Over 15 years ago, I started making hammocks for my rats because the ones I was finding in stores were expensive and low quality. Around that time, I also started rat-sitting for clients of the veterinary hospital where I worked. They would come to my house to drop off their rats and they would see my hammocks in my cages and ask about them. When they found out I made them, they'd ask me to make some for them too.
So it began.
I created my own webpage with a small inventory so that they could buy hammocks from me any time they needed them. When etsy opened, the site created a much easier shopping platform to make my hammocks available to the small following of people who love them.
It's still a small one-person operation that I maintain around my primary day job, but now my hammocks are available to everyone, not just to folks local to the San Francisco Bay Area!
I only use fabrics that won't fray or ravel from chewing (no limbs caught up in fabric strings!) and metal hardware for hanging (to resist chewing the hammocks down). My hammocks are high quality and well made -- and I've kept my prices affordable over the years (because no one wants to pay a lot for something that is going to get chewed up and need to be replaced).
Recently, I've also made a pledge that every hammock sold directly through Darling Rats will benefit our local rescues.
Thank you for supporting Darling Rats!