On Feb 22, 2005, at 2:00 AM, Robin Hegge wrote:
>Hello.  I need some suggestions as to how to keep my ferrets from
>squeezing themselves under their ferret room door.
 
You can buy a 'floor sweep' at Home Depot or most hardware strores.  They
are metal strips with a hard rubber edge that are screwed to the bottom
of the door and are meant for stopping drafts on exterior doors.  Another
possibility, since you rent, is to use the duck tape and cardboard that
you mention didn't work, but attach it to the floor on the outside of the
door (assuming the door opens into the room).  Then it acts as a stop for
the door.  Since it is on the other side of the door, the kids won't be
able to tear it up/off the way I presume they did when it was attached
to the door itself.
 
>Also, I want to somehow attach lightweight tubes on the walls to better
>utilize the space in the ferret room.
 
Home depot again.  In the plumbing department, find the plastic hangers
for plumbing.  Get the size that will accomodate your tubing (probably
4").  The hangers have little holes for nailing them to the wall.  You
should use screws instead of the nails, and just make sure you are going
into a stud.  Also, since the tubing we usually use for ferrets is
smaller than the 4" PVC, it's probably a good idea to duck-tape the
tubing to the supports.
 
Note that if you use the very flexible tubing, it will sag in between
the supports.  If you think it will sag too much, then instead of using
plumbing hangers, just make a shallow shelf and run the tube along the
shelf.  That has an added advantage, in a rental; you can always leave
it up as a shelf (and leave them to wonder why you had shelves at odd
intervals up the wall).
 
-Claire
with Sam, Frankie, Missy, and Lilo; missing Louis.
[Posted in FML issue 4797]