New PlayPen!! *Lots of Pics!*

[ZooKeeper]

My new play pen! Made from hardboard bought from Home Depot for around 20$. And craftly put together by my loving boyfriend. 

"Hey! What are you doing up there?"

The boys checkin out their new digs



Pablo finally sneaking out to say hello.

Paulo coming to get some lovin 

A better look at the play pen!

[krazycatlady]

very nice! that gives me a good idea. I usually let my girls run around on the couch or bathroom or on me when im at the computer. I HAD a playpen for them when they were itty bitty but now they just climb over it. this would be awesome for them.
what are the dimensions of the boards if you dont mind me asking? did you get them cut there or did they come that size?

[ZooKeeper]

I got four 2x4 hardboard sheets. And they're an 8th of an inch thick. My boyfriend cut the pieces for me. I actually was sent the instructions from another member on here. I'm having problems with finacial issues and they gave me great and cheap ideas to get the things I needed done. http://www.squidoo.com/rathug_grey#module27312052 that was the website smesyna sent me. Its on that page just scroll down a bit. It tells you better how to cut the boards than I could. Hope this helps!

[krazycatlady]

oh thank you!  i'll have to run to home depot this weekend and make myself one!

do you take yours apart after playtime or leave it up? I dont have a dedicated rat room yet so id have to take mine apart to store it in the closet but it looks easy enough to take apart and put together

[della luna]

That's such a good idea, and looks much cheaper to make than all of those commercially sold playpens!  I'll have to look into doing something like this once I get the space

[ZooKeeper]

oh thank you!  i'll have to run to home depot this weekend and make myself one!

do you take yours apart after playtime or leave it up? I dont have a dedicated rat room yet so id have to take mine apart to store it in the closet but it looks easy enough to take apart and put together

Yeah I take it down after play time is over. I have a 'sort of' rat room. It was the storage room, but I organized it enough to fit a Ferret Nation 142 in it with some walking room. And once I get the boy ratlets integrated into it with the girls, I will rearrange my room to be able to put the pen up in my room. (right now it's waaaaaay to small  ) But it's really easy to put together and take down any time you use it. And just something you could add if you wanted to is a bottom. Right now I just use towels, but eventually I want to get more hardboard and put those like stick on tiles on it so it'd be easier to clean.

[Schrute]

That looks very well constructed. Do they ever try to jump out?

[SawyerAshton]

contact paper might work just as well as the tile for your floor.

[ZooKeeper]

That looks very well constructed. Do they ever try to jump out?

They haven't tried yet. They girls and boys haven't had too much time in it since it brand spankin new. The girls are the jumpers. So I'm expecting them to try eventually. To aid in preventing this though, I keep all the boxes and anything that could add heigth away from the edges. And the boards come with a rough side and a smooth side, I always position the smooth sides inside, so if they do jump, there isn't anything to help with support or to grab onto.

[craze_176]

2 of my previous/current 11 rats jumped over a board 2 feet high. With Peanut I only had to make it 2 inches higher but with cricket, she would constantly jump out so now my rat wall is about 30-32" high. Both were/are very determined though!

[DebsRats]

I was thinking of making it 4x4. I'm hoping they can't jump 4 feet.

[sevenfourteen87]

Awesome design! My boyfriend and I have been planning a playpen and we're going up to Home Depot tomorrow to pick up supplies. I'm going to make a top for mine out of hardware cloth to prevent escapes! My Jojo is quite the jumper.

[MissSara]

It looks like they're already having so much fun!

And wow, that's a smart way to do it, props to your boyfriend!

[Nat Loves Rats]

Very nice! *applause* I've been wanting to build something like that, I think I'll use some birthday money in Feb! Heh, or maybe I'll be too impatient  (That happens a lot when it comes to rats)

For now, I'll have to envy all of your playpens and deal with the girls zooming around my room ripping out carpet and sqeezing under furniture and such 

[MissSara]

I was thinking of making it 4x4. I'm hoping they can't jump 4 feet.

My boyfriend told me that adult rats can apparently jump up to 4 feet high, but I'm sure they wouldn't be able to get OVER something that high!

[Truhazeleyes88]

I was thinking of making it 4x4. I'm hoping they can't jump 4 feet.

My boyfriend told me that adult rats can apparently jump up to 4 feet high, but I'm sure they wouldn't be able to get OVER something that high!

You will be surpised my 3 girls jump it and 1 boy outta 5 can.. I will be cleaning the cage look over and theres one on the edge of it witha look saying hey look mommy I came to see you..lol

[craze_176]

I was thinking of making it 4x4. I'm hoping they can't jump 4 feet.

My boyfriend told me that adult rats can apparently jump up to 4 feet high, but I'm sure they wouldn't be able to get OVER something that high!

Cricket can't jump four feet! If she can't do it, I highly doubt others will, especially the average rat that doesn't have this OBSESSIVE need to escape, like cricket lol. the rat room is 10x11! She should be happy with that!

[The Jenn]

Oh, I love that pen! I made one for my babies out of the same material about a month ago and it's super-easy to put up and take down when I need to in my very small room. All four of the babies can jump to the top no problem, but I'm always either in there with them or supervising the loose "lid" that we made out of wood and window screen replacement. It's a great and inexpensive solution to the playpen issue.

[ZooKeeper]

Yeah there are suggestions for how to make a lid for this type of play pen on this site somewhere. But I'm sure it'd be just as easy to make a lid out of wire cloth like most do to modify their cages. I still have not had any problems with my kids jumping yet, they just like to wrestle and run under the blankets and things I put in there for them. 

[Nat Loves Rats]

Do you think that just draping a blanket over the top would work? My only concern for that is ventilation.

[Stacy M]

I'd say probably not for the blanket,but you know that cloth material for hampers where it's got the holes in it like fishnet stockings lol?  I bet that would work if you used elastic or found some other way to tightly wrap it around the playpen.  Even with that though they should be supervised, and think it through because I could be mistaken about it's possible safety.

[The Jenn]

Nat, I tried draping a blanket over the top for one evening in an attempt to give them a little low-light fun in the playpen while I was on the bed about a foot and a half away. I'd hoped that it would dissuade jumping. I was quite wrong. Little stinkers could just get out with less detection that way!

[DebsRats]

Question. If I went to Home Depot; they would know what I meant when I asked for hardboard?

[craze_176]

I think it's also called particle board. Plywood is made of woodchips and particle board is fine compacted sawdust. I think so anyway

[ZooKeeper]

Question. If I went to Home Depot; they would know what I meant when I asked for hardboard?

Yes, yes they would. Or you could just go to the building supplies department. At my Home Depot they were in shelves down an isle with the huge slabs of wood stacked on top of each other. But to answer your question, they would!