Guest bed for two ferrets

[Ferret Auntie]

Hello!

My sister comes to visit from out of state for most holidays. She has two adult ferrets and can't leave them for as long as she visits, so she brings them with her to stay at my house. While they are here, she keeps them in their travel cage. She can't let them out to roam at all because my husband and I both suffer from allergies when furry pets are around (plus I have several free roaming reptiles that would likely see them as lunch, rather than family). I feel bad for the two ferrets being cooped up for so long and would like to purchase a larger cage to keep at my house that can be their "home away from home."

I have a large cage that my iguana came with (she free roams and never uses it). I was thinking about trying to convert that into a cage for the ferrets, but I'm not sure how I could safely add levels to it.

I know there are numerous posts on this forum about cages, and don't want to seem lazy by asking instead of reading the other posts, it's just that my situation is atypical because this cage won't be used frequently or for long periods of time so it doesn't need to be of a quality that will stand years of wear and tear. I'm hoping you can either give me some ideas on how to convert the iguana cage, or recommend an inexpensive home I could purchase for the ferrets. I don't want to spend a lot of money on something that will only be used a few times a year, and like I said, it doesn't need to have "lasting" quality, just something larger than their travel cage and, of course, safe.

Thanks so much!
-Ferret Auntie

[Sherry]

It all depends on what the enclosure is made of. If it's glass or solid walls the ferrets will likely overheat in it.
If it is a wire cage the bars must be smaller than 1" apart or they'll escape.
Given that none of the above is the case, make sure it doesn't have a bare wire bottom as that will damage their feet. Simple Lino will work well other than that, an enclosed sleeping den with blankets in it, blankets on the floor to tunnel and snuggle in, and food and water dishes
Something your sister might find handy is a ferret playpen. That will give them the chance to play a bit as well as keeping them safe.

[Deleted]

Hi! That's really sweet that you are worried about their "holiday". My first recommendation would be to check Craigslist or the paper. A new cage runs about $200, so you should probable be able to find one for under $100. Another thought might be to look into a ferret playpen with a cover. If you put it into a closed off room, they would be safe and have plenty of room to run around in the playpen. I think they also fold up and store pretty easily. The basic playpen runs about $40,(Petco online) and you can buy additional panels for about $15. Some ferrets can find ways to sneak up and out, so you would want to make sure the room is ferret proofed and safe from the other animals. Good Luck.

[Ferret Auntie]

Thank you both for taking the time to give advice. Craigslist was the first place I started looking, but I haven't found much in our area.

I really like the playpen idea. I actually tried that last time using a pen that is designed for dogs and works well with my larger reptiles. My sister told me it probably wouldn't work, and the ferrets, of course, walked right through the spaces in between the bars, probably laughing at me the whole time. Clearly, I don't know anything about the needs of ferrets. It seems they like to have different levels to go up and down to. Would they be happy enough to spend a week in a playpen if I bought some of those petstore hammocks, etc. to attach to the side? Could I even attach that kind of thing to a playpen? What else could I put in it to make them comfortable/entertained?

I do have a spare room that I could put a playpen in, but would the ferrets be able to get under the door if they got out of the pen? I might ask my sis some of these questions, but I think it would be a nice surprise to have everything set up for them when they arrive at Thanksgiving.

Thanks, I appreciate all the advice and I'm sure my nephew/niece ferrets will too!

[Sherry]

Any space 1" or larger they'll get through or at least stuck in. If she has a tiny female, think 3/4".
As for the playpen- no hammocks. Just bedding on the floor, blankets, litter box, food and water dishes. They'd just use them to climb out As long as they aren't jumpers they should be fine.
Toys can include 4" tubes and so on. Your sister can tell you more.

[Sherry]

This is what most use: www.ferretdepot.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=fd&Product_Code=FC305&Category_Code=2Playpens

[Deleted]

As far as toys go, that's easy. First off, everything is new to them at your house, and that's entertainment in itself. Ferrets in a new place are all about exploring. Save some paper bags, a few boxes (cut some doors and windows into them), or even some tupperware. Just don't make anything too big that then becomes a ladder up and out. You can even put some treats (no cheerios or raisins) and they will forage in the bags and boxes. As for the door, it will depend on the size of the ferrets and the door space. I have a baby who can get under the cleaning closet door, so I put a small square and flat piece of wood under it. Or even a large plastic bin lid will take up the remaining space. And since your family is not used to having to watch for ferrets, I would hang a sign on the outside of the door. That will remind and alert everyone to be super careful. You do want to ferretproof the room. That means get on the floor, look up and under everything. Check windows, you don't want open windows, they will scratch and scratch screens. And when they get there, someone should watch them for awhile, and see what trouble spots they will find.  They will be happy enough there for a week, as long as someone plays and interacts with them on a daily basis. Sleeping hammocks aren't a necessity, mine prefer dresser drawers with blankets. So again, a box with their blankets and a hole to get in and out of, will work fine. Though we do have some posts on how to make a stand for ferret hammocks.

[Ferret Auntie]

It should be fairly easy to "ferretproof" the room. I have just moved my reptiles to a different area in the house, so it is literally a completely empty room. Do I need to put those child protector things on the outlets? What is a good temperature for them? Should I put a space heater in the room? It's carpeted if that makes a difference. Are they smart enough to move objects placed in the middle of the pen to the walls to climb out?

I'm sure that some of these questions sound really silly to you guys, but if you ever want to know anything about tegu; iguana; bearded dragon; blue tongue skink; yellow foot tortoise; cherry head red foot tortoise; eastern box turtle; ball python; cornsnake; kingsnake; or hedgehog care - I'm your gal

It sounds like ferrets are eternal two year olds - fascinated by the box instead of the toy and will find a way to make anything a hazard.

[Ferret Auntie]

Whoa. I made a ferret face. Cool.

[Deleted]

Eternal two year olds....perfect description! Ferrets do better in cool temps than hot ones. I wouldn't put a space heater in the room, if you all are comfortable, they are fine. Carpet is fine. Mine love to push stuff, so things just might get pushed up close to the sides, (This morning, I set a box down for two minutes and came back to find two very happy ferrets on the kitchen counter) Playpens come with a cover that be used underneath or on top as a cover. If you You Tube ferrets escaping playpens, there are several videos that will show you how to secure the top. We have a post or two on the forum also. If I knew how to link, I would find them for you. Hopefully someone else will see this and do it for us! It sounds like you have an amazing little zoo of exotics, We love pictures here! If you want to post some pictures, I think everyone here would love to see them.

[Sherry]

Definitely think of ferrets as problem solving toddlers and you've pretty much got it . Definitely put something under the door gap, just in case. And they WILL push things to the edge of the playpen to climb over if possible. One of our members has picked up black 4" drainage tubing, cut it, and set it along the top to help dissuade escapes

[Thérèse]

You have received some good advice. Just want to add a couple of extra thoughts. When I went to visit my niece (sister and her family but it was for my niece's 21st) a couple of years back, so that they wouldn't feel too confined, besides using a play pen, I brought their harnesses with me. Gave them walks around the yard and because everyone else there were not ferret owners, they all wanted turns to walk them round, so I didn't even have to do it for long before someone else took over and Icould do things like grab a coffee etc. Anyway after a couple of days my brother in law came up with a great idea. Don't know what your place is like so this may be no help, but he got a rope and tied it between 2 trees, with the hand loop of their harnesses looped on. They could then explore that whole area between the trees, dig for bugs, sniff, wrestle each other and we just sat on the deck overlooking them and it was great fun for them.

[Ferret Auntie]

[Ferret Auntie]

I've tried to post pics a few times and I guess it finally worked! Thanks to everyone for the advice. What do you guys think of this?: www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=23908476&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo

By the way, the pics above are from top to bottom: Finnegan - black&white chacoan Argentine tegu; Lucas - salt&pepper Afrian Pygmy hedgehog; Oliver - blue tongue skink; and Rosemary - baby yellow foot tortoise (5th largest tortoise species in the world, she just doesn't look like it yet)

[Deleted]

I don't really have too much for advice, since it has mostly been covered. If you are worried about keeping your carpet clean, you may want to check with your sister and see if they are well litter trained when out of their cage. Lots of fuzzies don't have the best hit rate when given a larger area to roam! I use those heavy carpet runners (for office chairs and whatnot) to protect my carpet.

I love your little family! I adore hedgehogs, I've had 3 Reptiles are also wonderful, but I only have one corn snake! My boyfriend won't let me get a ball python, the fact that they get wider freaks him out LOL.