Ferret Cage

Question
Hello,
Well i just recently bought a ferret and one of them 5 platforms cages and i thought i read somewhere that said that ferrets dont like wire bottoms and i was watchin my ferret and noticed she picked up a few pieces of food at a time out of the dish and set them down but the food just drops through so my question is what would be the best thing to put on the wire so its more comfortable to them. Do i also need to put something on the platforms and the ladders that connect platform to platform?

Thanks,
Luke

Answer
1) Subject: Ferret Cage

Well i just recently bought a ferret and one of them 5 platforms cages
and i thought i read somewhere that said that ferrets don't like wire
bottoms and i was watching my ferret and noticed she picked up a few
pieces of food at a time out of the dish and set them down but the
food just drops through so my question is what would be the best thing
to put on the wire so its more comfortable to them. Do i also need to
put something on the platforms and the ladders that connect platform
to platform?

Answer:
Hi Luke!  Did you think of a name for her yet?  It's wonderful that
you bought your buddy a nice large cage like that.  Your new girl is
more spoiled than mine!  You are indeed correct about the wire
bottoms.  The mesh can hurt a ferret's delicate paws, and that can be
easily prevented by covering the platforms and ladders.  To do this,
there are two main options.

Linoleum is inexpensive, easy to clean and simple to install.  You
could cut the material to fit the area and use a hole-punch and tie
the squares to the cave mesh. It is very easy to disinfect and can be
easily cut to size with scissors.

The second option is to purchase some cheap carpet squares from a
store and fit it to the size of the cage platforms.  Carpet is more
difficult to work with, more expensive and would be harder to clean.
On the positive side, it would offer more traction than linoleum for
the ladders, unless you happen to find a brand that has a decent
texture.  If you do choose this option, look for carpeting that is
woven and does not have long fibers.

You might want to consider using both materials for your cage.  The
linoleum is perfect for the platforms since it is far easier to clean
and disinfect (remember to always use a pet-safe product since Lysol
and other such cleaners contain harmful chemicals).  The carpeting can
be used to cover the ladders to increase traction and reduce the
possibility of slipping.

Here is a great website about general ferret care that includes a
paragraph about the covering cage floors:

http://www.thechipster.com/fert-man.html

I hope this answer proved useful to you!  Good luck with your new little girl.

-Cindy P.