# Jump ropes?



## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

I've seen it mentioned a few times here and there, that people have used cheap dollar-store jump ropes as toys for their mice... by dangling them from the tops of their cages.

I found some at my local 'Dollar Tree' shop, and bought 3 of them to try out.










This is the online link to the store's item:
Click me!

It says they are made of nylon, but the inner core is this sort of 'foamy' material. My question is, will the foam be harmful to my mice if they decide to chew the rope? Which they have been doing... the nylon is thick enough to give me some time to figure this out, and swipe it out of their cages if it's going to be a problem.

So far only my younger does are appreciating the rope, lol. They're all over the place on it. I put one in the cage with one of my bucks and his three sons, and they seem interested, but haven't started climbing yet. They prefer to hop up and climb upside down on the screen top, instead.

I also attached some little metal bells, that I found at Jo-Ann Fabrics today. The mice seem to like playing with them. They'll nibble it, swat it, sniff it, etc. I tossed a loose one into a couple of cages with 3-week old babies, and they're kicking it around like it's some game.

Should I take the bells out, or will they be okay? The holes in the bells aren't large enough to put a limb into, and they're secure enough so that the 'thing' inside won't fall out.

Here is a link to the same kind of bells I bought (not the same size or amount):
Click again!


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

They look safe enough to me. The foam inside that you state the mice will probably use in their nests, providing you are certain about the mice not getting any limbs caught in the bells they would be safe also, although is they got wet they may rust with time and corrode if the mice urinate on them.

The only concern I have is if the mice accidently ingest any of the nylon strands and these become impacted within the gut causing a blockage but I would rate this as a low risk.


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## andypandy29us (Aug 10, 2012)

If your older mice dont seem so keen try making ladders out of the ropes then there is more for them to climb on an hold onto .... mine love them as ladders and just ropes dangling around the cage .... oh and they still like to hop up and climb across the bars at the top and then drop onto the ladders


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## Pandapop (Jul 27, 2012)

The bells I'm aware will eventually rust, but I'll be removing them when that happens. For the time being, my mice seem to enjoy knocking them around and making the bells jingle. <3

This morning I caught at least one mouse on each of the ropes I put into the three cages, so the other ones are starting to get the hang of it. I don't think they quite knew what to make of them at first, lol. As for the possibility of the nylon becoming impacted, I keep tabs on my mice every few hours each day to make sure everything is as it should be. I have no job, so I've plenty of time to spend with my meeces. If I see any excessive chewing, I'll consider removing the ropes.


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