If you are thinking about more than a "slide in" guillotine style
barrier to keep your fuzzies in a particular room (and are tired of
or unable to step over the darn thing) this kight be a solution to
consider. After reading reviews on "baby gates" we chose the First
Years Everywhere gate that can be had at WalMart site to store online.
Reviews said that it worked out of the box for ferrets, which is not
the case. While the gate is of high quality construction and has an
easy opening latch on top for either hinge or pressure fit, once it is
installed either with supplied hinges or as just a pressure gate, there
are the standard problems as found on most if not all other "baby"
gates...space on sides and bottom that will allow a ferret to weasel
its way through. In addition, since the gate is two sliding panels with
clear plastic windows, there is also space for a small ferret to get
between the panels and be trapped. So with all that in mind, I cut up
some 1/8" Lexan polycarbonate (do not us standard acrylic Plexiglas) to
cover the front panel and then a smaller vertical piece to cover the
sliding area of the 2nd panel. Once this was accomplished it sealed the
gap by the hinges (be sure and relieve the Lexan panel for the hinge)
as well as the floor space and the 2nd panel gap. I affixed all the
Lexan panels with hex head self tapping screws. That just left the gap
on the inside between the 2 sliding panels and I blocked that with a
piece of ¼ round wood stock affixed with industrial strength Velcro
cut so that the fuzzies can't dig at the Velcro (they love that
stuff too!). Bottom line is that the sliding barrier can be made to
work...just not out of the box. Total time in retrofitting it was
several hours incl cutting, sanding and fitting the Lexan, screwing
it to the barrier and then making the ¼ round wood piece. So far, our
little girl (Teacup Wolverine), who is very tiny, cannot defeat the
barrier tho she is now fixated on doing just that where there is an air
hole by the lower hinge. She can get her nose through but not the rest
of her head and she can't get stuck either. So until she gives up, we
will have to listen to the incessant scratching at the plastic.

Tools needed to do the job: tape measure, marker and straightedge, jig
saw with fine tooth blade (I used a metal cutting blade) to cut the
Lexan and the ¼ round, palm or belt sander with at least 80 grit for
initial sanding of cut edge and then 100/120 for finish sanding,
cordless drill motor to drill pilot holes and then affix hex head
screws. IF you do not have the tools for cutting the Lexan, most places
where you buy it will custom cut the pieces for you and the dimensions
for the small vert side piece will vary depending on the size of your
door opening. The main piece that covers the front panel will remain
the same in all cases.

Putorius and the Fab 4

[Posted in FML 8115]