A long time ago I had some regular mesh wire cages which I used for my
ferrets but found as I was moving around a lot over the years that they
were awfully difficult to transport.  So I picked up a SuperPet cage, one
of the deluxe ones with the tubing outside, which I thought the fuzzies
would like and in addition the cages fold up for easier transport!  Yay!
 
At one point I attached one of the metal cages to the SuperPet cage with
one of the flexible fun tunnels they sell... well..  that was kinda a
disaster.  The ferrets can tear through that stuff so fast, it's useless.
 
I recently moved again and just purchased the monster sized SuperPet cage
(also with outside tubes) and attached it to the smaller one I have with
other tubes so they have this gigantic colorful ferret playspace.  I find
that they really really love it.  I've stashed some goodies in there to
play with and gotten a security sleep sack (designed by the modern ferret
creators) from the wonderful folks at theferretstore.com and they LOVE it.
 
I have a very geriatric ferret, she is goingo n 8 this year, and is still
able to get around quite well in the cages, though I rarely see her climb
into the smaller cage as it entails a 1 tube length vertical which she
cannot handle very well, though I am excited to say she leaps up stairs
in ... well... not quite single bounds, and has gone up the tube in the
past.
 
Overall, I don't mind the design.  They are easily portable and I have
discovered that if you latch the doors properly, my fuzzy houdinis cannot
escape.  What is necessary is not only latching over the bar, but also
putting the top of the meal latch loop UNDER the bar above where you have
just latched it.  This was a design to help prevent them from just
knocking the door open.  Trust me, I have had many escapes before I
discovered this little part of the design, now I have none.  If they are
still able to get out though, put a small office binder clip on the bars,
that will help a lot.
 
The bad side?  We have enough space that we don't keep the ferrets right
next to the bedroom because they can make a lot of noise racing about those
tunnels at night playing with each other.  The cage doors are also a bit
small and it makes it a bit tricky to clean out effectively, but it can be
done with a little effort and I don't mind putting out that effort for the
fun tunnel-laden condo that they have now because I have seen in their
behavior how much happier they are with the larger space.
 
Also note I have not tried many other cages over the past few years as they
are long term items, so my experience with other makers is very limited.
 
Just my two cents.  Best advice is to just look at them all and study them
closely and see which one you think will work best for you and your fuzzies'
needs.
 
Dave Welch
Rune, almost 8 and going strong!
Ash, "good. bad. I'm the one with the raisin!"
Kayla, "no hole is too small to squeeze through!"
Lea, the troublemaker, there has to be one in every bunch
Panda, twice as big fast and fluffy than all the others.
Azrael, the cat who learned to play with ferrets
Epiphany, the cat who learned to run from ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3679]