I inherited my late sisters ferrets and although I love animals, I wasnt happy with the usual ferret alternatives: keep them caged up, give them the run of a limited area (which I tried but which promptly became a hygiene nightmare) or give them the run of the house and be careful of treading in ferret poop. For readers who are voluntary ferret parents, I completely understand the appeal and I get that I was undereducated, unprepared, not particularly enthusiastic and probably ill-informed about ferret care. But even I could see that the largest big-dog cage available wasnt adequate for such active little guys, but giving them unfettered access to any free space meant signing up for intensive poo-cleaning duties. I tried giving them the run of the house but could never find them when it was time to put them back in the spare bathroom where they ran free. I really struggled with the idea of paying $75 for this collection of wire panels, but it really did solve the problem. I set it up in a tiled, air-conditioned sunroom in about 5 minutes flat - it is absolutely foolproof. The brackets connecting the panels are metal and appear very sturdy. There are plastic latches to connect the last 2 panels into a circle and they might be the first pieces that fail, but they are pretty heavy and could in a pinch be replaced with twist ties or wire. The little guys, who could climb onto a 4 bathroom counter, couldnt climb their way out of this contraption. They seemed to feel more free without a top to cage them in and it was easier for me to step in and give them attention. My cats never jumped inside (its a pretty tall wall to jump or even step into from the ground) but they could nuzzle and bat through the outside, which the ferrets seemed to enjoy. Luckily, a more ferret-aware friend adopted the two little guys but she still found this to be a useful tool in introducing them to her own ferret, since they could interact without being able to attack each other. Ive fostered a number of small animals over the years and would give this an enthusiastic thumbs-up for rodents (are ferrets and gerbils rodents? Anyway, for that sort of animal) and even for small dogs. This product is a little like the anchor - so simple it seems incredible that no one has thought of it before or that one would need to pay for it, but so incredibly effective that its worth it!
A life saver!
I inherited my late sisters ferrets and although I love animals, I wasnt happy with the usual ferret alternatives: keep them caged up, give them the run of a limited area (which I tried but which promptly became a hygiene nightmare) or give them the run of the house and be careful of treading in ferret poop. For readers who are voluntary ferret parents, I completely understand the appeal and I get that I was undereducated, unprepared, not particularly enthusiastic and probably ill-informed about ferret care. But even I could see that the largest big-dog cage available wasnt adequate for such active little guys, but giving them unfettered access to any free space meant signing up for intensive poo-cleaning duties. I tried giving them the run of the house but could never find them when it was time to put them back in the spare bathroom where they ran free. I really struggled with the idea of paying $75 for this collection of wire panels, but it really did solve the problem. I set it up in a tiled, air-conditioned sunroom in about 5 minutes flat - it is absolutely foolproof. The brackets connecting the panels are metal and appear very sturdy. There are plastic latches to connect the last 2 panels into a circle and they might be the first pieces that fail, but they are pretty heavy and could in a pinch be replaced with twist ties or wire. The little guys, who could climb onto a 4 bathroom counter, couldnt climb their way out of this contraption. They seemed to feel more free without a top to cage them in and it was easier for me to step in and give them attention. My cats never jumped inside (its a pretty tall wall to jump or even step into from the ground) but they could nuzzle and bat through the outside, which the ferrets seemed to enjoy. Luckily, a more ferret-aware friend adopted the two little guys but she still found this to be a useful tool in introducing them to her own ferret, since they could interact without being able to attack each other. Ive fostered a number of small animals over the years and would give this an enthusiastic thumbs-up for rodents (are ferrets and gerbils rodents? Anyway, for that sort of animal) and even for small dogs. This product is a little like the anchor - so simple it seems incredible that no one has thought of it before or that one would need to pay for it, but so incredibly effective that its worth it!