Questions about building my own hammock

[KairaandTaz08]

I have 3 (well 6 total) ReptiHammocks...the large ones. My girl is getting too big for her 3 though. She's always got her butt hanging off of them and I'm worried that with a few more grams they aren't even going to be able to hold her weight.
So, I'm wondering what the best material to use is and exactly how to make it. I can't use fabric...it needs to be non-porous, but I've read that the ReptiHammocks have caused nail injuries. So, I'm lost. And suction cups? They just don't seem like they'd work with a larger hammock. I have a glass tank btw.
Also, any ideas on a good, large, non-porous basking rock? I can't find anything large enough for Kaira. :roll: I don't feel comfortable building one...I've seen slate/tile be used to make a cave, but then again I worry about it being sturdy enough. I don't want any injuries. :?
Any suggests would be nice and pics/details would be great!
Thanks,
Abi

 

[RioReptiles]

Hi Abi,
How about soft leather for the hammock? You wouldn't have to worry about the edges fraying and it would hold up forever. Supporting it is another story unless maybe you could support it from the top using something rigid that loops up over the top. You could make it span the width of the tank so it would be big enough for when she is an adult. At least leather is strong enough and easy to clean. The only other thing I can think of is this banner material I have at work, it is really thick fabric reinforced vinyl. I would be happy to send you some scraps. I have 100 ft rolls of it I use to print on.

For a basking platform, I picked up some natural tumbled marble tiles from Lowes and glued them together with loctite construction adhesive. They are very rough an nice looking. I had some 12x12 slate tiles I was trying to bust apart but I didn't really like how it was going. The marble tiles came in little boxes and I use the extra by laying them on the bottom to make a little feeding platform. They came in a bunch of sizes so you could make just about anything. You may want something more natural looking but you can get creative with the squares too. Originally I was going to make actual beardie furniture but that didn't really work out either. All in all it was really fun and therapeutic and the best part was taking over my husbands garage. It just drove him crazy while I pulled out every saw and power tool I could find.

Hope this gives you some ideas,
cheryl

pm me if you want that vinyl, I'll throw it in the mail

 

[KairaandTaz08]

Cheryl,
Thank you so much! Do you have pictures of anything/everything? I'd like to see what everything looks like.
Wouldn't leather get too hot? And maybe be porous?
LOL! I bet he loved that. I attempted the fake rock thing, but I was worried about fumes and it just didn't seem like the best idea...I love the idea of marble tiles. I just don't know how to "build" something with them.
Thank you!
Abi

 

[stephenrose06]

I ended up getting a bunch of fleece that looks nice like blue with stars, I thought of making a hammock with that using suction cups, or maybe those little small metal hooks to latch onto. Although then I need to figure how to build stairs to it.

 

[KairaandTaz08]

The problem is that I can't use any type of fabric or "porous" surface. They both have coccidia (housed separately fyi lol) and anything porous will be too difficult to clean and "allow" the parasites a place to "hide" (sorry I don't know how else to state that lol).
I wouldn't mind using some type of fabric or driftwood for another basking spot, but it's too risky with the coccidia.
Abi

 

[stephenrose06]

well I could look into other material, I just have read people using blankets to cuddle with their BD and then put the wrapped up blanket in the cage for them to sleep so I figured I could use the same material for the hammock.

 

[KairaandTaz08]

No, no, I didn't mean you had to use something non-porous too. A lot of people use fabric to make hammocks and a lot use blankets. It's just that I can't...well not without risking the progress Kaira's made so far.
I would use something like you're thinking if my situation was different.
Sorry if that came across as me being rude. I didn't intend for it to seem that way.
Abi

 

[stephenrose06]

No, no, I didn't mean you had to use something non-porous too. A lot of people use fabric to make hammocks and a lot use blankets. It's just that I can't...well not without risking the progress Kaira's made so far.
I would use something like you're thinking if my situation was different.
Sorry if that came across as me being rude. I didn't intend for it to seem that way.
Abi

I didn't think you was rude, I am only a month old Beardie owner so I'm taking any advice I can get to make his life a happy one

 

[KairaandTaz08]

Ok, good...I wouldn't want to seem rude!
I don't think that it's a problem to use cloth of some sort in most cases. I'm sure someone will let us know if it is or not. But some owners do use towels or blankets for their beardies to sleep in or as a substrate even, so I don't see why it'd be a problem to make a hammock out of cloth.
Abi

 

[protiemama]

Stephen- Fleece while excelent for "blankies" (Bogie loves his) is too stretchie for a hammock, it gets saggy and baggy in no time. I used flanel for his latest hammock and it has lasted longer, but had started to sag, too. I think his next one will be fleece over a tight cotton. The fleece will keep him warm for winter and the cotton should keep it from stretching. (I hope)

Abi- couldn't you just wash a cloth one in hot water, maybe with a little bleach. (rinse well of course) That should kill anything in there I would think. Never had that prob though so , I'm not sure. I do know a 10% bleach solution will kill just about anything out there. Just a thought.

Sandy H

 

[RioReptiles]

Cheryl,
Thank you so much! Do you have pictures of anything/everything? I'd like to see what everything looks like.
Wouldn't leather get too hot? And maybe be porous?
LOL! I bet he loved that. I attempted the fake rock thing, but I was worried about fumes and it just didn't seem like the best idea...I love the idea of marble tiles. I just don't know how to "build" something with them.
Thank you!
Abi

Since I've taken over the garage, (sorry hubby) I never thought my creations were special but I've been working on documenting my enclosure for sure. I had my knee scoped Friday so I'm layed up for a few days but I'll take pics and maybe put them in the DIY section. I've got another bd coming so I'll be back to building stuff as soon as I can walk. I try to keep the tools to a minumum too so that anyone can do it. And now you have me interested in the hammock too! Give me a couple days and we'll either be triumphant or fail, it will be fun trying. It's definitely therapeutic. Talk to ya soon, Cheryl

 

[beardiebandit]

my female weighs about 450g and this works very well and it can be made as big as you want and use as many suction cups as you need. how much does your dragon weigh? here is the link to the DIY topic. i posted all the details there. viewtopic.php?f=75&t=90491&hilit= the material is plastic and they also make the material with smaller holes...let me know if this helps...

 

[RioReptiles]

Perfect! Good job!

 

[beardiebandit]

thank my G/F! lol! she is the one who drug me around her favorite hobby store and then we started brain storming and presto a cheap easy to clean hammock! i was thinking and you could even use a whole sheet of that material and make an actual platform...?

 

[KairaandTaz08]

Stephen- Fleece while excelent for "blankies" (Bogie loves his) is too stretchie for a hammock, it gets saggy and baggy in no time. I used flanel for his latest hammock and it has lasted longer, but had started to sag, too. I think his next one will be fleece over a tight cotton. The fleece will keep him warm for winter and the cotton should keep it from stretching. (I hope)

Abi- couldn't you just wash a cloth one in hot water, maybe with a little bleach. (rinse well of course) That should kill anything in there I would think. Never had that prob though so , I'm not sure. I do know a 10% bleach solution will kill just about anything out there. Just a thought.

Sandy H

Sandy H,
I know I could use bleach, but I just really am against it. I worry about the fumes and Kaira loves to lick everything so I just don't want to chance it. Thank you for the idea though!

Cheryl,
Thank you so much! Do you have pictures of anything/everything? I'd like to see what everything looks like.
Wouldn't leather get too hot? And maybe be porous?
LOL! I bet he loved that. I attempted the fake rock thing, but I was worried about fumes and it just didn't seem like the best idea...I love the idea of marble tiles. I just don't know how to "build" something with them.
Thank you!
Abi

Since I've taken over the garage, (sorry hubby) I never thought my creations were special but I've been working on documenting my enclosure for sure. I had my knee scoped Friday so I'm layed up for a few days but I'll take pics and maybe put them in the DIY section. I've got another bd coming so I'll be back to building stuff as soon as I can walk. I try to keep the tools to a minumum too so that anyone can do it. And now you have me interested in the hammock too! Give me a couple days and we'll either be triumphant or fail, it will be fun trying. It's definitely therapeutic. Talk to ya soon, Cheryl

Cheryl,
I'm so sorry! You have to be in a quite a bit of pain. I hope you start feeling better soon!
We'll be working on enclosures soon, also...I'll be looking at those pics and everything when you get them posted :wink: . Take your time & get better. I'm not in too big of a rush just yet. I need to wait and make sure her coccidia counts are still going down (appointment is Wednesday) before I move her (or Taz) into a larger cage or change a bunch of stuff. I'll probably swing by a few craft stores to get some ideas and we can figure something out together! Thank you so much for helping me with this project !

my female weighs about 450g and this works very well and it can be made as big as you want and use as many suction cups as you need. how much does your dragon weigh? here is the link to the DIY topic. i posted all the details there. viewtopic.php?f=75&t=90491&hilit= the material is plastic and they also make the material with smaller holes...let me know if this helps...

Hmm, I never thought of using that! It's the stuff that people use for umm cross-stitching (sp?), isn't it? If so, I already have a bunch of it because I was going to use it for silkies (long story). I have all different colors (lol, I thought it'd be fun to use pink and blue, along with white and green). My only concern is her getting her nails caught in the holes, but the I remember seeing the ones with the smaller holes too...which might prevent any problems with that, I'd have to go back and look. The suction cups really held it up that well though? What brand did you buy? All of the other suction cups I've bought for other things don't hold up anything! Oh, Kaira isn't that big yet. She weighs about 190grams, but she just looks so uncomfortable because she can't fully stretch out on it and I'm trying to think long-term lol (she's just shy of 5 months now). If I'm right about what that material is, it would be just as easy, if not easier, to clean than the nylon stuff they use to make the other hammocks. I wonder how I could make a platform though :?: . If I can figure out a way to use slate/tile, then :idea: maybe I could put some of that material over it so she could get get a "grip", since some tile is too slippery. Hmmm...definitely something to consider for both a hammock and platform/basking spot.
Thank you for the pictures, link, and ideas...I think that might work.
___
Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it. If you think of anymore, let me know.
Abi