ferret habitats

Question
Does living in cages effect ferrets and how long they can live? And how harmful can cages be to the ferrets?

Answer
I am not sure on what you would judge the basis for cage versus free roaming living and the effect in life span, but I am fairly sure there are no studies done to compare.  Each has positives and negatives.  Cages can be mentally less stimulating unless the owner put a lot of effort into enrichment and the ferret gets play time out of the cage, but they would seem safer.  Free roaming ferrets still need enrichment and play time, but they probably get more exercise since they have more space, but they also encounter a lot more health hazards running free.