Hi.  I've noticed there has been some talk about the Midwest "Ferret
Playpen." I think these are great, with one exception.  The molded plastic
shelves are very slippery.
 
Midwest also markets something called a "BenchWarmer."  It is a fleece cover
to go over the shelves so they aren't so slippery.  They come with a small
foam piece that goes between the fleece and the shelf.  If the ferret gets
under that fleece, they can dig at the foam.  I got rid of the foam on ours
and it makes it a lot easier to get the cover on and off of the shelf.  I
think these Benchwarmers are available through Dog Outfitters.
 
We have a 3+ year old Midwest Cat Playpen with the wood base and two
carpeted shelves.  We added about 6 additional shelves (made from extra wood
we had in the garage) and put the sticky-back carpet squares on the shelves.
We put screws int he corner of each carpet square so they have a harder time
digging it off the shelf.  We also added 3"PVC tubing that goes from one
level to another.  Our ferrets love it!  It's over 3 years old and doesn't
look like it.  The Midwest cages with the epoxy coated wire lasts a really
long time!!
 
Mary Oyer
Peoria Area Ferret Connection
[Posted in FML issue 1537]