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Post by anunnaki on Jan 13, 2016 11:13:45 GMT -5
nbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb88h (<<Oxley) Hello all!! I've seen some videos online that show ferrets jumping from say a counter top to an ironing board (and falling). That seems ridiculously high to me and then I realized, I don't have a clue how high is too high for a ferret. I realize this must be common since but I see these videos and I think they can handle a high jump. Oxley has had this strange (to me) behavior since day one, he falls from the shelf in his FN to the bottom shelf when he wakes up. It's not too high but it freaks me out because he lands funny and I think he is going to break his neck. But here we are at 4mos old and he still does this, is it normal? Also, I would like to know how high is too high for him. For example, he threw himself off of the side of the tub (caught him at the bottom with a towel the second time) and he jumps from his FN cage to the tile floor (I've caught him all but twice). As he gets older I see that he is becoming quiet the jumper lol and I don't want him to get hurt.
Thanks for all the help!
Ps. This has been typed twice because Oxley keeps climbing up to my lap then onto the keyboard and he stood on the delete button lol.;.;;\assaaagyu7;w[e'hjN*Jgh8f <<< That's him again! (giggle)
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Post by Sherry on Jan 13, 2016 11:16:23 GMT -5
It all depends on how they land If they land wrong, 2' is too high.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 13, 2016 11:18:00 GMT -5
Heather had a wee girl who was climbing into her FN, slipped, and landed on the bottom shelf. She had to be euthanized due to a very serious back injury that was causing her tremendous pain.
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Post by anunnaki on Jan 13, 2016 11:23:43 GMT -5
Sherry That is horrible!! Now I am really worried about Oxley sliding head first onto the bottom shelf. I think I may have to make or buy some netting to string up from the shelf to the ceiling and only leave a hole for his ramp and hammock. The few times he has jumped from anything he has landed on his belly but they weren't soft landings! Thank you for the info!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 12:05:54 GMT -5
Ferrets get crazy excited on beds---I don't know why.
Maybe their poor eyesight prevents them from seeing the floor very well, but one of my previous ones got very excited while on the bed. He came off of it sailing in the air. Hubbie caught him before he hit the floor. When they get on the bed now, we don't play with them.
The other day my new girl was perched on the edge of one of those swivel desk chairs, on the very top. I slowly walked to her not saying a word (trying not to get her excited in case she fell off the wrong side). She just stayed there watching me as I got her.
Too bad they do not have the spring like a cat.
I close the door on my ferret nation after doing each chore---like if i have to remove blankets, then remove potty. They can climb up the ladders---in my case the tube--- so fast.
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Post by anunnaki on Jan 13, 2016 12:19:23 GMT -5
abbeytheferret6 (rofl)Lucky for the ferret that your husband caught him!! They do get crazy on the bed! Oxley runs laps under the covers and I have to go under with him so he doesn't run off the edge as our bed is really tall and we have wood floors in there. How in the world did she climb all the way up there (desk chair)?? I guess I'm in for a big surprise the bigger Oxley gets, huh? I was thinking the cat thing earlier but then again my cat is the worst acrobat ever, he rarely lands a jump and currently has a limp from a sprain. :face:
I do the same thing with closing the door but I also try to only clean his cage when he is out and about in the house. The jumping thing just started, as soon as I put him in (before I even stand up) he turns and leaps out! lol He is only in his cage to eat and sleep but sometimes I guess he is just not hungry or sleepy after hours of play like I think he is.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 12:34:24 GMT -5
Mine have fell of all sorts of hights and they seem to land on all fours most of the time, when I'm walks and they climb up things and fall off I think that they're going to go "splat!" On the floor but I forget that the leash attached to the harness snags itself on things so stops them from splatting on the floor so they just dangle in mid air and look at me as if to say, "My harness saved me" and then once I've untangled the leash while holding which ever ferret I've taken out, they carry on happily exploring and power sniffing
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 12:52:30 GMT -5
It really depends on the landing. They might land fine from the top floor of a FN, or they might not. It's best not to take those sort of chances. I don't worry about heights that are about as tall as a chair, or couch, or bed, but if it gets higher than a foot or foot and a half (30-40cm) then it does get me a bit nervous. Ferrets don't have very good eyesight, and therefore they can't judge depth very well. If you are worried, put some pillows or soft things under the places where they like to jump. I have one that likes to launch herself off of the couch arm so we have a safety system in place
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 12:57:44 GMT -5
My boys love jumping from heights. Specifically my bed. So I leave piles of blankets and other soft things for them to land on. Like other people mentioned, I close off the FN cage when they are not in it. Good Luck. Our silly weasels do like to keep us on our toes.
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Post by Blue on Jan 13, 2016 13:02:34 GMT -5
I've heard enough stories of bad injuries from even small falls that I'm extra cautious. Even in the cage I have hammocks spread out so that even if she falls off a shelf, she'll hopefully get caught in a hammock. She doesn't like coming up on the bed. I think it might be because early on, she danced right off it before I could catch her. She also won't go down the hardwood stairs for the same reason, I think. I put a tube in and she always uses that to go down. She'll take the stairs on the way up and occasionally loses her footing, but generally falls down just that 1 step. Sometimes I think she does it on purpose so that I make a big fuss over her and "rescue" her mid-stairwell
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Post by Heather on Jan 13, 2016 13:49:07 GMT -5
As Sherry mentioned, I lost a beautiful wee jill to a fall. She slipped off the entry to the FN cage and landed partially under the cage on the shelf below. She was about 14 months old. Any fall is too far. I too, have seen videos of ferrets jumping and missing (they lack good depth perception so have a tendency to muck it up). I also remember a video of a ferret who is jumping from the sofa to the coffee table. The ferret did this regularly. The person who took the video cleaned her house and moved that table, the ferret jumped as he always did only the table wasn't exactly where it usually was. He missed. The edge of the table caught him under the chin. It snapped his neck, he was dead before he hit the ground. All in fun . Years ago we had cages (before the FN cage) called Marshals Mansions. They were horrible things but at the time the best there were. The problem...the height of the cages and the wee narrow shelves. Ferrets would jump out of the top shelf in a scratching fury and fall to the bottom of the cage. Many were injured. I do not allow my guys to jump and try and discourage climbing. Am I paranoid...yes I am ciao
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Post by anunnaki on Jan 13, 2016 13:52:50 GMT -5
You guys are killing me with the stories lol, I love them! @frolickingferrets thank goodness for the leash and harnesses I wont forget your video of Vinnie ( I think) on a walk power sniffing and sneezing hahaha. @sveta I have a towel in the spot he likes to jump off the tub on and I think I am going to get some mesh and fix the cage problem (I can try to get it on video). I love the safety system for the couch launching lol I can seriously imagine that. @danilutka they do keep us on our toes!! I think its cute that yours like to jump so much and I close off my cage too otherwise my cat eats his food. I was thinking about getting the FN exit ramp but the cat would always be in the cage too and I am worried he will fall off of it now or just jump right past it. Blue that is so cute that she needs rescuing !! When we move (if it's two stories) I will have to use that tube idea because Oxley loves tubes! I have a hammock and a hanging tube in his cage but he just hangs his head off the shelf when he wakes up and slides right down onto it!
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Post by anunnaki on Jan 13, 2016 14:00:18 GMT -5
Heather that is all so heartbreaking to read and I'm sorry for your loss. It would kill me if I didn't take steps to stop Oxley's neck snapping cage slides and I lost him over it. My husband already has a great idea to fix it and when we do I'll post a pic. As for the other jumping places, I'm always with him but I can't always catch him so I will do like the others have suggested and place safety systems out. Thank you for sharing those stories, they were hard to read but important to know.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 14:06:54 GMT -5
our bed is really tall and we have wood floors in there. How in the world did she climb all the way up there (desk chair)?? Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/19902/ferret-jumping-falling-high?page=1#ixzz3x9UUtQ7rOur bed is tall too. All our boxsprings have some shreds around the them from ferret claws. i think she climbed the chair by way of the computer case on the floor. Although chair is leather, the back rest slightly tilts backwards and it has some cushiony padding. Just my speculation on that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 14:21:18 GMT -5
You guys are killing me with the stories lol, I love them! @frolickingferrets thank goodness for the leash and harnesses I wont forget your video of Vinnie ( I think) on a walk power sniffing and sneezing hahaha. @sveta I have a towel in the spot he likes to jump off the tub on and I think I am going to get some mesh and fix the cage problem (I can try to get it on video). I love the safety system for the couch launching lol I can seriously imagine that. @danilutka they do keep us on our toes!! I think its cute that yours like to jump so much and I close off my cage too otherwise my cat eats his food. I was thinking about getting the FN exit ramp but the cat would always be in the cage too and I am worried he will fall off of it now or just jump right past it. Blue that is so cute that she needs rescuing !! When we move (if it's two stories) I will have to use that tube idea because Oxley loves tubes! I have a hammock and a hanging tube in his cage but he just hangs his head off the shelf when he wakes up and slides right down onto it! The funny thing about Nancy is that she does silly things when she's on a walk, when I'm filming her, I managed to film one of her fails
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