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Post by Klarissa on Jul 29, 2015 9:46:02 GMT -5
This morning I woke up to my dog barking like a maniac, which to be quite honest isn't that weird. He is a dachshund, barking is one of his favorite things to do. So I shush him, but now I'm awake and have to pee. I got out to the living room and to my surprise there is a ferret on my couch. As in not in the playroom. Not only is did a ferret escape, it wasn't even the one in the pen closest to the couch. Willy had pried the gate off the wall & was attempting to infiltrate Bear's side. When I picked him up he was dooking so loud. Sneaky fuzzbutt.  Luckily we keep eye hooks & zip ties on hand, just for these revelations. What is the craziest escape someone else's ferret has made? And creative solutions to prevent them from escaping? |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 9:49:49 GMT -5
Once the top part of the cage wasn't secured enough to the bottom (somehow) and Layla was able to move the top of the cage off and escaped, and ended up OUTSIDE. It took an hour to find her, but shaking treats and calling her name A LOT got her to start heading towards me. I think she fell asleep in a patch of broad-leaf ivy. I was panicking badly but luckily she was safe and clean after a quick bath. I never want to go through that again.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 29, 2015 10:15:08 GMT -5
One little female figured out if she stood up against the top of the gate in the superpet cage we had at the time and bounced repeatedly against it, she could pop it open. So we used a large butterfly clip to keep it closed. She then figured out if she bit and pushed enough against the mouth of the clip she could dislodge it just enough so she could pop the gate open.
We were able to solve it by simply opening the arms of the clip lol
Another simply tore through the mesh of a dog carrier we had, which had worked well against all the other ferrets. It lasted less than 5 minutes with him in there.
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Post by Klarissa on Jul 29, 2015 11:11:23 GMT -5
For such silly & funny looking little animals, they are incredibly smart! I'm almost certain they are sarcastic as well  |
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Post by Heather on Jul 29, 2015 13:39:40 GMT -5
Little Pooka....she was such a sweet wee senior. When her partner passed on, I gave her a gorgeous cage that had come with tunnels and was on a bench type set up. She was terrified of other ferrets and they loved to poke at her and make her scream when she was in the other cages because they were flat on the ground. I soon discovered this cage had a number of drawbacks one being that it was a real pain in the butt to clean and set up. At that point in time, everyone got put to bed at night. The ferret room was right next to my bedroom and having them tube run during the night was just not acceptable (series of tubes that were set up around the room that were interconnected allowing them to run tubes up to the ceiling and down again). The first time Pooka met me at the door I figured I was tired and had not shut the cage door properly. The next time I was just confused...the small lock was still on the door  She was so proud of herself when she greeted me, dancing around in her nakedness. Put her to bed and immediately she curled up in her sleepy sack. Checked on her just as I went to bed, she was still where I left her. The next morning, she was once again at the door, bouncing and dooking  Her cage door was locked...   * Checked the cage for loose or bent bars or broken tags, it had been turned in with a little rescue so there is always a possibility...found nothing. That night, I put her to bed, checked on her and went to bed but instead of going to be I returned and watched. I watched this little she-fert...this little grandma of ferrets (she was 10 yrs), stretch and climb to the top shelf of the cage. She then turned into a contorting Houdini...and oozed out of the top corner of the cage and with a thump dropped to the floor. She dooked and wiggled herself across the floor. She teased, nose tweaked and flaunted herself through the ferret room. Disrupting and teasing everyone sleeping on the bottom decks of the ferret mansions (these cages sit right on the floor with little casters to make them easier to move around). At the time there was 5 mansions all occupied. She was an absolute little minx. To say the least she was moved the next morning to another safer cage. ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 15:49:20 GMT -5
I tried the sinbin travel crate for Aramis (he's a ferret with a pretty nasty attitude, towards people or other ferrets). Put him in for biting (can't remember if he bit me or beat up Marbella), nontheless, he pushed at the door so hard he broke it open, completely, down to the ground. He's extremely strong... We got 3 new guys - place them in the playpen. All good until Frankie figured out how to climb out (it's the marshall's playpen) - he got beat up real bad since we weren't home  ... then we put the attackers in the playpen since they didn't try or know how to jump out. So aramis figured out how to open it, lift it up on the side where it closes and open it up. And they all escaped - and then there was chaos. When we were gone, obviously. So my escape experiences are not exactly positive... but shows how smart and persistent they are |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 16:09:44 GMT -5
No escape artist at my house---yea!
But have to use clear postal tape to lock my bottom cabinets or there will be pooh all in them
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 16:20:25 GMT -5
No escape artist at my house---yea! But have to use clear postal tape to lock my bottom cabinets or there will be pooh all in them  forgot to mention - we have child proof locks for all the drawers and closet doors. However, Gabriel got very pissed on the ones in the main closet, because he used to sleep and stash there, so he pulled so hard at the doors that he broke them open. So we put 2 on each door hoping it'll work. And he broke them off again :mad: |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 19:25:23 GMT -5
I have mentioned else where that Loki has figured out how to get around gates and through closed doors. Prior to the ferret nation cage he used to pop open his door until I tied it shut. But the incident at my friend's house was the best. His cage was in their bathtub so it would be out of reach from their dogs and cat. He not only got the cage open, but also got out of their claw foot bathtub. He was wondering around, exploring when he crossed paths with their corgi and scared the life out of their dog. Luckily all that happened was that the dog ran away. We went to the kitchen, which is off the bathroom, and found Loki sitting there with this innocent look like... "what is wrong with him?" expression.
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Post by Klarissa on Jul 29, 2015 20:41:49 GMT -5
Whenever ferrets get caught being naughty they have a look, they know they are in trouble, but still try to pass off as if they had no idea or they didn't do it at all. |
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Post by brightstar on Jul 30, 2015 1:48:34 GMT -5
Penny is the escape artist of my five.
She pretty much figured out how to escape her Marshall's playpen within a few days of us getting it. And once she knew it was escape-able, no matter how many things we tried to keep her in, she always found a way out!
At first, we figured she was using a tall box to jump out the playpen. So we removed the box.
That didn't work for long, and unless we took out ALL of her toys, we needed a new plan. So we tried raising the height of the playpen panels. I secured tall pieces of thick cardboard around the sides of the playpen with zip ties.
She figured that one out in less than 2 days. She just found a corner, where the cardboard joined, or squeezed between the cardboard and the bars.
Next plan was that we ran plastic tube all around the edge of the playpen. I thought we had her beaten with that plan! But nope! Due to the configuration of our playpen and how the room was arranged, we had to keep it in a square formation. Penny just found the corners and climbed out from there.
Finally, we gave up the idea of the playpen. Instead, I had four cages custom made by Martin's cages. We cut holes in them and secured them to each other with zip-ties. We connected them with tubes.
The first time Penny escaped from her playpen, my husband and I were downstairs watching TV. Lucky he happened to glance down and spot Penny climbing over the Playstation4. After that, we started closing the door to the room where the playpen was.
It felt like the whole thing was a game between me and Penny. Every time I tried something new, I'd be so certain this time we had her beaten. And then she'd prove me wrong. Every time she escaped, it seemed that she would actively come to find me. As soon as I saw her, she started dooking and dancing like crazy, as if to say "I did it again!"
What was even stranger was how Penny would not escape FROM her playpen, she would also climb in to it. Whenever I gave the ferrets their daily supervised free run of the upstairs, I'd close up the playpen to stop them sneaking back in their and hiding. (They could get under the floor mat from the outside if the cage was open, and then it was a nightmare to get them out without having to dismantle the playpen!) Penny seemed determined to get IN the playpen though.
The most memorable time she escaped was after we lined the top of the panels with tube. I was so sure we had found a solution. For a few days it worked, and then one day I was putting away towels and there was Penny! Sat waiting for me on the shelf with all the clean towels.
So far, she has not escaped from her Martin's cages. She did, however, somehow manage to get into the cages today whilst I had them out for their free time play. I don't know how she did it! All the doors were closed and locked!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 14:45:34 GMT -5
brightstar I love your Penny. She sounds like an amazing ferret. Although I'm sure it can be a handful.
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Post by lyles on Jul 30, 2015 15:00:19 GMT -5
All my ferrets have been able to escape every idea I could think of except one: Plywood. lol
I cut a 2.5' high plywood sheet as wide as the outer lip of the doorway and hammered two nails on each side. Then I slide the plywood behind those nails. It's impossible for them to climb up it, under it and if you don't feel like stepping over it or need to move something it is easy to slide off.
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Post by Klarissa on Jul 30, 2015 15:28:38 GMT -5
I do that with coroplast (corrugated plastic). Willy, Trixie, and Bear are the first ferrets I've ever had who aren't avid climbers.
I used to have a ferret who would climb alllll the way up screen doors. When I first got the Marshalls playpen I was like "what the heck is this piece of junk" because at the time all 4 of my ferrets could climb anything.
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Post by brightstar on Jul 30, 2015 22:27:40 GMT -5
brightstar I love your Penny. She sounds like an amazing ferret. Although I'm sure it can be a handful. Thanks.  Sometimes it was a bit stressful, because I worried about her safety when she was out of the playpen and running round without supervision. But overall, it was hard to stay mad at her when she was so pleased with herself for besting my plans to keep her from escaping yet again. ...I just hope that the others don't start learning her tricks! It amazes me just where Penny manages to get to. If she sees somewhere she wants to explore, she'll eventually find a way. So far I've found her in the bathroom trash can, (it's a small can, but has a lid on it), the office trash can (it's quite tall) and the top of her three story ferret Nation cage. That cage is taller than I am, so it was a real nightmare trying to get her down!! (I brought a stool after that so I could reach her next time she tried to climb it.) She also somehow managed to climb onto the very top shelf of the closet, and the top shelf of my bookshelf. She also escaped her harness in less than 5 seconds, although I probably didn't use the best kind(I uesed a vest harness - now I have a H harness I need to try her with.) I adopted Penny from a local animal rescue charity. She was found as a stray wondering around an apartment block. Considering her talent for escaping, I am not surprised at all. |
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She was so proud of herself when she greeted me, dancing around in her nakedness. Put her to bed and immediately she curled up in her sleepy sack. Checked on her just as I went to bed, she was still where I left her. The next morning, she was once again at the door, bouncing and dooking 
forgot to mention - we have child proof locks for all the drawers and closet doors. However, Gabriel got very pissed on the ones in the main closet, because he used to sleep and stash there, so he pulled so hard at the doors that he broke them open. So we put 2 on each door hoping it'll work. And he broke them off again :mad:
