My DD’s ferret, Panda, is an escape artist. She has figured out how to manipulate the bars on her cage to squeeze through them. It’s not just a certain set of bars, that would be a no-brainer to fix, it’s whatever area on her 3 level all wire cage she decides suits her needs. The gaps between the bars is about 1" and we have watched her literally squeeze through like an old washing machine ringer. We are all surprised her eyeballs have not popped out and that she hasn’t choked herself yet doing this because this isnt an easy squeeze. She barely makes it through.
Since I’m getting quite tired of ferret poop everywhere, not to mention getting up at 3 am everyday to put her away because she loves to sleep in my husband’s one dresser drawer, i need to find a way to stop her from escaping.
I know I know, everyone’s first thought is buy a new cage. Well, we did. Several. Typically all small animal cages are built the same: wire bars with about a 1" gap. Same result.
So we tried wrapping chicken wire around the cage, she still squeezed through that. Next we tried a role of screen, which made it harder but she was able to wiggle between the screen and cage. Can’t line the inside of the cage because they climb all over it and I don’t want anyone to get scratched or hurt.
I thought of Plexiglas but that would cause the cage to be too stuffy. I do not like Plexiglas for small animals because there is limited airflow, even with airholes drilled in.
We thought about building a cage but if the stuff we wrapped her cage with didn’t work, how can we?
So I need to figure out something to keep Panda in. She is escaping just because she can, not because she needs food or water. Her cagemate Motley loves her and she likes him too. They don’t fight and have a cozy setup so they have warm spots in their cage and cooler areas if they get too hot.
We found Panda outside twice this week and are afraid a hawk or owl will get her if we can’t figure something out.
Can anyone suggest something? I’m going out of my mind trying to figure something to keep her in.
What about wrapping it with Window screen. Like the kind in your house. There’s no way she’d squeeze through that you could get the metal kind too.
We tried that too. She squeezed herself between the screen and cage.
Our ferrets, once they figured out how to do something delightful, really want to do it again and again. Two thoughts come to mind:
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I think you need a cage with thicker and less flexible wire. Not saying this exact one, but look at bird cages like this: http://www.wag.com/bird/p/prevue-corner-cage-large-127423?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_W&utm_term=PRH-012&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1323899586&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=PRH-012&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}
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If budget doesn’t permit a cage like that, you could go the route of finding something the ferret DISLIKES and lying in wait for her while she tries to squeeze out. A spraybottle helped me persuade one of my boys that biting my feet wasn’t acceptable.
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If all else fails, perhaps a cage-mate would make it more interesting to stay ‘in’ rather than ‘out’? I see giveaways on CL and in the local pennysaver papers all the time.
If your up for it, you can ziptie 1/4" mesh (it’s green, you can get it from any hardware store) onto the outside or inside of the cage. This is a common problem for rats, who need 1/2" wire, but all the biggest cages have 1". It ends up looking like this. It’s a PITA to do, but it work really well! Rats need the wire because they chew, but maybe you could just use window screening or similar for a ferret? The key is to ziptie it to the bars so there’s no room between cage and covering.
ferrets are like water. Really really persistent water once they figure out what you don’t like <grin>
Your wee one may need something a bit different. The ferret breeders I know really like cages from Martin’s: http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/ferret/
They can customize anything for your particular needs.
There is another custom cage maker, too, whose name escapes me currently…
Lol I am glad someone else can share in my misery…sort of. These cute little buggers are driving me nuts and of course when we try to catch them, play time is ON in their eyes.
It’s only one ferret who can weasel her way out. Her cagemate is the good one and stays put. Panda is obsessed with my husband and thinks of him as her plaything. Whenever she gets out, she hunts him down and if he isn’t in the house, she sleeps in his clothes, in his armoir, his boots, whatever she can find. Thank god she hasn’t figured out how to climb into the water bed!
We have now installed a rule: Panda gets to play with my DH ONLY when she is taken out NOT when she escapes.
I’m going to call about those cages and see if any of them are sold locally. Since we have tried several other cages I don’t want to waste more money on yet another one she can squeeze through.
I forgot about the Martins! I had a couple of those, they are awesome cages! I can guarantee a ferret can’t get out, it even holds in little 4 week old rats.
Heads up that this thread was bumped by a now-deleted spam post.
Thanks!
