Cable management?

[revolvingsheep]

My ferret's play room will be the living room. I'm working hard to ferret proof it before I adopt, but I have a question.

I'm searching cable management on Amazon.com. There are some hard plastic wire coverings that you put along the baseboard which I will need to cover up speaker wire from the wall speakers.

The main thing I'm worried about is all the cables behind/under the TV stand. You can easily find some wire protector tubes on Amazon by searching "wire management". It's on the first results page. They seem good, but the video shows that they can be easily cut and turn to adapt to your setup. Does this mean I should worry about the Ferret chewing through them?

If so, can anyone here recommend me some wire protector tubes I can use that the ferrets can't tear up? Thanks!

- DM

[Deleted]

I have three ferrets and none of them have ever chewed on a wire or cord - they don't even seem to notice them. I'm sure there are some ferrets that do chew cords (and everything else) but i haven't heard much about them. I'm thinking any tubes that you use to hide and cover the cords will result in the ferrets being more interested in breaking out what's trapped inside.

[Sherry]

I've been lucky that none of ours have really shown an interest in cables/wires either(other than trying to stash the odd one ). One thing you can use in some areas are pvc pipe. Just run the cables through it. The drawback is you can't bend it, obviously.

[Deleted]

See that's funny - ALL MINE notice/ chew on cords, which makes it especially difficult since Rula and Neera use my office as their play zone :C I've been looking for ways to protect my lamp/computer cords but have had no luck in finding something suitable. I've just been using the scruff method of discipline with them, and they're getting that I don't want them messing about with that stuff. Slowly, but still, THANK GOD C:

(they also have a terrifying affinity for outlets, jeebus. They'll soak their heads and faces in the water dish, run up to the outlets and try jamming their noses in them. WHAT IS THIS. I know you have to have something in both slots to make a complete circuit [right? ugh], but still. It's not a pretty image.)

[Deleted]

My kits were cord chewers for a few weeks when I first got them home.. they are in my bedroom along with my computer and were constantly trying to chew up the cords.

I bought some cord protectors but they did nothing to deter them, they would just chew on those.. I tried 2 or 3 different brands and they were all pretty flimsy and thin (I guess they have to be, to be bendy).

After that I bought one of those tubes that are meant for shipping posters and stuff. I stuffed the cords inside and cut holes in the lids just big enough for the cords to fit through, then I lifted it up off the ground, so it sat behind my monitor on my computer desk. This worked very well except for the fact that it was a little bulky. It may work better if you have a large tv sitting on a stand that it can sit behind.

I ended up just spraying the cords with vinegar water (it had to be pretty strong, like 75% vinegar 25% water), or bitter apple spray and that taught them fairly quickly.

[Heather]

I've never really had issues with it. The 3 kits that have lived in my house, Niko, Napoleon and Minion never gave the cables a second look. I do have one boy, Yuri who finds strange things "tasty". I sprayed the cord he was chewing with bitter apple....he stopped and has never touched another cable. So, out of 30+ ferrets that have lived in my house, 1 ferret has found my various cables interesting enough to chew on and the fix was simple. I've never used cable covers except behind the old tv to try and make some sense out of all those cables, not to keep the ferrets from chewing the cables
ciao

[Deleted]

I have never had an issue with my boy chewing on cables, my suggestion would be;
Make sure your ferrets have plenty of toys and nice sleeping spots when they are out of their cage, so they don't start chewing out of boredom.

[Sherry]

And boredom is a BIG thing with these guys! Ask anyone who's had a solo ferret. It's almost impossible to keep them totally occupied to the extent they don't get into as much trouble.

[revolvingsheep]

Well I have been planning on just getting one Ferret. I have read that the bond between the Ferret and it's owner is stronger when it's alone. I have read that it's only a good idea to get one if that one Ferret is getting a lot of attention and affection. I have worked out my weekly schedule to include at least 3 hours a day where the Ferret can come out and play with me. Do you think that's enough time? I would think so given the fact that Ferrets supposedly sleep 18 hours a day?

I have the option of getting two sisters. The litter I'm adopting from has 3 female kits and the breeder says she will take one. That leaves two left over if I want them both.

[Sherry]

It really depends on you. With two or more ferrets, they have each other to be company, to wrestle with, and to be a ferret with.
It also means double the vet bills!
Here's a thread on "only" ferrets:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=71

[jadewolf]

I've had 9 ferrets so far, and one of them has shown any interest in cords. But his interest is obsessive. He will turn down treats and ignore favorite toys if he can reach a cord to gnaw on. Even at the ferret sitter's, where he had an entire new house to explore and two new playmates, he gnawed cords. It's all luck of the draw, but you might improve your luck if you pre-spray all the cords with bitter apple so she gets a negative association with chewing right from the start.

If you do get a chewer, I second a rigid protector like a poster tube or PVC pipe. Ferret.com sells a Marshall's brand cord protector impregnated with a citrus they're supposed to hate, but reviews say the citrus smell is overwhelming and unpleasant for humans. A friend of mine duct tapes the cords to the floor, but I worry about the ferrets chewing the duct tape .

Re:only ferret, I have never had only one, but I have had periods where I had only one healthy one who wanted to play. They clearly got bored and frustrated with not having a playmate all the time, and I was spending a couple hours 3 times a day with them. They *lit up* when I brought home another healthy ferret to play with, jumping, dancing, and wrestling (and accidentally scaring the bejeezus out of the tentative new ferret ).

[revolvingsheep]

I think I'll spray something on the cables to get it in their mind right away that they don't taste good and maybe that will stop it for good. If it doesn't, I'll protect them somehow.

On the subject of one vs. two... I have a question. If I was going to adopt two, I would adopt the remaining two from the litter. They are both females. I have read that it's best to get opposite sexes when adopting ferrets. Is this a fact? Does it matter that they are blood related and have been together since birth?

[Deleted]

I may be wrong but people have a ton of ferrets on here and they're of both genders. I don't think it really matters and if they grew up together it should be fine.

[Deleted]

I have 3 females - all not related and all brought in over 6 months apart. Never had a single problem. They all get along great.

In the end, it depends on the personality of the ferret.

If I could do it over again, I would have gotten 2 ferrets. I had tons of one with Pixie (talking like 4 hours a day) and she STILL managed to get on all kinds of trouble (2 escapes, 1 blockage, destroying my stuff, etc). After getting Trixie, lots of the problems resolved themselves.

[revolvingsheep]

I think I'll get them both and name them Eva (Wall-E) and Ellie (Up).