With all this talk of shelters and everyone saying what is wrong and what isn't wrong, I just felt like I had to offer my little opinion. Seems like part of the problem with the ferret population in general is the overpopulation. There's too many in the pet stores, there's too many in the shelters. What about if everyone worked together? What if the shelters worked out some sort of agreement with local breeders that the breeders will "hold back" until the shelters are a little less populated and that if the shelter doesn't have the "type" of ferret a person is looking for then they will recommend the breeder. If a breeder is in it truely for the love of the animal then it shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps you could even talk to local pet store owners. Make them realize what the problem is and ask them to cut back (or get rid of completely) ferret sales and in exchange buy ferret supplies to them and send adoptive parents to them for the supplies. I know it sounds idealistic but wouldn't it be great if it helped even a little? Okay, now on to the questions. I was wondering if anyone had ever converted one of those big dog kennles into a ferret cage? I'd love to try it since they're so big and spacious and I would be able to put ramps and levels where I wanted but I don't want to waste money if someone has already tried it without luck. Also, the cage Gabby has now has bare (uncoated) metal wire and I was wondering if anyone knew of anything to coat it with? I'm just worried that it might rust and I've seen the coated wire and thought that might be better. Thanks. Liz [Posted in FML issue 2519]