One of my list of "ferret must haves" this year was 3 clear tubes.  I saved
the purchase of the tubes for the ferret show.  My guys go through a tube
about every 4 months.  I pull a few ferrets all over the house while the
others chase after the tube and their buddies to climb in.  They go mad
doing this-dashing all over to climb in and have a ride.  It is an every
morning insane event.
 
The tubes I purchased at the show last year were terrific.  I was able to
take the tube and lift half of it into the bath tub that is filled daily
with clean towels and a dollars worth of paper towels.  The ferrets clamber
over a towel to get in and out of the tub, or through the tube-with my
help.  Then they leap all over the unrolled paper towel, burrowing beneath
it: pouncing on one another.
 
They fight in the tube, or dash through it back and forth until it is time
to move the tube and little wild creatures somewhere else in the house.  I
have boxes with sheets I rearrange, and blankets I rearrange over several
pieces of furniture to form caves and tunnels.  They need variety.  I
change the arrangement every night before I go to sleep.  and frequently
bring home new boxes for them.
 
The pieces of tubing I used all last year were so sturdy that they
withstood this movement from room to room with one to four ferrets in the
tube while running with it to another room for a good 4 months.
 
This year, I purchased my 3 tubes at the show for $24.  Two ripped the
first time I moved them with a ferret in it.  Upon comparing tubes when I
got home, the ones that instantly ripped were much thinner and less sturdy
than the ones from the show last year.
 
Does a shelter out there have the sturdy clear tubes I could purchase?  My
guys adore these.  I saw them at the show, but did not realized what a
night and day difference there was going to be.  So I spent a quarter of
a hundred dollars buying something that did not last an hour.
 
Lisette
[Posted in FML issue 3197]