E.M. Ennis had a great point on an FML that ran a couple o' days ago, and it was one that should be blatantly obvious to anyone who loves ferrets enough to be reading this list. Ferrets were meant to be free animals, not spending more time in a cage than out. This should be most apparent when you place one in a cage and as you are walking away, you get "the look". You know what I'm talking about. One of mine, Fozzie, is always the first out of the cage, shooting out like a bullet from a gun. Once out, he plops down on the ground secure in the fact that he is "out" and not "in". Doesn't matter if he doesn't move another inch. He knows he can if he wants to. So I agree completely that 1-2 hours a day just is not enough. I think they should spend no more than 8-10 in a cage, and of course less is preferable. If you are in a situation that requires your fuzz-butt to be locked up for all but a few hours a day, you may want to reconsider whether you should own one in the first place. "Free-spirit" and "ferret" are synonomous. There is a point I would like to make in addition. I would urge that anyone who leaves there monsters out unattended reconsider doing the opposite and let them out only when you are around. I learned a very tough lesson a couple of years ago when I used to leave mine out while I went to work and then put them in their cage at night. I thought I had that room "ferret proofed", but tragically a male, Buddy, fell into a place where he could not get himself out, and died by asphixiation. And that's how I found him when I came home. We all know ferrets get into everything. It's in their nature. And anything can happen at anytime. For what it's worth, my advice would be to let them run only when you are there to investigate any unusual thumps and bangs. I have found that when I come home from work and open that cage door, they spend the time between then and when I go to bed running themselves out of gas anyway. They sleep when I do for the most part. Just a thought... chris, thor, fozzie, simone, & roxanne (rocky) [Posted in FML issue 2376]