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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2017 21:26:12 GMT -5
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Post by LindaM on Sept 26, 2017 21:59:24 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing how this goes and how they react to it. My husband and I thought about perhaps using some faux grass/turf in the window well (our downstairs has bay-window wells), but I got scared at the thought that they might eat it and I couldn't find one that felt real enough to me, and the well does get some nice sunlight, so I may just end up planting some real grass in there for them.
Hmm.. do I see a Ryobi powertool down there? ; P
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2017 22:23:54 GMT -5
Hey thanks! I put one of them on the platform as I put the grass over it and they smelled around and then weasel war danced off the platform lol! And yes that is a Ryobi drill, it was recommended to me by the Home Depot guys. I'm not too worried about them eating the grass they don't really eat or chew on anything that isn't their food. They do like to dig though so my hope is they don't rip up the carpet with their claws.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2017 22:35:14 GMT -5
Update: Added the holes for their tunnel and the nesting section. Also, started adding the screen mesh to keep them in. Added a few more of the pvc pipes for the walls. Today I secured the tunnel that runs from the left most hole from the top left of the picture to the bottom right of the picture and let both my ferrets try it out. After a little bit of hesitation they seem to love it! I'm just really glad they didn't get stuck 😓. The right most hole at the top left of the picture leads to underneath that ramp part and will be their "den" it will be carpeted and have all their favorite blankets. The only problem I have is that I mismeasured how big the carpet needed to be by about 5 inches ðŸ˜I will just need to pick up more carpet and hope I can make it look relatively seamless.
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Post by LindaM on Sept 27, 2017 23:53:41 GMT -5
I love Ryobi powertools, LOL. They are mine, not my husband's, mine, all mine but I share with him, haha.
It's good that they won't chew, though I would also keep an eye out on the digging. It isn't a problem with most ferrets, though sometimes something intrigues them into digging at things, for example with carpet, when we closed the door to our ferrets bedroom the first times or after each time they'd seen beyond a downstairs door and we keep those closed, they'd dig at the carpet by the door in an attempt to go under it, which obviously isn't going to happen the doors seal down pretty seamless onto the carpet. Mine have also out of curiosity dug at the sealed drain pipe in our downstairs where the kitchenette sink is supposed to be installed later. Luckily the carpet downstairs is the same as their bedroom (haven't been able to rip it and tile just yet) and is a very dense, short pile. In our previous home, with different, longer pile carpet that wasn't super dense, they did end up doing some damage out of frustration one day and dug down to the backing.
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Post by Aftershock on Sept 28, 2017 1:03:02 GMT -5
Another tip- make sure it is easy to clean. I've heard of others making gorgeous cages only to end up never using them and hating them because they were a total pain to clean. Our cage is 2ft tall, 5ft long, and 2ft wide, and opens like a chest so cleaning is a breeze. We also put vinyl down on the bottom for more easy cleaning.
I do second Linda's caution on the fake grass... Also, it could end up being a total pain. I could see mine pooping on it and never stopping (once the smell is there, it's pretty much impossible to get out, and that means they keep going there). I'm all about the least amount of time I have to spend cleaning up poop lmao!
Your idea is fabulous, I just personally don't think it's practical. I almost think actual sod would be less of a hassle.
Please please please don't think I'm bashing your idea! I just want to point out a couple of things you may not have considered!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 13:37:26 GMT -5
All good points! I appreciate your feed back, and the points you raised are good concerns. I have worked out some of those points. Cleaning: The cage is made up of three slim boards with the fake grass on top. The grass can actually be folded up and the middle board can be lifted out to give me access to anywhere in the cage. Unfortunately my little guys never quite took to litter training so I do not know what spot they will choose as their bathroom but the grass is rubber backed meaning their liquid waste won't be absorbed into the carpet when they do use it. Actually, the fake grass I used isnt regular fake grass it is actually to help train dogs to use the bathroom out side. So it's made to be used as a bathroom and be easy to clean.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 14:38:30 GMT -5
Update: I secured the last board and started installing the chicken wire/ hardware cloth. I also installed a light. (The light has no practical purpose other than the area is kinda dark with no overhead lights.) Also my cat likes to photo bomb lol
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 22:16:34 GMT -5
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Post by LindaM on Sept 29, 2017 22:22:41 GMT -5
Lovely to see them happy in there! <3 You did a good job with this.
Two things, and not to be mean or crazy sounding or anything, but throw the water bottle away. Water bottles are great for rodents, but ferrets are not rodents. The bottles often lead to teeth damage or even chipping, as well as inhibiting them from drinking enough water. Instead, it's best to use a lock croc bowl (think of the ones for parrots or animal carriers) that use a wingnut to lock onto the cage.
I'd also keep an eye to make sure none of yours are avid climbers... some have an affinity for things that allow easy climbing like smaller or closer connected bars on a Critter Nation or like this case, chicken wire. Make sure none of them try climbing it and risk falling to hurt themselves.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 23:03:06 GMT -5
Lovely to see them happy in there! <3 You did a good job with this. Two things, and not to be mean or crazy sounding or anything, but throw the water bottle away. Water bottles are great for rodents, but ferrets are not rodents. The bottles often lead to teeth damage or even chipping, as well as inhibiting them from drinking enough water. Instead, it's best to use a lock croc bowl (think of the ones for parrots or animal carriers) that use a wingnut to lock onto the cage. I'd also keep an eye to make sure none of yours are avid climbers... some have an affinity for things that allow easy climbing like smaller or closer connected bars on a Critter Nation or like this case, chicken wire. Make sure none of them try climbing it and risk falling to hurt themselves. Good points- As for climbing, one of them will climb but he will only do it if he thinks he can escape. Once I put the roof on he climbed up and saw he couldn't get out and hasnt tried climbing back up since. As for the water bowl that's good to know, I didn't know that. But funny enough I happened to buy them a replacement to go along with their fancy new cage. (Before you ask I'm going to tie it down to the floor because I can totally see them knocking this over lol) Other than that all good points. I did design the cage with the specific habits of my own ferrets in mind so this cage is definately not a generic catch all for any ferrets and if I get more ferrets in the future or if my ferrets develop new habits I may have to modify it again. I'm lucky my ferrets aren't big climbers, they're not big chewers, and seem to like sleeping on the floor instead of in a hammock. So I designed the cage with those things in mind to not only make it fun and safe for them but also kinda nice looking for me.
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Post by LindaM on Sept 29, 2017 23:54:51 GMT -5
Hmm, is that an electric/battery operated fountain? I think I found it on Amazon and it seems to be a corded (electric) unit. Now, many on here will tell you that the pet fountains are not a good idea and that the ferrets will only dig the water out very fast and then the motor of the unit will burn out due to lack of water.
I, on the other hand, actually have had success in using a pet fountain with my ferrets, as they shared the one my cat uses. They used it absolutely normally, and even the occasional head snorkel didn't hurt it. But since they have been moved into their own bedroom, I haven't felt quite safe about leaving them with something like that totally unsupervised.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2017 12:53:49 GMT -5
Mine just came today, I'll let you know how it goes! Update: Happy ferrets!
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Post by katt on Oct 1, 2017 23:48:41 GMT -5
The cage looks absolutely beautiful. It looks like it will be a cleaning nightmare though. : S How are you going to clean that AstroTurf? Unless you have a pressure washer maybe that's going to be a major pain. Poop, meat, ferrety oils...it's going to accumulate quite the layer of grime. Can you wheel the cage outside and use a pressure washer? That might work well.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2017 20:14:50 GMT -5
The cage looks absolutely beautiful. It looks like it will be a cleaning nightmare though. : S How are you going to clean that AstroTurf? Unless you have a pressure washer maybe that's going to be a major pain. Poop, meat, ferrety oils...it's going to accumulate quite the layer of grime. Can you wheel the cage outside and use a pressure washer? That might work well. Lol nope not necessary, the turf is actually one giant "puppy pee pad" that is used to help train dogs to go to the bathroom outside. All that is required is a little bit of mild cleaner on the spots that they don't use the litter box on. It's meant to be pee'd and defecated on.... literally! Thanks for the complement though!
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