I have seen many different views on pom poms and if they're safe. Especially for baby gliders (8weeks). I'd love to give them a ball pit with pom poms, though is it safe? Or what other ideas is there to put into a ball pit for them?

Thank You, Robin

I originally had a bowl of pom poms in my boys cage- then I read about the issues they can cause- and now its an outside of cage play toy---since Yuki likes to chew I'd rather him not eat it and hurt himself... but they LOVE the pom pom bowl to death and I feel bad they cant have it all the time..

Karen- would ping pong balls be able to stay in the cage all the time?

I always thought pom poms were safe to use in cage all the time, though I have had them in there, I don't use them all the time, I usually alternate them with other play toys. I guess I won't use them anymore though inside their cage.

I do also leave ping pong balls in 24/7 for periods of time, along with those plastic practice golf wiffle balls.

Things I leave in "Ball Pits" or "Toy Bins"
pom poms
ping pong balls
small wiffle balls (practice golf)
plastic animals of sorts
other various hard plastic toys
those little spikey balls and rings
fleece strips, tied in knots
spiraled straws

Ball pits are not my gliders favorite activity, usually when use of pom poms, I place them in a small container that hangs or sits on shelf and they can reach in and toss them out, they do like doing that. But actual ball pits they don't bother really with. Toy bins I use can be small-med sized containers usually that they can sit in or not and pick through to chew and toss, they will sometimes enjoy this activity.

My gliders love to eat and their wheels the best, so besides the wheel, forage toys would be their fav, though I don't provide treats in them daily, only a couple times a week, I mostly like to hand-feed them their treats at cage visits when I don't have time to get them out to play.

However, if I hang a chain and have their monkeys or bunnies they will play with those sometimes, tossing them onto the floor.

Good list Terry. Make sure those spikey balls are the hard ones, not those soft squishy ones. Also always keep checking them for chewing. If you find your gliders are turning them into chew toys, I would take them out right away and only use for out of cage time where they can be supervised

My two really only play on their wheel anymore... they love it... and Yukis not much of a player...Even when we have them out to play he'll hang out in the pom pom bowl and just want attention constantly...(Or he'll try to get back into the pouch that I have hanging on the door handle...watching him try is really funny.)

I give them tons of different toys- but after getting them their wheel even the monkeys are barely touched and they used to ADORE those...

Ah well... I'll have to write this list down next time I go gliderbutt shopping- Thank you =3

Wonderful! Thank you everyone. Great list Terry I would have never thought about those items to use.

We'll start with a Fleece strips, ping pong and wiffle balls bowl and as they bond with us better and venture outside their cage we'll put together a pom pom bowl outside of their cage to play in supervised.

Thanks again Everyone! Robin

Oh no, so I'll have to use those spikey balls and rings for out of cage play too then. Mine love to toss those things around the cage, I've used those to cut back on the noise, lol.

Thanks Karen.

Plastic jacks are also a good option.

Oh,yeah! I forgot, I have some large plastic jacks too, lol. I haven't used them for a while though, maybe should pull those out next change-out. Thanks for the reminder Karen.

So, I'm digging this thread out, dusting it off a bit...

Craft store pompoms are still considered a hazard for gliders, unless they are supervised. However recently, an alternative has been discovered...

Fleece pompoms made from strips of fleece. I have made them 3 different ways. I'll return in the next day or so and see if I can dig up the DIY on them. I can also try to provide some guidance too!

Please let me know here if there is still interest in this guys.

Good info. Thanks for reviving it. I too thought craft poms were safe and have a ball with them in the cages. I will remove them now. I've made a couple fleece pom poms, but would love to see other ways.

Yeah, well I was looking around through several videos and the links I found were not sharable to the general public. Except for Utube.

I watched all 5 videos there and only came up with one that I mostly agreed with.... Hummmm... Maybe I'll have to figure out how to make a video... I'm not savy at all on those things...

Here is that link:

https://youtu.be/ucedWsoGg5Q

This was the first way I learned how to make them. I don't make them that way any more. This is the most simple way. My only caution with this way is to make sure as you gather your bundle, don't put too many together at a time. Especially if you use a ziptie. Gliders can pull the fleece out and the ziptie itself could become a hazard. The loop shouldn't be over 1/2" in diameter.

When trimming ziptie, be sure to cut as close as possible, and file the rough end down, as the gliders can be cut by the sharp edge left. I use cuticle scissors and make a flush cut. I always run my fingertips over the cut to ensure I didn't leave a sharp edge. If I do, I file it down.

You can make these pompoms more full and fluffier by triming them down once made. Also you can wash them in a lingery bag and low- medium heat will fluff them up some too...

I hope this was helpful.

Thanks for doing that Dawn, I will definitely check it out.