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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2016 10:31:17 GMT -5
Hi everyone, so my idea for this weekend is to make my ferrets a dig box. My husband is against the idea of rice and/or dry beans for some reason. He feels it will attract bugs. I can't sway him on that but he suggested the idea of small gravel or even fish tank gravel. I thought it was a pretty good idea but wanted to see if anyone had any bad experiences with that or had other ideas. I would do dry leaves but we are in the middle of summer here on the east coast so there are no dry leaves to be found at this time. This would need to be mostly an indoor idea for now because it is a bit too hot and humid out this type of year for them to be outside.
Thanks! Donna Marco and Bandit
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Post by Aftershock on Jun 25, 2016 11:07:16 GMT -5
I personally would be worried about them eating it and it causing a blockage. I saw somewhere that those packing peanuts that disintegrate with water are okay. There is a thread in the enrichment board that mentions a kiddie pool with wet sand.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2016 11:22:35 GMT -5
I saw the one about the pool and the wet sand but this is for indoors and that can get kind of messy in the house. I wanted to do a large storage container to close up when done. Maybe just a bag of dry play sand.
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Post by gitabooks on Jun 26, 2016 19:40:40 GMT -5
I used a deep bucket with soil in it. My ferrets enjoyed it once they got use to the feel of the dirt on their paws. If its messy then you can put a towel or old sheet under the bucket for whatever spills out. Ping pong balls can also be fun for them, among other things they can burrow in.
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Post by Sherry on Jun 27, 2016 10:10:03 GMT -5
I regularly use rice, or pasta(and no, never a bug ). Other times have used soil, large beans(kidney etc), ping pong balls, shredded paper, dead leaves in the autumn. Others have used marbles, towels, plastic bags(with handles cut).
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 28, 2016 13:46:25 GMT -5
If you can work it, real dirt or potting soil is probably the favorite. I had a big storage tote with 50 lb of play sand in it and they were able to dig tunnels if I kept it wet enough. I cut a hole above the level of the sand and put a tunnel in it. That made it a little easier easier to control the mess. But, 50 lb is a pain to move. A coffee can is the same size as a ferret tunnel. Heat the can on a stove and it will melt a perfect hole on the bin.
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Post by caitmonster on Jun 28, 2016 14:43:02 GMT -5
I have a bin with 20lb of rice (got an odd look from the cashier when I checked out along with the question, "You must really like rice, huh?" (giggle) ) with an assortment of small tunnel sections and plastic cat balls for mine. Every once in a while I've gotten a few of those tiny little moths that are attracted to rice and flour--I don't know what they're called, just that they like dry foods like that--but since they don't eat or harm anything else, I just put out some moth traps and that took care of them. But otherwise no bug problems either.
Oh, edit regarding the corn peanuts: mine would go into paroxysms of joy playing in them for about 2 minutes, and then discovered that they're really fun to munch on--needless to say there was no more playing in the peanuts. YMMV, but you might want to keep that in mind if yours show an affinity for nomming them.
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Post by msav on Jun 28, 2016 17:00:12 GMT -5
I have a tub with 50lbs of Jasmine rice that is 7 years old. No issues with bugs. However the Rice Smells like ferret.
I often joke with the other half about having ferret rice for dinner.
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Post by Klarissa on Jun 28, 2016 17:54:53 GMT -5
I had a rice bucket, that I hid dehydrated & FDR treats in. But if there weren't treats in it, they'd poop in it I chalked it up to them getting bored of it, tossed the rice, and will re add the rice bin in a couple months. I never had problems with bugs - only pests I encounter are my ferrets Ping pong balls & plastic Easter eggs are a riot. I also have a ball pit.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2016 12:00:56 GMT -5
Mine like the starch packing peanuts a lot. Its the most amusing thing to watch and probably my favorite toy to see them playing with. I did use rice for a little bit, but that involved more clean up (as I wasn't using a lid on the dig box), and Mouse was eating the rice, which I wasn't sure if that was healthy or not. I was thinking about making another dig box when they switch rooms. This time with soil. Actually, I wanted to know, what type of soil are people using for dig boxes? Like what brand?
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Post by msav on Jun 30, 2016 11:49:40 GMT -5
I have a couple that will eat starch packing peanuts. SO they got tossed.
would not even think about giving them Styrofoam peanuts
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Liz
New member
Posts: 74
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Post by Liz on Aug 1, 2016 16:06:04 GMT -5
Would you guys suggest anything for a dig box in the cage? I have a plastic bin I'd like to put some fun-to-dig materials in on the bottom level.
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Dig boxes
Aug 1, 2016 16:11:40 GMT -5
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Post by Corvidophile on Aug 1, 2016 16:11:40 GMT -5
Would felt scraps work or cause a static problem? Like a whole bunch of scraps about 1/2 inch big from leftover felt from a craft project?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 14:19:05 GMT -5
I bet they would enjoy it'! Though they might end up just nesting in it if it's soft
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2016 16:39:32 GMT -5
I use a rice box. It can get messy when 3 ferrets are war dancing and fighting in it (dance) . The only thing is I think I put too much in a very deep box but they still love it. I got packing peanuts that disintegrate with water but my Lucy loves them as a snack, so they got tossed. Rice definitely does not attract bugs and I think it's one of the better alternatives. (No instant rice, though.)
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