Hammock(s) - dumb questions, LOL

[WhollyJules]

Newb ferrent mama here. Even though the large dog cage is finally escape proof(!), I will be able to get my little rescued ferret girly a Critter Nation double cage / apartment sooner rather than later—SO EXCITED! 

My questions about hammocks:

Placement. How do you know where to put them in her apartment?  

How do they get in and out of the hammock? Bet this relates to placement, but not sure.

Size. My little Molly (Good Golly Miss Molly!) is small, not sure how old, but she probably weighs a pound-ish, body length around 10", and I do not know if she will get larger. No appropriate scale to weigh her. What size hammock would be recommended? 

Thank you tons for any help you can provide!

Jules

[cockneyferret]

Glad Molly will be getting an upgrade sooner than expected.

I had the same thoughts myself, but in the end I just put the hammocks around half way between the floor pan and the shelves. That way it makes a half step for them.

Plus has the bonus of a softer landing should their play get a little rough and they start falling off the shelves. At least they land in a hammock.

Our two rarely sleep in their hammocks, but often use them instead of the ramps to get up and down levels, as they can easily climb up and down.

As to size, I would guess that the hammocks I have are around 12 inch squares.

Cheers

Neil

[caitmonster]

You can even do levels upon levels of hammocks--gives them lots to choose from.

12 to 14 inches is about average for square and rectangular ferret hammocks. And then there's cubes, tubes, those tortilla-like ones with a little flap they can snuggle under if they want... so much to choose from!

If she doesn't seem interested in using it in one location, you can always trying hanging it higher/lower or somewhere else and see if she prefers it another way. Some ferrets just prefer sleeping on or under blankets instead. Also make sure to hang it so it's not sagging too much with their weight--makes it easier for them to get in and out, at least it does for my big lug.

[abbeytheferret6]

If you haven't already purchased a cage---go for the Ferret Nation instead of the Critter Nation, as you will hear of more ferrets climbing the Critter Nation cage. Critter Nation has horizontal bars whereas the Ferret Nation has vertical bars. There have been some climbers that have even scaled those---but you hardly hear of it.



Sometimes the hammocks are too high from the cage floor. You can use shower curtain clips or these carabiners to lower it. I get them at Walmarts. You can also get them at Lowes.

[peacexlovexpets]

I place my hammocks a few inches higher than the small shelf, and right next to the small shelf in my cages. This makes it easy for my noodle cats to get in and out of the hammock without much risk of plummeting to the ground.

For my four ferrets, I keep two hammocks in my cage.

I make my hammocks/sell on etsy, but the size I think works best for ferrets is 14"x14". I often find only one ferret sleeping in a hammock, but sometimes all four of mine will pile in together and the size still accommodates them just fine. I also hang my hammocks with metal chain hooks w/ clasps on the end to make it easy for me to swap out hammocks so I can wash them more often. You don't need metal hardware for a ferret, but I grew up with rats that would chew through fabric/string suspension, so I only use metal (it is also really easy to wipe down and keep clean without having to remove completely from the cage).

[unclejoe]

Just hang the hammock so it's near level with one of the shelves. She'll figure it out just by exploring. The critter nation is basically a ferret nation with horizontal bars, so she may try climbing, but it's not a great distance to fall from.