This cave hide works well for leopard and crested geckos, and can also be hung. I’ve created this with a more coconut shaped and a smaller opening because geckos seem to enjoy the comfort of small spaces.

Note the gauge, yours may be different.

This can be felted to create a more structured and less “crochet” texture which some might prefer. If you want to felt it, you need to use an animal fibre like sheep’s wool, and it will felt in the washing machine. The coarser and bulkier the yarn, the quicker it will felt. As you can see in the second pic with the pink and white hide, it is much smaller and also holds its shape better because it is felted.

The stitch is quite tight which makes felting easier. Just keep in mind that it will shrink if you felt it to a small size more suited to a juvenile gecko.

You can increase or decrease the size of the hide by continuing in pattern and adding or deleting more rows to the bottom circle. You will then need to add or delete the same number of rows to the tube part.

Increases are offset in rows to achieve a more rounded appearance.

Ravelry made it possible for me to learn how to knit and crochet years ago. So, here is my gift back to the community :) I’m not that good at writing patterns, so please be patient with me, and if you have any suggestions on how to improve it, kindly let me know.