As every
ferret owner knows, our little friends love to get
into trouble. Whether your ferrets live in a cage
when you're not around or are free all the time,
whether they live in a single room or have the run
of the house, the first line of defense, both for
your ferrets and for your possessions, is a
well-ferret-proofed home.
Ferrets love to worm
their way into any little hole (as small as 2 X 2
inches, or smaller for kits and some adults),
which can be very bad if the hole in question is
under or behind a refrigerator or other appliance
(with exposed wires, fans, insulation, and other
dangers), into a wall, or outside.
 Crawl around on
your stomach to look for holes near the floor and
under cabinets, especially in the kitchen and
laundry area. Even holes inside cabinets (which
are particularly common in apartments, where
plumbers are often rather sloppy) should be
blocked, just in case. Ferrets can open cabinets
and drawers, which can be dangerous or just
annoying depending on what's inside them. Also
watch out for heaters or furnace ducts. You can
block openings with wood or wire mesh; be sure to
leave ventilation around appliances. For doorways,
try a smooth piece of plywood or Plexiglas slid
into slots attached to the sides of the
doorway.
Recliners and
sofa-beds are very dangerous; many ferrets have
gotten crushed in the levers and springs
underneath. They're difficult to ferret-proof,
except by putting them in a forbidden room. Even
regular couches and beds can be dangerous if the
ferret digs or crawls his way into the springs or
stuffing. Next, look around the area your ferret
will be playing. Remove anything spongy from
reach, and put fragile items out of the way. Keep
in mind that many ferrets are good climbers and
jumpers, and they excel at finding complicated
routes to places you never thought they could
reach. They can get onto a sofa, into a trash can,
onto the third shelf of a set of bookcases, into a
bathtub or toilet (from which they might not be
able to jump out), and into the opening on the
back of a stereo speaker. They can also open
cabinets and drawers, unzip backpacks, and climb
up drawers from underneath or behind to get onto
the desk or kitchen counter.
Apart from obvious
dangers such as bottles of household cleaners,
which ferrets do sometimes like to drink, be
particularly careful with sponges, erasers, shoe
insoles, foam earplugs, Silly Putty, foam rubber
(even inside a cushion or mattress), Styrofoam,
insulation, rubber door stoppers, and anything
else spongy or springy. Ferrets love to chew on
that kind of thing, and swallowed bits can cause
intestinal blockages. For some reason, many
ferrets like to eat soap, so you'll have to keep
that away from them. (A little lick won't hurt
your ferret, just give her a bit of diarrhea, but
large amounts can be a problem.) Human foods
should also be kept out of reach, since even the
ones which aren't dangerous to ferrets aren't good
for them in large quantities.
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