nea pig cages. One level and mostly plastic and wire and not that secure, at least it never really had my full confidence. It was a good enough size to hold my two ferrets but it was fairly crowded. Once you tossed in a littler box there wasn't much more floor space, between watercolor space and a food bowl. My girls probably could have been comfortable enough in there as they only used it for sleep, I was able to give them plenty out of cage time.
Eventually I blocked off a small corner for my ferrets with pieces of plywood so they would have more floor room and freedom to move around. It was an affordable way to integrate them into better living arrangements, but it proved hard to clean up. Perhaps I could have put more thought into its design, but long story short - lifting the vacuum into that small space was no picnic, and neither was getting in there to clean up stray poops! Once I adopted Yuka and Penny it was just to much to maintain!I belive I first came across ferret nation cages from browsing a popular ferret forum Ferret Village.org many users had pictures of their own Ferret Nation cages and they all looked so well made. The design was pleasing to the eye, it looked easy to maintain and its teired cages and wide cage doors put the ferrets at an easy to access level, where one could just swing open a door, gab a ferret, put one back, refill a bowl, clean a littler box. This probably sounds silly, but it was the cage of all cages, the one cage to rule them all, the holy grail of ferret homes! and it was expensive! The one down side, the price.
But I assure you the price is worth it! I highly recomend putting aside the money to make the investment. Espaiclly if you own more then one ferret. Owning a ferret is quite the investment just in itself, they are not cheap in terms of medical care, food and supplies - and they are fairly long lived like a cat or a dog. If you plan to own them then you may as well get them the best, and of course the best to make your responsabilites in careing for them easy and enjoyable. I probably love my Ferret Nation cage MORE for the fact it makes my life easier in taking care of my rascals!
I bought the Midwest 142 Ferret Nation Double-Level Ferret Cage with Ramps, I belive from Amazon.com they run around $200.00 usd not including shipping. But you can buy it in sections. I recomend the double leveled if you own two or more ferrets. I owned at one time five and they all lived in my Ferret Nation cage comfortably, I wouldnt recomend placing more then that all in one cage together.
Pros and Cons about the cage as I see it.
- The cage is rather pricey
- For me and my husband it was a bit of a pain to assemble, we have to take it appart a few times to make sure the pieces were in the correct place, and the recommended way to put it together we found wasn't always the best way to approach it. (It could be we are just dense! lol)
- While the cage comes with solid plastic platforms to each level, they do have a bar which can be dangerous to your ferrets feet, and the ramps are made of a series of wire bars. But this can be fixed with shelf and ramp covers, which you'll see in pictures of my own Ferret Nation Cage.
- The cage doesn't come with any ramp for the ferrets to climb so they can come and go from the cage as they please. (I remedied this by using a piece of plywood with a tower over it for traction.
But the pros outweigh the cons!
- Worth the investment, the product is well manufactured. I'm no expect but I would say high grade, this is a cage that will last a LONG time its very sturdy.
- Its pleasingly aesthetic then most cages. It doesn't stand out like some cages, Ferret Nation cages are not an eye sore and in fact they look and feel more like a piece of furniture to your home.
- The size, height and design makes everything reachable and easy to access. Easy to remove plastic bases that clean up well with a bit of water and soap. Because the front of each level are doors you can reach in there to clean even without removing the bases.
- One thing I love is the one-hand operation dual locking door latches. You just squeeze them together and it opens or closes. It looks nicer and after dealing with wire cages Im glad to not have to worry about wire latches.
- The bars on the cage don't appear intrusive and since they are arrange vertical its a good chewing preventative. At least I've found chewing habits to be worse when bars are horizontal.
- And last of all you can stack on more levels if you ever need more room!
I have had fun with my cage, I ordered a matching bedding set from Little Feet Ferret Bedding.org I highly recommend getting a set for yourself! at least order some shelf and ramp covers to keep your ferrets feet safe and to give them traction, the plastic levels can be slippery for ferret feet!
