First off, hamster balls are not recommended for sugar gliders because quite often they get their little fingers caught in the slits. Why would a sugar glider get caught and not a hamster, you ask? Because they use their claws even more like hands than hamsters, they grip onto eveything more than running flat footed, if they do not let go soon enough their finger gets twisted and caught in the holes
But do not fret if you already have purchased a ball, repurpose it into a nest. Make sure to line it with some nice cozy fleece
I have been using hamster balls for years and it is such a great way to keep a clean nest. I attached it to the side of the cage with a plasic coated wire. It is also great for checking on new family members because you can see in without really disturbing them all that much. Also, it is a good 360 view. I've noticed that mom will look in on her joey's without even going in and joeys will stretch up to look around..very cute.
I know that my fabric shown is not fleece, it is actually an old shirt of mine that they had to have. I have tried several times to get rid of it but everytime they choose not to sleep in their nest, so inside the shirt material is a fleece bed and blanket.
This was in response to KuroNeko's posting in another thread
quote:For anyone with hamster balls, instead of getting rid of them, here's a neat idea: Fill them with fleece and turn them into a nest. This is what Lucky Glider Rescue and Sanctuary does. =] There is a discussion about it somewhere I'll see if I can find it
quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by LuckyGlider
A lot of gliders come in to the rescue along with hamster balls. here's what we do for them (not their original intended purpose):
1. We throw out the top that screws on 2. We loop zip ties on either side through one of the cracks 3. We use plastic chain or fleece to make a sling and put a dog clip in the middle 4. We stuff fleece squares in the ball and hang it from the top of the cage
Anyway, they make for a great, non-toxic nest and the cracks allow the nest to air out so the fleece squares don't get too funky. So long as you clip their nails often, which you should be doing anyway - there's no problem to use them like this.