>"Sean M. Goodman" <[log in to unmask]>
 
>outdoor ferret cage = the reason you can't find one is ferrets do not belong
>outside in the winter.  Please reconsider where your ferret will be
>residing.
>Pam Grant / STAR*
 
Oops, I'll try not to step on anyones toes, but here is our opinion =)
 
Ferret Outfitters sells an outdoor cage for ferrets.  If I am not misstaken
it costs about $200, and is a fairly large cage on a stand.  I would
recomend getting the nest box that attaches to the cage so your ferret can
have a little hideaway during cold weather.
 
Ferrets handle cold very well, they are animals with fur, and as long as
they have some type of beeding to snuggle up in they don't mind the cold
weather at all.
 
The wild polecats in Europe do not move indoors during the winter =)
 
What is important is however to make sure there is no humidity or draft
where the cage is, this can be a serious health problem for your ferrets.
Keep the cage in a dry area, out of rain and draft.  Keep your ferret dry
and warm with plenty of bedding to snuggle up in!
 
Also, during cold temperatures it's important that the ferrets have plenty
of food since it will consume more in order to stay warm.
 
If you like to find out more about how to keep ferrets outdoors I recomend
reading some of the books describing the ferret as a working animal.  It's
quite interesting to learn about how the ferret has been used (and still is)
as a rabbit hunter and for rodent control.  Maybe we can all learn something
from the people who had ferrets long before they became popular as pets.
 
If you live in a southern state as I do (FL) I do NOT recomend keeping your
ferrets outdoors.  It is too warm here, and heat and ferrets do not go well
together.  Keep your ferrets in an airconditioned area, preferingly a little
bit colder than the rest of your house.  You don't want your ferrets to
suffer from the heat.
 
Bill & Diane Killian, it was very nice to meet you this past weekend, the
new additons you brought to our family are all doing very well.  They don't
seem to have any language barriers.  They are all doing their little war
dances together now =) It must be an international thing between ferrets =)
 
Lars & Nadine
 
<http://erau.db.erau.edu/~erikssol/ferrets.html>
 
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[Posted in FML issue 1717]