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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 7:28:45 GMT -5
Ok, So i was going to have my boys in a savic suite royal cage (pretty much like a ferret nation but UK style i think..? But my room isn't very big and it can get hot and stuffy so i thought it was best to buy and convert a 4x3x6 foot shed and have a half mesh, half wood door so the dog couldn't stress them out and to give them a shaded floor to keep cool as well as mesh for ventilation, building and creating this enclosure was a big challenge but it worked out surprisingly cheaper than buying the indoor cage, which is much smaller ahaha logic... and everyone chipped in to help build it, my brother also built a nesting box which is bolted to the wall, with ramps and a ledge to get the full benefit of height to make it how their wild cousin would climb trees, me and my mum also made two hammocks, one side fleece, the other side tough fabric, however cool to cool them down so it can be switched round for different seasons, anyway, here are some photos of the final thing!   |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 7:41:17 GMT -5
Looks very nice. I would move bottom ladder out further-- it is a little steep . Coming down head first can be a little scary, especially as ferrets get older.
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Post by Celene on Jul 21, 2015 10:41:56 GMT -5
katt has a Kenai and a Koda too! I thought it was a crazy coincidence until I googled the names and saw they were from a movie 
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Post by Heather on Jul 21, 2015 11:04:08 GMT -5
Love the shed  I do have some suggestions. To keep your little ones safe you need to make multiple larger shelves with shorter ladders and less of an incline. If your wee ones fall from the shelves as they're set up right now they will get hurt and the ladder is set on too steep an angle. Ferrets are clutsy wee creatures and if an itch takes them they will fall. Having lost a wee girlie to a back injury caused by a fall I know that safe climbing is always an issue. Considering the space, I would consider running 2 different levels of shelves with ledges (to buffer and rolling off) at least the full width of the shed. This would make is considerably safer for your little ones. I don't like the shelves on the ferret nations as they're much too narrow and falls happen. I've take them out of the hob cages all together. The jills are bit more agile but I've dropped the shelves down lower to reduce the angle of the ramps and to reduce falls ciao |
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Post by unclejoe on Jul 21, 2015 13:12:02 GMT -5
I think it's brilliant, but I agree that the ramp need to be longer. more beds and hammocks, too. Are you planing on putting anything on the floor? And what about litter boxes? Ferrets are good at climbing, but getting down, no so good.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 13:35:44 GMT -5
My two ferrets would crash going down the lower ramp  . I'd try adding another level and then another ramp there or like everyone said make it less steep. Very creative though. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 15:53:39 GMT -5
I like Heather'a idea of making more shelves the width of cage. They do get the itchies and will come bounding out of their sleeper box. It will also give them exploration places. you can cut 4 inch holes in shelves with a jig saw and use flexible drainage pipe as ladders to get to from one shelf to the next. Of course you will have to clamp pipe down with a band of some sort and some screws at entrance of hole and the exit to keep it from moving. I would wait before putting babies in their just yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 16:02:27 GMT -5
I like Heather'a idea of making more shelves to buffer them falling off They do get the itchies and will come bounding out of their sleeper box. It will also give them exploration places. you can cut 4 inch holes in shelves with a jig saw and use flexible drainage pipe as ladders to get down from one shelf to the next. Of course you will have to clamp pipe down with a band of some sort and some screws. I would wait before putting babies in their just yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 17:43:30 GMT -5
Hiya, so many replies and i can't multi-quote like i was able to on hamster hideout forum before my boy passed away... D: Ahahaha, also this is an enclosure to keep converting to older they get, so rest assured every so often i will change the layout, thank you all for the tips, i shall take them into account most definitely! This was a week before i got my boys (when it actually looked presentable and clean ahaha not anymore with the rascals!) They have two ways of getting down, they used to have steep ramps in their old hutch they were raised in, and so learnt from their mum(s) how to climb and get down, i have also done a hammock tower (3 hammocks one under the other) which Koda uses to climb down, they have two litter boxes because they are also fussy with which one they use, tunnels, balls, rags etc and hanging rags as toys to catch, they also get a minimum of 6 hours out for play each day which they can free roam the garden under supervision as it if fully ferret proof, however i'd never leave them out of my sight.
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Post by msav on Jul 24, 2015 8:33:09 GMT -5
What you could do is use tubing instead of ramps.(or attached to ramps) I use woodworkers dust collection tubing as it is durable and see through. There is also ridges inside so that they can grip to climb or slow themselves down. I have tried to get a ferret out of this tube and they can grip those ridges extremely well (some shaking of the tube was required). I have had these same tubes for about 8 years now and they are still in great shape minus some chewed ends see pic below for making ramps safer  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 8:46:46 GMT -5
What you could do is use tubing instead of ramps.(or attached to ramps) I use woodworkers dust collection tubing as it is durable and see through. There is also ridges inside so that they can grip to climb or slow themselves down. I have tried to get a ferret out of this tube and they can grip those ridges extremely well (some shaking of the tube was required). I have had these same tubes for about 8 years now and they are still in great shape minus some chewed ends see pic below for making ramps safer That's a cool idea! How could I attach them onto the ramp? What's the most secure way? Cable ties looped through drilled holes in the ramp? |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 9:32:22 GMT -5
Exactly  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 15:54:37 GMT -5
Exactly Brilliant! I'll do that soon!  |
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I do have some suggestions. To keep your little ones safe you need to make multiple larger shelves with shorter ladders and less of an incline. If your wee ones fall from the shelves as they're set up right now they will get hurt and the ladder is set on too steep an angle. Ferrets are clutsy wee creatures and if an itch takes them they will fall. Having lost a wee girlie to a back injury caused by a fall I know that safe climbing is always an issue. Considering the space, I would consider running 2 different levels of shelves with ledges (to buffer and rolling off) at least the full width of the shed. This would make is considerably safer for your little ones. I don't like the shelves on the ferret nations as they're much too narrow and falls happen. I've take them out of the hob cages all together. The jills are bit more agile but I've dropped the shelves down lower to reduce the angle of the ramps and to reduce falls
