12-30-2017, 01:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-03-2018, 11:00 PM by happyferrets.)
Thought I'd share my own ferret houses here...
I built three of these 3-level "apartments" (alas, many of them are empty now
)
Over time they evolved to what you see here:
There are "trap doors" between the levels that can be opened/closed to isolate the ones that either don't get along or when they are sick and need to be left alone while recovering.
Plenty space for them to wander around without being confined to a small area and easy to clean.
Got some big plastic bins that I cut the side out of and simply line with newspaper for them to poo (they are all very good with it except the odd one that finds it fun to scrunch up the newspaper to play with when it is clean).
There are ramps from the bottom to a "shelf" which I glued sanding belts (sand paper) to - it helps them get a grip and aids in manicuring their claws.
Hammocks are their favourite and a must.
At the end of the top "shelves" are boxes which they can go and hide and curl up in with their blankets. The front of the boxes are hinged so that they can be opened for easy access.
Added a few touches to make it easy to top-up their food without disturbing them and "drip trays" under their drinking bottles to stop the excess water from making a mess (the trays are cable-tied to the mesh so they can't drag it away to play with).
The last one built I sacrificed a few inches in height of the cages and added some really needed storage drawers.
As you can see, all wood is varnished with multiple coats to make cleaning a breeze (and some personalised "paw prints" - I cut out some stencils from aluminum and used a blowtorch to burn the wood).
This is the extent that I personally went to house them in the best possible way...
I built three of these 3-level "apartments" (alas, many of them are empty now
) Over time they evolved to what you see here:
There are "trap doors" between the levels that can be opened/closed to isolate the ones that either don't get along or when they are sick and need to be left alone while recovering.
Plenty space for them to wander around without being confined to a small area and easy to clean.
Got some big plastic bins that I cut the side out of and simply line with newspaper for them to poo (they are all very good with it except the odd one that finds it fun to scrunch up the newspaper to play with when it is clean).
There are ramps from the bottom to a "shelf" which I glued sanding belts (sand paper) to - it helps them get a grip and aids in manicuring their claws.
Hammocks are their favourite and a must.
At the end of the top "shelves" are boxes which they can go and hide and curl up in with their blankets. The front of the boxes are hinged so that they can be opened for easy access.
Added a few touches to make it easy to top-up their food without disturbing them and "drip trays" under their drinking bottles to stop the excess water from making a mess (the trays are cable-tied to the mesh so they can't drag it away to play with).
The last one built I sacrificed a few inches in height of the cages and added some really needed storage drawers.
As you can see, all wood is varnished with multiple coats to make cleaning a breeze (and some personalised "paw prints" - I cut out some stencils from aluminum and used a blowtorch to burn the wood).
This is the extent that I personally went to house them in the best possible way...
