Paper foraging basket - Safe foraging net, low entrapment hazard.

thingiverse

Foraging is an essential natural behavior for wild animals in captivity. Allowing them to engage in biologically relevant behaviors significantly enhances their mental well-being and promotes healthy activity. Novelty also plays a crucial role, as navigating new sets of shapes, colors, and textures encourages exploration and other positive behaviors. This design is inspired by the silicone wine caddy sold commercially by various companies. It's a toy that stores flat and rapidly pops up to create a foraging net toy. Made from light paper or heavy cardstock, depending on the size of the animal, it can be cut to suit their needs. The foraging net can hang off built-in hooks or hook onto itself, creating a foraging ball for ground-dwelling animals. Depending on its size, which can be adjusted with a papercutter or lasercutter, this toy can hold pinecones, popcorn, or even sunflower seeds. The paper used should be thin enough that if the animal puts its head inside the basket and gets stuck, it will tear the paper instead of causing harm. I switched to paper foraging options after witnessing animals putting their heads or limbs through unforgiving metal mesh foraging puzzle feeders, which posed a serious danger. While this design has been tried with light cardboard, I believe it would be exciting to see a heavy-duty remake on a lasercutter for medium-sized monkeys. Alternatively, using edible starch paper would be an intriguing option for those unusual creatures that insist on eating paper or cardboard. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/Nx4wNIE0FT8