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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 9:11:08 GMT -5
As u can see hubby cut off 3 bars of ferret nation cage , and we put a ramp cover on the rather steep,narrow ramp. We zipped tied plastic drainage pipe onto it. The reworked part is on one of the sides--not the front. Cage doors stay closed, and babies can come and go as they please.
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Post by Celene on Jan 28, 2015 9:59:42 GMT -5
That's awesome!
May I ask what is "wrong" with just having one of the bottom doors open and just the ramp with the regular cover? That's what my girls use and they seem to like it. Of course they're not 100% free roam - they get locked up at night and when nobody is home, but since my husband and I have different schedules it's not actually that much.
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Post by gfountain on Jan 28, 2015 10:52:00 GMT -5
That's awesome! May I ask what is "wrong" with just having one of the bottom doors open and just the ramp with the regular cover? That's what my girls use and they seem to like it. Of course they're not 100% free roam - they get locked up at night and when nobody is home, but since my husband and I have different schedules it's not actually that much. There's nothing "wrong" with it. It's just personal preference. I'd love to be able to leave my doors closed like this because I keep bruising my leg on the darn door. But, like yours, mine are closed up when no one is home for their own safety. As far as the regular ramp, it really is too steep and narrow to be absolutely safe for entering and exiting the FN. That said, I'm still using it until I can get something better. I keep a big pillow on the floor under the ramp just in case they fall. Three of mine manage the ramp with no trouble, but my big clumsy guy doesn't like it. To come out, he carefully positions himself legs outstretched in all directions and slides down on his tubby tummy, usually ending up in a heap on the pillow. To go in, he places his pathetic little self in my pathway until I take pity on him and pick him up, lol.
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Post by Celene on Jan 28, 2015 11:49:30 GMT -5
Poor thing. My girls actually really enjoy sliding down the ramp. Sometimes they'll run up it just to use as a slide. If you're looking for ideas for an alternative there was a recent post on the fb holistic ferret group. Got a little heated/messy as these sorts of posts tend to do, but still has lots of good suggestions. My girls are both relatively young and agile (and small enough to slide down the ramp) but a tunnel or steps would be a good idea for the future.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 11:50:57 GMT -5
At night they have access to the whole bedroom that the cage is in. Lots of potties in there. Their food and water bowl is on the floor, so I don't have to use the space in cage for that(although they still take food up in cage). We would leave them out at night and have access to the whole house,but they bang around in the pots and pans Been there and done that. We did not want to cut it at first, but what the heck. Oh, It could be beautified a little--maybe one day.
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Post by Celene on Jan 28, 2015 11:55:24 GMT -5
At night they have access to the whole bedroom that the cage is in. Lots of potties in there. Their food and water bowl is on the floor, so I don't have to use the space in cage for that(although they still take food up in cage). We would leave them out at night and have access to the whole house,but they bang around in the pots and pans Been there and done that. We did not want to cut it at first, but what the heck. Oh, It could be beautified a little--maybe one day. Beautified. You mean like sewing little drapes to match the blankets inside the cage? We lived in a 1 bedroom apartment so there are no spare rooms to keep the fuzzies in. We're planning on moving in a few months or so, so maybe they'll get a room for night time then!
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Post by bitbyter on Jan 28, 2015 11:55:40 GMT -5
?? Couldn't you have just taken the door off?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 12:10:22 GMT -5
If i took the door off, that second shelf would be exposed, which would be a drop from high part of my thigh down--- probably 3 feet down.
Correction on footage ---- 2ft and 3 in. I had to get a measuring tape for that--i knew i wasn't the jolly green giant
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 12:30:54 GMT -5
Celene:
Bought a bunch of black out curtains to drape around cage, that i need to cut and sew. Probably would have been cheaper to have bought one designed for the cage . Right now they r just draped this way and that way--at least they r sleeping in the dark---seems to be their preference.
I got a vintage sewing machine that i bought at thrift sore. I had to go online to find how to thread it--I hate going into that bobbin area. I need shelf covers,too. Right now i am folding sheets,twin blankets,etc..
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Post by Celene on Jan 28, 2015 13:55:32 GMT -5
abbeytheferret6, I make hammocks and shelf covers if you're interested. 100% of all sales goes directly to my charity Send A Snuggle which sends hammocks and beds to ferret and small animal shelters
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Post by gfountain on Jan 28, 2015 14:04:20 GMT -5
Poor thing. My girls actually really enjoy sliding down the ramp. Sometimes they'll run up it just to use as a slide. If you're looking for ideas for an alternative there was a recent post on the fb holistic ferret group. Got a little heated/messy as these sorts of posts tend to do, but still has lots of good suggestions. My girls are both relatively young and agile (and small enough to slide down the ramp) but a tunnel or steps would be a good idea for the future. Poor thing... LOL! Nothing poor about him. He's very spoiled and somewhat lazy. He can handle the ramp WHEN he wants to! If I don't pick him and put him in when he thinks I should, he goes in just fine on his own!
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Post by RedSky on Jan 28, 2015 17:00:24 GMT -5
What a great idea, I don't think I could bear to cut into my critter nation cage. Bit late for suggestions but for others it might be an idea to remove a side panel and replace with a wooden board or mesh with frame with a gap cut out. That way if you ever need to keep them caged you can just replace the side panel.
As for the ramps, I don't have the external one but my biggest male struggles enough with the ones in the cage, if they are any worse than those then I can't blame you for being cautious about them. To get in and out of the cage I simply have 2 upside down cardboard boxes that they use as stairs. But mine haven't discovered that they can move them... yet. But they could easily be glued together and zip tied to the bottom rack. I'm going to cut wholes in them so they can use them as hides and plan on replacing them with a wooden box.
My female loves anything she can slide down, and loves climbing up things. She is so agile, almost graceful but very decisive and fast while my 2 males are clumsy and awkward and slow in comparison, they are improving though.
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Post by Celene on Jan 28, 2015 17:09:39 GMT -5
RedSky, they also have steps that are designed to help elderly dogs/cats climb onto the couch and I believe they are about the right height for the FN cages. I've seen ones with "no slip" rubber bottoms which would be harder to push. I have ramps inside my cage but my girls don't use them at all, they just jump up and down from the shelves. The only one they use is to/from the 2nd whole floor since the only entrance/exit is the corner hole in the floor so they don't have a choice. I don't think cutting into the cage is that big of a deal. If abbeytheferret6 ever needs to close up the cage she could just install one of those sliding vent cover things over it. Like this only plastic:
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Post by RedSky on Jan 28, 2015 17:22:30 GMT -5
We have a ramp to help our dog get in the car, only problem is it will only work with the boot, doesn't fit onto the back seat where I would rather have him in case I ever get rear ended. The ones for in the house might be a good idea, I'd rather build my own so I can make it into a hide but for the time being they have cardboard and haven't attempted to move them.
I have a critter nation so the bars are horizontal and much easier to climb, I moved the ramp to the front of the cage as Korra (my female) tried jumping from the shelf out of the cage rather than using the ramp at the back, now she often uses the bars at the back of the cage to climb up but uses the ramp to come down. I've only ever seen my males use the ramp to get up or down unless Mako decides to skill-fully fall off a hammock or hanging bed so I make sure they are low. I'm actually debating whether to have them outside in a shed with a link into the house or to keep them inside and by another critter nation so I can build longer ramps so they aren't as steep for my boys.
The sliding cover is a great idea and from looking at the picture posted at the top of the page it looks like it's the side panel that has been cut, I'd imagine if needed that would be much easier to replace, I thought it was a door. Teach me to look properly.
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Post by gfountain on Jan 28, 2015 19:33:04 GMT -5
RedSky, try either replacing the ramps with tubes or zip tie tubes ONTO the ramps. That makes going up and down easier and oh-so-much-more-fun.
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