I bring my ferts outside one at a time to play but I never leave them and keep within feet of them all the time. We have snakes here that would love to have a fert for breakfast or lunch or what ever. Byte-me got out once but she was real close to the back door trying to get the roots out from under an 60 foot tall oak tree. Kodo got out, he went to the cellar door (can get into the cellar only by that door) and hid in there when I came looking for him. Eventually he came out thinking he was in deep trouble but I was glad to have him back. Kombi got out ( I was fert sitting for that one ) but he went to the back yard and was up next to the house. I caught him running from the fence back to the house where he was hiding from me. Was very lucky to get him back! But RePete was the worst. I had him outside next to me and he managed to escape right from under my watchful eyes. A white ferret on a green lawn should be easy to find but he managed to sneak off and was over at a neighbor's house! I had looked there for him but he was hiding very well. I managed to catch him by sitting watching all yards around me and managed to see RePete 2 houses over heading for the deep gnarly woods beyond the end of the road. Had he got in there I never would have found him but the snakes and other enemy animals would have for sure. So I do not recommend letting a ferret out loose ever. They just explore themselves to death and will not return. Is not what they do. I know of a shelter owner here that had one get out, took her several weeks to find this fert was a half mile from her house where someone there was feeding it. Lucky that one did not get run over ! So word to the wise, even if you have them outside with you and one at a time, they will still escape and will be very difficult to get them back! If ever ! Gordon, Peekaboo and Anxious. Rev. J. Gordon Bengtson Aarrow Ranch Aviation Mechanicsville, Virginia 23111 [Posted in FML 5766]