Ferrets are the natural, playful, comedians of the animal kingdom. However, the adoption of these animals deserves careful consideration. You need a roomy ferret cage to take care of them properly.
A ferret is a curious animal, and it sleeps for most of the day.
You need the right cage for them that can give them protection and a closed-off environment. But finding out which cage will be best to put him or her in isn’t easy.
If you’re deciding your budget for a ferret, the main place to invest is in the cage. In this guide, we are going to reveal how to pick the best ferret cage.
Our research is based on features, top customer ratings, and reviews.
If you end up wanting a more custom option, check out our new guide to building your own ferret cage.
Quality Comes First
The quality of the cage matters.
A wire cage is what they need. A wood or plastic cage isn’t good enough, since ferrets are incredible escape artists. They can chew it and squeeze out of these two materials due to their slender bodies. A metal wire cage has amazing quality and ferrets cannot chew metal to satisfy their curiosity. Furthermore, metal is stable and handles their playful jumping around rather well.
If you are going to buy a metal wire cage, check a few things.
- The door isn’t loose and can be opened and closed easily.
- The wires on the cage aren’t so wide; the gaps shouldn’t be more than 1 inch.
- The bottom of the cage isn’t made of metal wires and has a flat surface.
Ferrets are creative and intelligent.
If a door is loose or can’t be closed properly, they can easily open it. They always try to figure out how to slip through the door and have fun in the open space.
Next, the distance between the wires shouldn’t be more than one inch. Even if the distance is 1.5 inches, the ferrets will try to escape and get stuck there, which can be deadly.
They can injure themselves.
Lastly, in case you find a good cage but the bottom isn’t flat, you need to place a stable board where ferrets can land while playing. Jumping and landing on metal wires can hurt them. A wooden horizontal stable surface keeps them safe.
Accessibility
Accessibility is also one of the most important factors.
The cage you are buying should have wide-open doors. They give you the freedom to access inside the cage and facilitate you in cleaning it easily.
Some cages are large and have multiple stories, but it is immensely tough to reach some areas. Their doors are small and you can’t access the individual stories. However, some cages offer double doors, or they have doors on each story which will allow you to clean them quickly.
In simplest terms, for you and your peace of mind, the cage should be cleaning-friendly.
Cleaning isn’t the only thing that matters; interacting with your mischievous ferret is done through the doors also.
The ‘MidWest Ferret Cage’ offers the best accessibility. It is large and has doors on each story. It also has 4 locking wheel casters that make it portable.
You can remove its shelves and adjust its height. We’ve reviewed this cage and several others here.
Size Matters
Ferrets are very restless.
Therefore, the size of the cage matters. Ensure that the cage has enough space for their playful movements, jumps, and mischievous acts. A 5-feet or higher ferret cage is ideal for them. They will move around and play inside it, feeling like a king.
Experts also recommend getting the biggest one your budget allows.
A ferret shouldn’t be confined; a cage should allow him to express his emotions and individuality. Their high levels of energy compel them to move around a lot. If the cage is small and their movements are restricted, they will become ill.
A small cage is only used for transporting your ferret to the vet when he is not well.
Apart from this, the more ferrets you have the more space you require. A 5-feet high cage is just a benchmark size for a single ferret or a pair. If you are planning to get 3-4 ferrets or more, go ahead and invest in an even bigger cage, because size is a crucial factor and ferrets are going to spend most of their time inside the cage. Besides, a cage should have a specific place for food which should be far from their litter box. Like us, they don’t like to eat where they defecate.
In case you aren’t able to find the right cage size for your ferrets, purchase a cage that is meant for rabbits or chinchillas. They can often be bigger and better.
Rabbit or Chinchilla cages can also store a lot of things to keep ferrets busy, like toys. Your ferret won’t get bored if there are enough toys and interesting platforms or tunnels around the cage.
Multi-Story Cages
A multi-story cage has different levels for different activities.
It is one of the best options for ferrets and doesn’t take up a lot of space. Moving around with multiple stories assists in improving your ferret’s overall mental and physical conditions.
When given access to different levels, ferrets love to climb and jump over and over again, as though they had descended from monkeys. You can assign different levels for different activities. This keeps their interest alive. For example, level one can be the eating area and level two can be turned into the sleeping spot. You can put different toys on level three and separate each activity for the ferret, and also for yourself to maintain it easier.
If you set up their cage well, ferrets will love to spend most of their time inside the cage.
So, ideally, find a cage that has multiple levels such as the ‘Kaytee Ferret Home Deluxe’. It isn’t too big, but still provides a creative, multi-level environment in which your ferret can easily get exercise and play.
It comes with safety ramps, a funnel, a spiral slide, and a hammock. Talk about luxury! Getting it all in one place helps if you are trying to stay on a strict budget.
Conclusion
Inexperienced ferret owners often opt for an average cage.
What they don’t realize is the features of the cage creates a great impact on a ferret. It will spend most hours of the day inside its cage. If the cage is not of good quality or doesn’t have enough room, a ferret might escape and face injury, or even death. Remember that they will be sleeping or constantly moving around during the day, and make sure that your cage provides a safe haven to keep your ferret happy.
If you want to see our review of the top 5 Ferret Cages, check that out here.