# Non toxic hot glue and Popsicle sticks!



## What'sausername

My mice *love* these cute jungle gyms and club houses I make for them with a hot glue gun and Popsicle sticks! It keeps them climbing and gives them something to chew on since the hot glue doesn't effect them at all! It's also good on money saving instead of going out and buying new toys when they get bored you can make them setting new, I always change their set up once every couple of weeks to make sure they aren't bored.

If you've got any pictures please feel free to share


----------



## Miceandmore64

Mine pee on them and they stink the place out so I can't use them anymore


----------



## What'sausername

Miceandmore64 said:


> Mine pee on them and they stink the place out so I can't use them anymore


They aren't supposed to be used for very long, I switch mine out every one to two weeks with a different design that way they stay entertained and don't mess them up too bad. Also when they do eventually get too destroyed to use I make another one (depending on how much they liked it) or just make a new design all together. They really do enjpy them so I insist you try it again, up to you of course..


----------



## Autumn2005

That's a good idea, especially switching up the designs and changing them out every couple weeks. I'm taking a Laboratory Animal Medicine and Care class right now, and one of our projects is to design enrichment programs for our animals. They pretty much found out that the happier your research animals are, the better and more accurate the results of your study will be (less stress hormones to skew the results, etc). This is definitely the kind of thing that my project could be doing.


----------



## What'sausername

Autumn2005 said:


> That's a good idea, especially switching up the designs and changing them out every couple weeks. I'm taking a Laboratory Animal Medicine and Care class right now, and one of our projects is to design enrichment programs for our animals. They pretty much found out that the happier your research animals are, the better and more accurate the results of your study will be (less stress hormones to skew the results, etc). This is definitely the kind of thing that my project could be doing.


Brilliant! You should definitely give it a try one day.


----------



## L&amp;CLove

They're amazing for mice, even if you make one that's simple and not complicated, they still love it.

I don't have any current pictures of mine, but when I make more I'll post.


----------



## What'sausername

L&CLove said:


> They're amazing for mice, even if you make one that's simple and not complicated, they still love it.
> 
> I don't have any current pictures of mine, but when I make more I'll post.


They definitely are! Mine live them but I have to make mine pretty big because if it's not big enough for all four of them they fight over it! typical siblings lol


----------



## Miceandmore64

No they literally pee on them in first day XD


----------



## What'sausername

Miceandmore64 said:


> No they literally pee on them in first day XD


sheesh lol Well I have wood chips for my bedding maybe that's why? Maybe they like peeing on wood more idk lol Just a thought


----------



## L&amp;CLove

What'sausername said:


> Miceandmore64 said:
> 
> 
> 
> No they literally pee on them in first day XD
> 
> 
> 
> sheesh lol Well I have wood chips for my bedding maybe that's why? Maybe they like peeing on wood more idk lol Just a thought
Click to expand...

Mice pee everywhere, you can't change that. I barely smell mine though, unless I don't clean the wheel. It is good to switch it up, more fun for them.


----------



## What'sausername

L&CLove said:


> What'sausername said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Miceandmore64 said:
> 
> 
> 
> No they literally pee on them in first day XD
> 
> 
> 
> sheesh lol Well I have wood chips for my bedding maybe that's why? Maybe they like peeing on wood more idk lol Just a thought
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Mice pee everywhere, you can't change that. I barely smell mine though, unless I don't clean the wheel. It is good to switch it up, more fun for them.
Click to expand...

Yes I know mice pee everywhere. It was a joke directed towards someone else.


----------



## Miceandmore64

Maybe but wood chips are often thought bad for mice..I use shredded paper as they dont get allergic to it.


----------



## What'sausername

Miceandmore64 said:


> Maybe but wood chips are often thought bad for mice..I use shredded paper as they don't get allergic to it.


I believe it's only a specific type of wood chips that effect them though.. Not too sure which types but to my understanding it's ones that have no oils and have to be a specific type of wood. My one mouse was allergic to one of the beddings from the petstore.. sort of like cotton/paper like, not sure exactly what it was, and she started to scratch off all her hair from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. But the wood chips helped her out a lot. I'll have to keep an eye on her just in case she's allergic to the wood chips as well but from what I've seen her coat is almost as long as the rest of it (where she had gone bald) and she isn't scratching nearly as much. It's actually been a few months and I've seen no issues.. I guess wood chips are a good alternative as long as you make sure to keep an eye on your mice and they aren't allergic to them.


----------



## Miceandmore64

I still don't trust any


----------



## Autumn2005

Pine and cedar are considered bad for mice. I have mine in shredded aspen and have absolutely no troubles with it. I believe it's something to do with the oils in the wood, so it tends to be your aromatic woods that make problems.


----------



## What'sausername

Autumn2005 said:


> Pine and cedar are considered bad for mice. I have mine in shredded aspen and have absolutely no troubles with it. I believe it's something to do with the oils in the wood, so it tends to be your aromatic woods that make problems.


I just don't understand why they would sell it for pets if it isn't good for them


----------



## Miceandmore64

Because the world is full of losers.
If its cheap and people but it am they earn alot of money they don't give a flying piece of dust to animals health.


----------



## tillyandapril

This is great! I tried making little forts with Popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue but that kind of glue doesn't dry fast enough and my forts ended up being a wobbly, sticky mess. I'm going to use hot glue and hopefully I can make something good this time.


----------



## tillyandapril

What brand is the non toxic hot glue?


----------



## What'sausername

tillyandapril said:


> This is great! I tried making little forts with Popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue but that kind of glue doesn't dry fast enough and my forts ended up being a wobbly, sticky mess. I'm going to use hot glue and hopefully I can make something good this time.


There really isn't a specific brand just make sure you check that the package says non-toxic I believe most if not all are non toxic but better ti check and be safe since the mice do like to chew on the excess glue once you put it in for them. Good luck and please share some picture of the stuff you make if possible


----------



## Miceandmore64

Any brand that says "non toxic" is fine to be used.
Fast drying glue isn't needed what is needed is patience. 
Sometimes when I make these I cry and have a giant meltdown if one side falls apart!!!!!
But yeah im taking that risk today and im creating some now I will let you know how it goes and will be making 1 to start with (we don't want to give them to pregnant mice! But I could make another one for when babies start wriggling....No I will wait!!


----------

