One poster mentioned the hazards of having the ferrets live in the garage... I live in Oregon and it's very temporary. The garage door is open most of the day and there are no paint buckets (or other known fume producing chemicals) nor cars kept in there. My dad and I have decided that they will be moving into my room permanently as soon as we can get the spare bed out and at least 1 pet plug in. After talking to my dad about the many different things that need to be taken into account for the pen... Things are up in the air. We should be going to the local farm store tomorrow to see how much materials will cost and compare that to buying 2-3 pens from the store. Hopefully by the time winter (and the accompanying torrents of rain) rolls around things should be a lot more stable. Putting a hard, easily cleaned floor in my room along with redecorating will be done by then. That way, I'll be able to keep things on shelves, the night stand, and the dresser to keep it safe. I'll also be getting my dad's old bed so I'll be able to staple burlap to the bottom of the box spring to prevent digging. I'm also hoping for a store bought playpen so I can eventually set it up in the living room to let them play. The main issue with things right now is that my dad's girlfriend does not like the ferrets. She acts like she does when she talks to me but will turn around and complain to my dad at every chance she gets. I do my best to be reasonable but the situation may come to fisticuffs if she keeps on insisting that they're dirty, disease ridden rodents who need to be kept outside (even after she has handled them and allowed them to lick her). And she needs to knock it off soon since there's going to be a nasty heat wave next week. I'm willing to let them stay outside with frozen water bottles as long as the temp stays under 90... The forecast says that several days will be over 100 next week so they will be coming outside even if I have to fight for it. She already made me get rid of my cats so I'm not even coming close to negotiating on the living arrangements for the ferrets. Trust me, I'm extremely stressed out about the situation. I'm already having to change my entire life around to be able to deal with this woman and she refuses to budge even a little bit for me. We've never been able to get along no matter what... Even if I were to (heaven forbid) give up my ferrets, she would find another reason to constantly berate me and cause drama. If she refuses to let me bring my babies inside with me, I'll tell my dad that's that and I would rather live with my ex than have to compromise on the basic needs of my pets. I spent a good part of my teenage years between living with my dad and my sister because of the drama that was caused by his girlfriend. And there's my rant... Cecilia [Posted in FML 6405]