So, I finally decided to move back in with my dad.

Sadly, this also means some huge changes for the ferrets. By the look
of it, the ferrets will be staying in the garage for the time being.
This is because my room was turned into a "craft room" and there is a
lot of stuff cluttering it up right now.

But one good thing is that my dad is actually pretty excited about
building them a giant playpen. His current idea is pretty simple and
I wanted to pass by all of you who are much wiser about this sort of
thing than either him or I are.

It's going to be a simple wood and wire pen. Each corner is going to
be a wood post that will have rebar attached to the bottom so it will
be secure in the ground. The sides and possibly the top are going to
be covered with 1" chicken wire that will be covered with metal tape
on the ends to avoid any injuries. I'm thinking about trying to get
my dad's girlfriend to make a nylon top for it like the ones for the
little playpens. As for the bottom, we may or may not have it covered.
it really depends on how the ferrets react to being able to play on
real dirt. If the bottom must be covered, I'm going to try and keep
it simple with a tarp for extra stimulation and for ease of cleaning.

Also, we're considering either making it 4'x8' or 8'x8'. I'm hoping
for the 8'x8' and for it to be tall enough for me to be able to get in
there and play with them. We still need to figure out how the ferrets
will be put in and taken out without compromising the security of the
pen. I really want to make sure that this is as safe as possible.

For enrichment, I'm going to be putting a lot of stuff in there. One
thing will be a kiddy pool. When the weather is hot, it's going to
be filled with water and bath tub toys. When it's a bit cooler, I'm
going to try and fill it with leafs, snow, and anything else that's
seasonally appropriate. I'm also planning on putting in a couple of
rubbermaid tubs for dig boxes. One will have plain dirt in it and the
other will either be filled with sand or rice. It really depends on
what my dad feels he can afford. I'm also thinking of having another
"box" in there as a nest box/feeding den. This will all be in addition
to tons of tubes that we'll attach to the sides with reuseable zip
ties. If any of you have any more ideas, I'll be more than open to
them.

Cecilia

[Posted in FML 6403]