I too have a couple of cage climbers and had to think fast to remedy the
situation as soon as I realized it was occurring.  My fuzzbuts have their
own room, and in order to conserve floor space and provide them with extra
darkness too, I keep their very tall (with many floors) Super Pet cage in
the closet of their room.  The door of course is always open (to the closet
and the cage), and this provides for walls on three sides of the cage so
it's not only their comfy cage home, but somewhat of a den.  They have the
whole room to sleep in, but always choose to sleep in their cage because of
the darkness and the close in area that ferrets seem to love.
 
However, above the cage in the closet is a shelf, where I keep their
treats, laxatone, linens and other supplies.  Handy for me, and handy for
anyone who wants to climb the cage to get at the goodies, it's also very
high up.  My cage climbers loved going up onto the shelf and pushing things
off and generally having a ferrety chaotic time.  Evil mom that I am, I
knew this had to stop.  I was petrified that something would get pushed off
the shelf and fall onto a ferret below, or that one of my furbrats would
fall off and most likely injure themselves quite badly.  Laxatone overdose
being the least of my worries.  The solution was meant to be a temporary
one until I could use more permanent materials, but it has worked so well
that I haven't bothered to modify it in the over six months that I've had
it in place.
 
I took clear packing tape (like the kind that you can also use to help
protect your carpet) and wrapped it around the cage about four inches down
from the top to make about a six inch wide strip that acted as a slippery
barrier that could not be climbed over.  You could of course use cable ties
and clear plastic carpet runner or the like, but the tape worked perfectly.
If this seems confusing, consider the cage a mummy and wrap tape around it
until you have a band about six inches wide made from the tape being wound
around, overlapping the edges as you go.
 
I made sure to place it where the ferrets don't come into contact with it,
and watched for chewing or other problems in the first few hours and days
after installation.  Probably because it's clear..they don't notice it at
all, and have ignored it completely.  The sticky side does gather hair
after awhile so I easily peel the tape off and rewrap it every few months.
So far, no one has been able to navigate the tape barrier.  Climbers get
up to it, hang for a moment in vain and then inch their way back down the
cage.  I swear I can almost hear them dooking "curses..foiled again!"
 
Hope this is helpful to those with cage climbers, looking for a solution.
 
Robynn and the midget mountaineering crew
[Posted in FML issue 2977]