammock out of a sock and connected it to the cage bars with a few twistie ties. I check on them and they chewed the paper off of the ties and just left a sharp wire. I bent the wires back because they were almost as sharp as a needle. 

Should i replace the twisty ties and keep letting them chew them?

[OldsGal]

Do away with the twist ties and use zip ties or also known as wire ties.  Or you could also use shower curtain rings.  I get mine real cheap at the dollar store and they work great.  Anything metal and pokey is not good for rats.

[mandycoot]

You can also use coated paper clips if you've got them lying around the house. Shower curtain rings work wonderfully though!

[babygirl12]

Oh yes! Zip ties would work great, but what if they chew them and then the hammock will fall. I have a lot of them that i found in a car roadside kit that someone threw away.   I suppose i could replace them every few weeks. Or days. . .  


shower curtain rings; 

[OldsGal]

Hmmmm.........Lets weight this out.

Replace zip ties every few days or take rat to vet due to puncture wound from metal pokey thing.

I think I will take the zip ties!

 

I would say do the zip ties until you can get to the store to get some shower curtain rings.

Staci

[babygirl12]

ok.

[mishymoo37]

Remember this and you'll do well:  Zip Ties are our friends...feel the force with the Zip Ties!!!   

You can get them at Wal-Mart or a .99 Store. 

[ginger_fish]

when we hang up out hammocks, houses, bridges, and ladders we use cable ties. They're plastic, very strong, and never injure the animal if they chew on them. At hardware stores they are very cheap 2,000 for only 10-15(can) bucks!

[BaraLahatiel]

The sock doesn't have elastic in it does it? You should be careful with that kind of thing because they can get it caught around tails, toes, teeth, etc. There have been cases of rats, babies in particular, loosing toes due to socks. And I read one article where a rat choked on the cloth when it got tangled in it's teeth while trying to swallow. They found it when they came home...

Try an old useless T shirt or go to the dollar store. Even cloth scraps for sale at different stores and yard sales.

Also, with twist ties. I use them quite a bit and none of my rats ever bother them. I cap the ends with hot glue before I put them in the cage, but zip ties or curtain rings would be best. I just keep running out and twist ties are always around lol

[iluv2makejello]

You can also use coated paper clips if you've got them lying around the house. Shower curtain rings work wonderfully though!

I used to use saftey pinns and pinch the thing that holds the pokey part in so tight I couldnt even get it undone but then i started useing the paperclips instead just to be safe!