Debi Christy wrote:
>Free roam ferrets don't necessarily get more exercise than ferrets that
>have out-of-cage play periods.
>
>Ferrets play when they are let out of their cage... often quite
>exuberantly.  They wardance and snoop as though they've never been
>free before.
>
>A free-roam ferret, whether "free-roam" is just a room or the entire house,
>considers it's entire roaming territory to be his "cage".  The single room
>free-roaming ferret will generally wardance & snoop like crazy when he's
>let into the rest of the house.
>
>Yes, free-roam ferrets will have active periods during which they will romp
>and tussle.  But these periods are noticeably less intense and shorter than
>ferrets that are released from a cage to play.
>
>I generally recommend at least overnight caging for young (under 2 years
>old)ferrets.  (Keeps them out of trouble, too.) And I always recommending
>caging for first-time ferret owners.
 
Yes, they are so intelligent that they can get bored easily so it helps to
have some areas that are specila due to be not being able to be seen for
hours at end.  We tend to see beest muscle tone in general (some are
athletes and some are potatoes due to personal inclinations) if they have
freeroam of part of our place with special spoiling times of dashing around
the rest alone, or in small numbers when we lift them over the barrier.  If
they have free roam all the itme then I supsect that the people have to
make sure to change the place a lot to keep it exciting enough -- something
which is do-able for some households butnot for others.  The key thing
for getting mad activity from them is CHANGE -- even just collecting ever
stashed toy and forcing them to competitively re-stash the entire lot.
Furniture that changed location since they last were near it is AMAZING
for many -- esp. if it results in new alleyways.  They not only need
challenges; they embrace them.
[Posted in FML issue 3457]