Here in our personal menagerie we have a total of six ferrets, and five of
them share one multi-level cage.  We've never really had a problem with
falling fuzzies, even though the youngest (Amadeo) likes to lie in wait and
pounce on anyone unsuspecting.  Our cage is a homemade one, and I've been
noticing lately that a lot of retail ferret cages weren't really designed
by folks who knew what ferrets want or need.  They seem to be mostly empty
space, with only a few levels--often two feet apart.  I think they're
actually cat cages.  While that's lots of space, it's not all that usable
for a ferret.  Life isn't all about hammocks.  :-)
 
Now, when I'm looking at cages, I look for the ones with levels that reach
all the way across the cage, so that the fuzzies have some floor space to
play around on.  Also, levels don't have to be all THAT far apart--not only
are ferrets pretty short, they don't mind if they don't have headroom.  A
foot between floors is sufficient.  If you have one of those huge cages
with only a couple of pieces of plastic to walk on, just pick up a kit from
a pet store or online (I think The Ferret Store has some) with replacement
levels and cage building pieces in it, and customize your cage.
 
The last point I want to make is that ferrets are pretty tough.  Not that
I recommend dropping your fuzzy!  I just know that when we were
shoulder-training everyone, some of them took some pretty dramatic falls,
and we had trouble catching them all.  Five feet would be a bit much, but
a two-foot drop doesn't usually seem to even bother my critters.
 
Hope Rorty and Sabrina like their new cage.
[Posted in FML issue 2660]