I'm glad that Peter emphasized large cages in his post yesterday.  I
think that very point keeps getting missed when people go out and buy a
cage for their ferrets.  So many times at our rescue when we are called
to pick up a ferret the owner will say, "And we have a really large cage
to donate.." and it turns out to be a regular Superpet or smaller.  I
don't really know where the problem lies in terms of why these people
think that they have a "really big cage" when in fact they do not.  It
may just be that the pet stores they buy them from tell them that it is
a "really big cage".  It could also be that in comparison to a small
glass aquarium which a lot of pet stores still keep ferrets in, give the
impression that when a person does buy a small cage that it is a whole
lot bigger than the aquarium, which is true, but really still not big
enough for a ferret.
 
I would however, put one word of caution on one point Peter made....
he mentioned in his key requirement list, that it should be big enough
to fit 5-6 ferrets.  My own opinion is that, some of the cages he has
mentioned (because I am not familiar with them all) are still too small
for 5-6 ferrets.  1-3 maybe, but not 5-6.  I wholeheartedly agree with
his followup statement "as large as possible".  The reason I say this is
because people get the impression that once they get a "large" cage, that
they can now pack ferrets in there, and I have seen as many as 10 in one
Midwest.  A size of a cage should be based on the number of ferrets one
chooses to put into it, still keeping in mind that these ferrets need
space to themselves, away from other ferrets if they so choose.  These
cages, in there general box shapes, don't leave a lot of room for 5-6
to stake out a territory, let alone 1 or 2.  And keep in mind that many
ferret owners have these ferrets in theses cages for at least 10 hours
during the day while they are away at work (sometimes longer) and at
least another 8 hours at night while they sleep.  That means that 5-6
ferrets have to be forced together in a relatively small space for 75%
of a day.  That's the same as having the same number of people in an
averaged sized dorm room for 18 hours!  Just imagine the stress it
causes in people... now apply that to ferrets.  Gastric problems... GI
issues...?  And we wonder why we have this problem so much nowadays.  We
need to be more sensitive to the territorial needs of our ferrets.
 
Remember Bob Church talked about the territoriality of ferrets and why
cages are so poorly designed.  I agree with him because I see how ferrets
stake out territory in our home.  Although we have a total free roam
household 24/7, we do have cages because they are still so handy for
hanging those cozy hammocks and cubes.  We have ferrets that stake out
a cage and won't let any others in it when they are there.  What these
ferrets don't realize is that when they aren't in the cage, other ferrets
are busy going in there and leaving their own markings and scents behind
trying to take them over.  The fight over territory is never ending.  We
try to work with that and do what Bob recommended by providing many
nesting boxes throughout our home, at least one per ferret, so that they
can find a place to call their own.  And it cut down the fighting and
scraping in our home in half the first week we put them in.  It has been
a couple of years since we put in nesting boxes and they are one of the
main reasons we have so many ferrets get along in one household.  As Bob
said, they offer security and peace of mind, which is less stressful than
always having ferrets forced together in one cage.
 
My recommendation is that if you do have to cage your ferrets, and you
have a number of them, get a few cages instead of just one.  If we keep
in mind that we want to stress our ferrets out less, provide them with
room to run, and room to hide if they so choose.  Cages can be joined
with tubing or make shift tunnels.  At the zoo I worked at, the ferrets
there were kept in unique system of boxes joined by clear plexi tubing.
I still didn't feel it was big enough, but it did provide running room
as it was built lengthwise instead of vertical.
 
I know some of you will say that their ferrets always like to sleep with
one another.  I can tell you from my 18+ years and 60+ ferrets that have
lived with us, that all ferrets do like to have time away from each
other, even the closely bonded ones.  Space is always good and even in
small apartments people can be inventive and rearrange things to fit a
variety of places for ferrets to live.  But that is the key... to be
inventive, and to work with what you have.  But above all else, be
sensitive to the number of ferrets you have in the space you have to
offer, because giving them peace of mind and security will make them
happier, and that means they'll be healthier overall.
 
Just my two cents...
 
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3962]