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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2015 22:16:15 GMT -5
I own a two bedroom house, but recently a family member moved in with me as they have fallen on hard times. They do not plan on staying with me for long, so when they leave I plan on turning the extra room into a room for my ferrets.
I was wondering how many of you have rooms entirely dedicated to your ferrets? If so, does anyone leave their ferret cage open at all times, so the ferrets can play whenever they want? Or is that unwise, even in a ferret-proofed room?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2015 22:32:11 GMT -5
Mine have their own room. They free roam for the most part but when I leave the house I put them in their ferret nation mansion.
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Post by FerretsnFalcons on Dec 22, 2015 22:41:52 GMT -5
My ferrets have their own room. First it was a game room, then it was the rat room, and now it is the ferret room. It's bigger than my bedroom, lol. It is completely ferret proofed, and plus, my fuzzies aren't chewers so I'm not terribly worried about a blockage. I leave the cage open all the time so they can get out and play in the boxes and tunnels whenever they want. They spend about half their time in the cage (sleeping in the hammocks and eating) and half out of the cage, they just go wherever they feel like sleeping. I think that having a room dedicated to your ferrets is great because they can get exercise and entertainment even when you aren't around to play with them. You have to make sure the room is completely safe though if you're going to leave them unsupervised, and maybe cage them when you're asleep or not at home. It depends on how mischievous your fuzzies are. Always supervise them for the first couple weeks or so to make sure they can't get into any trouble. Also, have LOTS of litter boxes. Normally, having one or two litter boxes in a big room is not going to cut it. I have 6 litter boxes and sometimes they STILL miss!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2015 23:54:04 GMT -5
My ferrets have their own room. First it was a game room, then it was the rat room, and now it is the ferret room. It's bigger than my bedroom, lol. It is completely ferret proofed, and plus, my fuzzies aren't chewers so I'm not terribly worried about a blockage. I leave the cage open all the time so they can get out and play in the boxes and tunnels whenever they want. They spend about half their time in the cage (sleeping in the hammocks and eating) and half out of the cage, they just go wherever they feel like sleeping. I think that having a room dedicated to your ferrets is great because they can get exercise and entertainment even when you aren't around to play with them. You have to make sure the room is completely safe though if you're going to leave them unsupervised, and maybe cage them when you're asleep or not at home. It depends on how mischievous your fuzzies are. Always supervise them for the first couple weeks or so to make sure they can't get into any trouble. Also, have LOTS of litter boxes. Normally, having one or two litter boxes in a big room is not going to cut it. I have 6 litter boxes and sometimes they STILL miss! I really appreciate this response, thank you!
I plan on ripping up the carpet (because it is old and gross anyway) and putting down polished wood or possibly tile, and I would be covering all outlets and the heater. I at work about 10 hours a day and would not feel comfortable leaving them alone all day, but I will definitely take your advise and see how they are for the first few weeks (once I am able to do this anyway). They are not troublemakers so far that I have discovered, but to be truthful that could be because I am always around to stop them.
Riley is great with the litter box, but Enzo...is another story. Honestly I'm considering lining the entire room with puppy pads.
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Post by Heather on Dec 23, 2015 4:02:47 GMT -5
My guys have 2 rooms. The larger room belongs to the jills and my rescues (there is a nursery off this room as well but it's only used when the kits are too small for caging). There is smaller room that belongs to my bratty hobs. Even though they have their own rooms, they all have main house play each day. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 9:23:31 GMT -5
My ferrets have their own room, but because of potty training issues, we keep them in the cage overnight and while we are at work. They know to go on the training pads, and they try, but they miss a lot and wind up going right next to the pads instead of on it. The last apartment we were in, they also had their own room and we left the cage open all the time, but when we moved, the landlord changed the carpets and there was quite a smelly surprise in all the subflooring so we are being more cautious now in our new place. Also, when we are home in the evenings and weekends, we let them out of their room to rummage through the house as they please. I have the kitchen blocked off because of holes under the cabinets leading to who knows where. I'm curious to know how others let their furries run free roam without 1) worrying about them getting lost in their kitchen cabinets or under their stoves, and 2) getting ferret droppings all over the place.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 10:13:58 GMT -5
My gals have their own room with linoleum floor( my first ferrets ruined my other carpet). Cage doors stay closed, but it is permanently opened by way of a hole that I cut on the side with a tube mounted on the entrance ladder. Did this to my one level cage as well. My babies love their cages. I keep them covered with black out curtains and a privacy cover. Mine will come down from lower level at night to use potties that r strategically placed;) However, I have to put potty on top level because they will not come down if they r on that level.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 10:20:47 GMT -5
We use our spare room as a ferret room. In summer (like now) the spare room can get quite hot since its in the direction where the sun sets at night, so I moved them into my roommates room until it cools down. They pretty much own the entire house (the ferrets I mean) so I let them out most of the time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 10:38:35 GMT -5
If you buy ceramic tile, put a few coats of sealer on grout. My first babies peed on light grey grout in bathroom and it stained in places to a darker grey. I really do not know how many coats you would need. I had one.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 10:57:55 GMT -5
We placed PVC floors in the bed room and gaming room, the hall and bathroom are tiled, the living room has parquet. The ferrets aren't allowed in the kitchen, it's unsafe under the cabinets and can't be ferret proofed. The ferrets only having restricted access to the living room, the flooring is to delicate. But the gaming room, bed room and the hall are always open to the ferrets to roam. We have to keep a close eye on accidents in the tiled rooms, pee can stain grout. Also marble will get stained pretty ugly... Leaned this the hard way...
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Post by Sherry on Dec 23, 2015 11:51:37 GMT -5
Mine have to share a room. At night it is my bedroom. During the day it is the ferret's room.
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Post by Klarissa on Dec 23, 2015 11:57:25 GMT -5
My ferrets have their own room. Right now Fredzia has decided she hates everyone, so we rotate them; 12 hours in the cage, 12 hours in the room (obviously there is play time in each 12 hours). Once Fredzia gets along with the others, they will have 24/7 run of the room & cage is for sleeping.
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Post by maja01 on Dec 23, 2015 16:05:30 GMT -5
Until few months ago, my ferrets had their own ferret room with cages always open - they just liked to sleep in them.
Since we have moved into a new house, now they have a closed an covered terrace and a catio/ferret enclosure. Things are not finished yet, I have to connect the two of them and some other things are missing. The only exception is Chili, he lives in a house (does not get along with youngsters + he is not in the best condition to be outside). He has a cage wich is his safe spot, but the doors are open almost all of the time (except when I am doing something I don't want him to go into, or if we have visitors).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 20:10:53 GMT -5
My little guy has a room all to himself, but he won't stay in it. He HATES closed doors and will claw at them until we give up and let him roam the rest of our apartment. I want him to be able to free roam in his bedroom, but potty training ( He picks and chooses when he is going to use the litter box ) him is rather difficult and the clawing thing is quite a pain since we are renting.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 20:33:49 GMT -5
Mine have a frustration with closed doors. They are free toam around the house, we don't have any cages. I have 2 that miss the litterbox daily a few times, other 3 are perfect with it. For noe we have a drama because we have a newbie and 2 of them don't accept him so we have 2 groups, 1 in living room + kitchen and one in bedroom that rotate. They lived nearly all their life as free roam so closed doors are a tragedy for them however, they rarely scratch, they just line up and flat ferret in front of the closed door and look miserable to make me feel guilty...
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