Hi all!
 
First I don't post, and now ya can't shut me up! <g>
 
Uncovered wire in cages I think is a bad thing - I don''t think its good for
the ferrets' feet, and can definitely be hazardous.  The incident that
cemented that opinion in my mind happened about 5 years ago, in either a
safeguard cage or midwest cage.  My male ferret, Wolf, was about to come
down the ramp and either lost his footing, or was attacked from behind by
his cagemate, Sasha.  Either way he fell down the ramp, except that one toe
was caught in the wire mesh!  It ripped his toenail out!  Have any of ya'll
ever heard a ferret scream?  Its pretty ugly!  I ran into the room just as
the nail finally gave and ripped off of his toe.  There was blood everywhere.
I stopped the bleeding and bandaged the toe and off to the vet we went.
Turns out there isn' t much you can do.
 
Anyway after that I resolved to leave no wire uncovered.  I now use a mix of
carpet samples and outdoor carpeting on the ramps and levels.  Upper levels
I put a hole in the carpet and tie wrap it down.  I do the same to the
carpet on the ramp.  Carpet on the bottom, unless I have a problem digger,
is held in place by cutting the carpet to fit very tightly.  If the carpet
gets soiled, I either wash or replace.  I will never forget seeing Wolfie
hang by his nail, and the sounds that came out of his mouth.  I wonder if
this is what happens with a lot of other ferrets.
 
Lisa
[Posted in FML issue 1841]