To: Judy May
 
Just my opinion...I have seen these contraptions they call "ferret wheels"
but for the life of me I cannot see what interest a ferret would have in
one.  I think this is just another case of a manufacturer trying to put
ferrets in the same category with hamsters and trying to make money off the
of the public's lack of knowlege.  (Here, they repackage 'dangerous' cat
toys and sell them for ferret toys.)
 
Ferrets are far too intelligent to spend all that energy "running to get
nowhere".  I imagine it would be like all of the other exciting toys we
ferret owners have spent a small fortune on, only to have the ferret ignore
the toy and play for hours with the packaging it came in.
 
My real concern, however, is that it could pose a danger to the animal.  I
have seen hamsters lose an entire foot when they got caught in a wheel.  We
all know how "accident prone" ferrets are.  I think adding a ferret wheel is
asking for trouble unless you are going to closely supervise their playtime
with the thing.  Never leave it with them while you are asleep or away.
 
I run a shelter, am very careful about cages, and have many I have used for
years with no problem.  A few months ago, I switched ferrets around and put
a different pair in a particular cage.  Within twenty minutes, the male
managed to somehow get his toe caught in a place where two panels came
together.  Thank goodness I was in the room when it happened because even
before I could get to him (about 4 seconds) he had begun twisting his entire
body to try to free his toe and he broke it.  If it had been a few seconds
longer before I grabbed him to stop him from twisting, I think he would have
ripped the toe completely off.  (He is fine now and the toe appears to have
completely healed.) This incident has made me even more careful of cages and
toys and such.
 
I am interested to hear input from others who have used these wheels with
ferrets.
[Posted in FML issue 1465]