Please take the spirit of this post as informative, not accusational or flaming. I was a bit alarmed by the tone of the anthro cruelty post. I have concerns with thoughts that human emotions are being put on animals. It has been clearly and scientifically proven that animals do have and do exhibit emotional responses. One would think this would have been proven a hundred years ago but it wasn't until recent years that studies were conducted. While a day in a cage won't cause extreme physical harm (unless your ferret gets trapped or twisted in bedding or a nail or toe caught in a wire and you don't notice till the next day), it can cause turmoil to an intelligent active mind as well as confusion. Ferrets are creatures of habit and in my experience they truly don't like their regular schedule changed. There is more to out of cage time than just physical activity - there is mental stimulation and human interaction as well. I recommend that ferrets get at least 4-6 hours of out of cage time on a daily basis, the more time out the better. Imagine being locked in a room the size of a small bathroom with your bed food and toilet, only to get out for an hour a day. Free roam, or roomed ferrets are much calmer than caged ferrets, though not everyone's circumstances allow for this type of an environment. For people who have disabling medical issues, I recommend a ferret safe playroom for the times they just cannot do what needs to be done for these little ones or when they are too busy to supervise the out of cage time. Ferrets are completely dependant on their caretakers, and as ferret caretakers we need to do what is in the best interest of our little charges. Ferrets are ferrets, they aren't dogs, cats, or rodents (that need to be caged a majority of time for safety) or any otherr animal. Tiny furry ferret bodies contain tons of energy (especially youngsters), and their intelligent minds are constantly twirling trying to figure things out. Combine that high energy and intelligent mind and you've got a mustelid! I don't speak lightly about doing what needs to be done. Twenty one months ago I tore muscles and cartilage from my sternum and ribs and I still suffer from this injury. A very painful injury which was compounded by an initial wrong diagnosis, then the lack of adequate treatment. If you've heard about work comp not doing what it is suppose to do, which is provide adequate treatment for injuries, I can attest to those stories from personal experience. I also get severe migraines. Even though I live with pain every minute of every day the ferrets deserve the same level of care now that they got before my injury. If I need to let something go, it will be something other than the ferret care (so don't look at the cobwebs in the corner when you come for a visit). My group is free roam except for the beastie boys who are caged when they hit strike 3 or when strike 1 is especially heinous, and a group of oldsters and timid little ones that reside in the front bedroom to keep them safe. These two changes to a totally free roam home came about because of my limitations from the injury, and I did the best I possibly could for these particular ferrets and the situation at hand. I do open the barrier so the bedroom group can come out but most prefer to stay in their safe haven. Others go in and visit and often want in the safe room when outside of it, but it is for a special needs group. The beastie boys are out several times a day for as long as they are good, sometimes all night. I feel bad that I had to close off one room of the house from the others and that I had to confine a group to that room. I feel bad that the beastie kids have to be caged. But on both counts it is a safety factor. I examined the situation and did what I could to make it better for each of us with the least amount of suffering (it appears I worry more about the situation than they do). tle www.ferretfamilyservices.org [Posted in FML 5748]