Cutting a hole in a wicker basket??

[Boston's Mama]

I finally got my hands on a untreated wicker basket ! My excitement is because they are very hard to get here as they are sprayed when they enter the country so I have to get one made here
Anyway I want to do something with it for Oakley … it doesn’t have a low side so can I cut a opening in it as a hideaway ? Or will it all unravel??

[LongEaredLions]

My guess is that it unfortunately might. When the bunnies chew on a basket, it kind of unravels anyway. My guess is, if he wants a hole in it, he will make it himself…otherwise you could try very carefully unraveling the correct section.

[Q8bunny]

I’d leave it intact and present it to Oakley as an engineering challenge

[Azerane]

Depends on the basket, they are often quite secure once woven because the wicker dries hard, but as suggested you may be better off leaving Oakley to his own devices to remodel it as he chooses

[Boston's Mama]

Oakley isn’t a chewer (yet?) he won’t chew anything but willow twigs and apple twigs … he’s a little weird

[Boston's Mama]

So I first made a wee arch out of wood and used that to rest the basket upside down on and the arch was a door way to crawl under for him…: but I was forgetting he pees on anything wood :/ so next day I just removed arch and hacked a door into the wicker basket hah! He loves it – it will eventually all apart and I’ll have the hard task of finding another ( nz never gets untreated anymore so it was a rare find!) but he’s happy

[Azerane]

Well anything imported will almost always be treated. The main difference is in how it’s treated. Chemical vs physical (heat treatment etc). Some chemicals are even perfectly safe after 24 hours etc. The seagrass mats that I buy are chemically treated, but the chemical they use (I forget what it’s called) breaks down very quickly, even so I still wash the mats and leave them to air dry when I buy them, but they’ve been tested for chemical residue after that and are safe.

Just think for a moment about all the wicker, willow, wood toys in pet stores, many of which come from china. Most if not all of those are likely treated when they enter the country. I’m not saying you want to give anything that has been treated, all I’m saying is it’s more common to have treated things than you think and they can be safe.

[Boston's Mama]

Oh that’s good to know! Thank you so much

[Author]

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