Many of us like keeping pets. However, do our pets like being kept by us? If only they could answer this question. For example, take the simple case of a hamster. When in wild, hamsters keep traveling up to around 8 miles in a day looking out for food as well as water. So you can imagine that if your pet is a hamster and you have kept it in a cage, how bored would it be? Isn’t it wrong? Despite that, our hamsters still love us as they do not even understand what freedom lies in them outside in nature. However, you too can return their love by creating something as simple as a hamster house using cardboard.
Making a hamster house using cardboard
You definitely want your pet to feel like home with you. Have you noticed you caged hamster chewing stuffs all the time? Yes when they get bored that what they do as the last resort. Why not give your caged hamster a new pastime instead of chewing all the time. You can make your hamster house from cardboard that can keep you little friend happy. Yes a cardboard treehouse would be great. Isn’t it?
Difficulty level: Moderate. You will just require some basic knowledge.
Time required: 2 days
Resources required
1. Paper towel or toilet paper tubes
2. Small tea boxes or cardboard boxes
3. Glue
4. Scissors
5. Pencil or pen to mark
6. Measuring tape or ruler
7. Flour
Estimate cost: It will cost you nothing to keep your little friend busy doing all the wandering in his new tree house
Instructions
1. The tissue tubes are to be used as the access tunnels and the cardboard tea boxes will act as the stations.
2. Make the glue by combining one cup syrup along with 2 cups of flour. You can thin the glue by mixing small amounts of water when required. Now cut the newspapers into thin strips and immerse it in this glue.
3. Now make a marking on both the cardboard boxes using the bottom of the tissue tubes. Later on cut these holes.
4. After the cutting is done, insert the tubes in the round holes in the boxes. Close the joints the newspaper strips that were immersed in the glue. Allow it to dry.
5. Once the glue gets dried, arrange the stations in a way such that each station has at least one access tube going into it.
6. Also make another hole in the station so that one tube is seen coming from underneath and the other one from the side.
7. Make semi-circular cuts near the base of every vertical tube. This will make space for the hamster to move easily.
8. Now arrange these stations in the cage of your hamster cage. Make sure that some stations need climbing and some just need passing in and out.
9. Also make windows in some stations that will enable your pet to pop out his head out though them to see.
10. You need not worry that your hamster will chew on the maze house as the glue used is non-toxic one and will not harm your pet.
11. Now make a small burrowing station using the shoebox with a lid. Cut holes in every end of the box, which is sufficiently large to allow easy passage of your hamster.
12. Fill this station with hamster litter. Make sure that you clean the box once a week or as often as you need.
Frequently asked questions about hamster house from cardboard
Q. My hamster chews a lot, what do I do to ensure that it does not escape from the cage?
A. Make sure your hamster’s cage has a tight-fitted lid and also that it should not be easy enough to be chewed. Take care of this as your pet can make use the vertical stations to getaway.
Quick tips
- Always remember to keep treats, including baby carrots or slices of apples in any of the towers.
- Also take care that you are removing the uneaten things daily to avoid foul smell in the cage as well as to maintain hygiene of your pet.
- Fill at any one of the upright stations with seed-based diet for your pet. This will enable you hamster to climb to eat it.
Things to watch out for when building hamster house using cardboard
- All the tubes that you are gluing should be dried properly to avoid loose contact. For better results, allow the glue to dry for a night or more as required.
- Also take care that if any of the stations get chewed badly or become wet, just take that station out of the cage and replace it with a new station.
- Your small effort to offer fun for your pet will really workout. You just need to keep on checking with time, if any of the stations need to be replaced as well as the hygiene of the treehouse.
Some more ways of becoming an eco-friendly pet owner
1. Buy natural de-flea products
Many pet care products, especially the de-flea products are not good for the pets and the environment altogether. They contain harmful chemicals like organophosphates that are nauseating for the pets, sometimes dangerous enough to be fatal as well. It is better if every pet parent reaches out for natural products that have diatomaceous earth, and are made of fossilized algae.
Natural products are not only good for your pets but for you and the environment also. The shampoos you buy for your pets with an intention to clean them actually are full of chemicals that leave their skin irritated and hurt. It is your moral duty to love your pet and to provide everything to them in the least harmful way.
2. Chemical-free cleaners and deodorizers
Pet odor is one problem every pet owner experiences and to get rid of it the market offers multifarious cleansers and deodorizers, which again are products loaded with harmful chemicals. They do take away the odor but sometimes leaves our innocent pets drowsy and nauseating.
The fumes are so strong that they can make the owners drowsy as well, so you must consider the natural products and natural options to get away with this problem. You can apply some natural essential oils and lemon on your pet’s skin, or give them a nice sunbath that takes away odors.
3. Pick biodegradable or re-usable bags
Be it packing for a trip with our pet, taking them out for a walk, or to pick up their waste, pet owners require bags. As a pet parent, you must ensure that you only pick up bags that are eco-friendly; they must be biodegradable and re-usable if possible. Doing this would not only make you a green impressive pet parent but also would prevent major landfill sites full of plastic pet bags.
4. Buy chemical-free toys and accessories
Gone are the days when pet owners had no other option than to buy chemical-treated toxic toys and accessories like collars, bones, balls, chew sticks, leashes, and all. Today, the market really has no dearth of eco-friendly pet toys and accessories that are perfectly safe for pets, and clean and green from the environmental point of view. In case you reside somewhere with no such shops then do online shopping and get desired eco-friendly pet products.
5. Go veggie
Cattle raising requires much more resources than to grow plants if possible pet owners should try and turn vegetarian themselves and should give pet also a vegetarian meal. Although there are many controversies regarding the effect of a vegetarian diet on animals, they do survive equally well on vegetarian food provided it is balanced. So treat your dogs on peanut butter instead of meat treats.
6. DIY pet accessories
One more way that can help you turn into good green pet parents is to make some of the pet accessories on your own. It is not only a beneficial activity but a fun-filled activity also. You can use and mix-match so many waste products lying in your store. Pick some colorful ones and sew a colorful stylish leash for your dog. Likewise, you can make do collars, beds, and blankets as well.
