Critter Maze Story

 

Please donate! even if you dont have a critter, this is an awesome idea and we need help!

   

 

 

Please Keep the reviews rated A+! I'm just a guy in his room being an inventor.. I am not a big corporation and don't have corporate funding, yet. One can dream.  However, it is a goal for retailers to grab a the rat maze kits and go to town.  Part of the reason I am making a retail kit is so that it goes retail.  We critter owners need a maze in the stores!! This is a great solution.  It's made in the USA! its modular so our kit mazes scale up in size (or down) and make lots of cool shapes!!

 

      It all started one day when I was kit bashing all of the small animal habitats I've collected over the years to help keep my pet rats entertained. I tend change out the interiors of these set-ups often; and then watch the rats scurry about figuring out what I just did to their homes. They usually figure out the new set up quickly and just start rebuilding nests and food stores.  So I started thinking... I should just get a Rat Maze for them.

  

I went to Google "Mr. Know it all". I did a shopping search for a rat maze figuring I would just buy a few of them. (Google has everything for sale). Well, come to find out Google does NOT have everything for sale. Like, say, A RAT MAZE !?? The book was right!! What!? Google could not find me a rat maze for sale!  I found only things that came up with the keywords and were books and games and educational, but not an actual rat maze.  I did find a tiny mouse maze that was pre-molded with non-moveable walls that no rat could ever fit. I found habitats, squares, tubes that were either too large or too small, and other odd bits of toys for small animals.. I did not want any of that stuff.. I have a rat and rats go through mazes, not gigantic ferret tubes, not mini hamster tubes, but a RAT MAZE.  After very long search I came across a one star rated poorly constructed rat maze, that a professor rated. Stating that the product was not fit for consumers and poorly constructed. and it was a whopping 250$ for a single non modular 15x20".  Do not fear, I persevered!

 

I started making rat mazes from shoe boxes and progressed to wood and other odds and ends around the house, pet stores and local hardware stores.  I started looking through my books and literature at home and read the book "Training your PET RAT" (One of the best books on Rats, if you don't own this book and you are a pet rat owner.. you might want to consider purchasing it!!    Here's the kicker however, On page 67, Ch. 11 A-Maze-Ing, it states: "Where are you going to find a maze for Frisk and Frolic to run? You won’t find a prepackaged rat maze at the pet store, so you'll have to improvise." I stopped reading; at that point knowing I would never find a maze in the stores AND I would never make a rat maze out of stuff lying about the house or buy a bunch of objects from the store and pretend it’s a "retail ready maze". Besides, that was not the point...the point was, I just want to BUY a GOOD rat maze and move on with my life!  I want to serve those like me and I know there are others like me out there.  Yes, we make rat mazes out of junk and stuff and call it a maze..but its not right.. our rats need a maze.  It has been tried in the past and I have taken up the torch!  This time, the rat maze maker has made it modular.  I feel that this is a good business choice.  Now you can buy lots of mazes and combine if you want!!

 

     I did some research and looked through old patents and yes, found the old poorly rated rat maze and a few small animal mazes. They all had the same thing in common and are no longer on the market (if they ever were). I analyzed them and came up with my own thoughts and requirements and made a patent pending product. Since they almost always had constraining peripheral walls (long outside walls), Large footprint bases, were too small, and/or did not come with all the parts necessary (designs),  I figured that perhaps those flaws hindered sales and all that marketing stuff.

 

     So yes, I am carrying the baton from the rat maze makers of yesteryear.  I am making the rat maze and coining it Critter Mazes.  All sorts of rat sized critters can play with our maze!   Rats, hamsters of all sizes, and mice.  I have to admit that ferrets are a bit large and brutish but we did modify a few bits and got a kit large enough for them and guinea pigs.  But that is still in development and may take considerable time to finish, sorry!!

 

     During the process of making a solid business plan, I soon realized that I needed to make them en-mass.  if I am to prove the book wrong and get them in stores, it needs to be a repeatable process.  I don't have time to make them out of my garage and expect to have a life so I came up with small 7" Pieces that can endlessly be added onto each other  and then packed up and stored in a tidy container.  I really want to give the end user creativity. (really - It's in our mission statement) It's about the humans and the rats, promoting interaction!  I even went so far as to make the product only orient north and south so that its easier to assemble.  Then I thought that there could be a use for aligning the pieces "offset" so I worked that into the product just in case the customer wanted to.  I also wanted the product to be multilevel, so each base acts as the next levels ceiling!  Yep you read that right, multilevel!  Why? why not!! How cool would it be to have the rats jump up to the second level, 3rd, etc level and drop back down to the treat area!? Very cool that's how cool!  I also figured, if you are short on space, you can build more vertical than horizontal and still enjoy a Critter Maze playtime with your pets.  The modular design is super customizable and you will really love making the maze for your pets!

 

The more kits you add the larger the maze, or the more mazes you will have ;)

 

I realize that the product it's freaking awesome, however I am continuing the design process and furthering revisions. I hope this the first production run proves successful.  Please purchase a few kits to keep us moving forward! Every bit helps!  Don't forget that every kit will fit with any other kit you purchase!  (Modular) So if you buy multiples, you will just have a larger taller maze! (or several mazes).

 

Mission Statement - Our goal is to bring a retail ready modular small animal maze, to the small animal market.   Our products allow for maximum creativity and freedom from our customers and we encourage you to think around, and play with, our products for your own amusement.  It is also very important for us to create an outlet that improves the lives of our pets and their parents by providing them with an interactive product they can enjoy together.