From:
colleen burke
Date: 2001-07-25 06:27:00 UTC
Subject: Wheels
Hi,
I have posted on the FHL about wheels I made for my little cripple
ferret and have been asked to post to the FML as well, so here goes.
I had a boy with no use in his front legs so made him a buggy to help
him get around. The first one I made, dubbed the green machine, for
obvious reasons, it was green. Was made from an overturned plastic
basket with the two ends cut out to make room for head and rear and
casters screwed on each corner and a hammock hung in this at a suitable
height with padded velcro fasteners to go around the neck and two over
the body. The hammock supported his weight without pressure and could be
lifted up or lowered to suit. I then tried a different model kinda like
a scat board on casters, but it was too high and narrow and he kept
toppling over. So I made it wider and wider until he had stability at
the sides then he kept tipping onto his nose so had to make it longer in
the front. But after all the times the poor boy was strapped in and out
of this one and maybe because of the pressure of being strapped onto
this one, he hated it and would tuck his back legs up as far as they
would go and not budge.So, I tried to improve on the green machine. This
one, called the mouhou because it was made from a mouse house or should
I say, a domes cage. So the set-up is the domed part of the cage minus
the front, back and bottom (thank you Sukie) :o) , and cut shorter as
needed. I then used the sheepskin hammock out of the green machine but
attached it into the frame with dog clips for ease of getting in and
out. That way I could strap Chimba in the hammock and then attach him
into the frame. Less stress on us both. The only problem I had with all
these designs was that not having the use of his front legs Chimba could
not steer himself as a ferret with back leg paralyses would be able to
so I attached a lead to the front and used to steer him myself.
To see pictures of these simple and reasonably priced contraptions
please go to The Ferret Health List and look for the same date as this
FML post or failing that email me personally and I will send you the
pix.
(I hope this all meets with your approval BIG)
Thanking you kindly,
Colleen Burke.
(To the moderators of the FHL, I will send the photos in two lots.
Thanks)
--
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Attachment 81k (application/msword) chimba my romeo on
back.doc
Attachment 47k (application/msword) chimba green machine.doc