Greetings!
 
How in the heck does one keep a Houdini ferret in the cage?  I wake up at
about 4:30 every morning and let the gang loose.  They have run of the
house until at least 9 am every morning.  That is 4.5 hours of play
(although, granted, at that point they are usually snuggled up under a bed,
sleeping).  I also let them out in the evening so they can get one more
chance to steal the remote, the potatoes, the insides of dad's boots, my
daughter's watch, etc.  Just recently, Kiwi (11 months old) has started
escaping from the Stones cage that he shares with his cage mates.  The
other nite he got out SIX times!  He either digs so hard at the bottom of
the door that he actually pulls it *in* and thus has an escape hatch or he
*pushes* at the top corner or bottom corner until he can get his head out.
My main concern is that, going thru the top corner, he is going to get
stuck and choke to death!!  I tried using bread tie twisties to wire the
door shut but he undid those in a matter of seconds!  He spent the other
night in the cat/ferret carrier as that is the only thing he can't get
out of (yet).  Short of getting a new cage (which I can't afford at this
point), does anyone have a brilliant suggestion??  It's gotten to the point
that if I am leaving the house for any period of time, I put him in the
carrier so that he doesn't get stuck and choke when there is nobody around
to rescue him.  I clean the cage every morning and they have fresh food and
water and toys and hammocks and a hidey-box and towels, shirts, etc. to
snuggle in.  So, I don't think he's trying to get out because the cage is
dirty or they are lacking food, water, bedding, lack of exercise, etc.
 
Had to perform exploratory surgery on the sofa yesterday.  Slit the bottom
of it.... Found all kinds of goodies (imagine that!) but most amazing, I
found my daughter's watch that has been mising for MONTHS!!
 
BTW, my name is Renee.  I live in southern Maine and I am the "Automated
(or is that "Animated"???  Ferretone and Raisin Dispenser" for 5 ferrets
(Kiwi, Theo, Gracie, Milo, and Dook/Duke of URL).  I learned about the FML
from my aunt who *used* to be the guardians of Kiwi and Theo (but thanks to
Sue G., Kiwi and Theo now reside with me!!).  I have found the FML to be
*the* singular most valuable ferret resource.
 
Thanks in advance for any help about containing Kiwi.
 
Renee
[Posted in FML issue 2883]