Showing posts with label ferret proofing introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ferret proofing introduction. Show all posts

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Ferret Proofing - the basics

These are basic ferret proofing tips that can apply to any room of the house.

To begin ferret-proofing, you need to lie on your stomach and look around. No, I'm not joking. This will give you a 'ferret's eye view' of the world and permit you to see many hazards that you may otherwise miss. Any space that is an inch big or more is, or can be made ferret accessible by determined fuzzies. Cover any spaces that lead to hazardous areas such as your heating system, you wall, the neighbour's apartment or the great outdoors with sturdy cardboard or duct tape. If you own the building in which you live and don't feel like reapplying tape and cardboard feel free to board the holes up. Don't forget to check for gaps between or under your baseboards and under your cabinets! If you have doors that are difficult to shut or have a tendency to swing open, you may want to consider ferret-proofing the rooms behind the doors because, after all, ferrets are excellent at prying open doors and have an uncanny ability to tell when a door is not securely shut. If the door that won't stay closed leads to the great outdoors, consider keeping it locked when the ferret is out and about to ensure that it does not swing open.
Screens are another big concern when it comes to ferrets. If the screens are loose fitting, they are easily pushed or pulled out of place by a roaming ferret. If they are secure, the screen can be torn by fuzzy ferret laws. When it comes to screens, there are two options: either keep your playing ferret away from them or, if that is not possible, consider having your existing screen replaced with some new-on-the-market 'catproof' screen*
*I have not tested this stuff yet myself, so I am not sure how well it works. If it as good as is claimed, great, but keep an eye on Bandit until you are certain that he cannot rip it.
If you are a green thumb, you'll want to pay special attention to this part... PLANTS ARE FERRET MAGNETS! The damp potting soil is absolutely irresistable to ferrets so unless you want the soil spread throughout your house and all your plants uprooted, consider placing them well out of reach or suspending them from the ceiling. If the plants is a large one which cannot be moved then remove about 2 inches or more of dirt from the top of the plant and cover it with wire and lots of large heavy rocks (though smaller ones can go on top for decoration).

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Ferret Proofing - the never ending job

"A dog owner may work from sun to sun, but a ferret owner's work is never done." Ok, so that might not be quite the way that that saying goes, but, when it comes to one aspect of ferret ownership, it is most definitely accurate - the task of ferret-proofing is never done. Just when you think that you've got it all under control, your fuzzy will find new things to get into, or new ways to get into old things that you thought were safe. So what exactly IS ferret-proofing and how is it done? Ferret-proofing is the task of making your home and your ferret's play area as hazard free as possible. Ferrets are like tiny toddlers - they get into everything and put everything in their mouthes. The main difference, of course, is that toddlers, unlike ferrets, are not small enough to fit in inch wide spaces and are not covered in fuzz. Now that we know WHAT ferret-proofing is, it is time to tackle the tough task of explaining HOW to ferret proof your home. Because each room in the house presents a unique set of hazards, and we want to avoid a single 16 page blog entry, the different rooms in the house will be covered by different blog entries.