How to make your own ferret cage

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The ferret, through the efforts of man, has long turned from a forest predator into a pet. However, like any animal kept in an apartment, it needs its own corner. The ferret cage must be designed to meet all the requirements of the animal.

DIY ferret cage

It is important to remember that ferrets are very curious and intelligent animals, they need to move a lot, so the house of predators should contain several tiers, complex systems of transitions between them and hammocks for rest. Many pet owners choose to make their own ferret cage in order to fully satisfy all the pet's needs.

Ferret cage types

Ferrets are very mobile, many owners of these pets keep them in the apartment, like cats. But even in this case, the animal must have its own home, where it can hide from the outside world. In the wild, ferrets prefer to settle in steppe burrows, so they need tubular ladders to run up and down and soft bedding to sleep on. There are many types of dwellings for small predators. Basically, they differ in the manufacturing method and materials:

• branded cells, which are based on plastic and metal;
• a house with a wooden frame, made of plywood with your own hands;
• plexiglass dwelling;
• a cage with a metal frame covered with a metal mesh;
• fabric dwelling made of thick tarpaulin and insulated with foam rubber;
• a house made of cardboard boxes;
• wicker basket made of tree bark.

When choosing a cell, you should calculate the budget and your own strength. Store-bought ferret cages are of high quality, but they are made to the same standard. Plus, a branded cage is expensive.

A self-made home can be tailored to the individual needs of the animal, but do not forget about the quality of the house. A do-it-yourself ferret cage requires a master carpenter's skills and ability to work with drawings. If you are not confident in your abilities, then you can attend a master class or watch a training video on the Internet.

Homemade cage at home

First of all, you should decide on the location of the cell. Ferrets require a lot of space for climbing and playing, so they usually have a house for them on several floors.

Therefore, the location for the dwelling must accommodate the dimensions of the cage. The ferret cage in the official photos looks like a large enclosure, but it is not necessary to make such a large house.

The predator's house should not be in the sun or in a draft: the animals react quite sharply to loud noise or a pungent smell, so you should not put speakers or spray air fresheners near the dwelling.

If the place where the ferret cages will be is definitely, you can proceed directly with the construction of the cage.The minimum size of a dwelling for one furry predator should correspond to the parameters of 60 x 80 x 50, but if the room allows, then the pet's dwelling should be made larger. This applies to ferrets living in closed cages. If the pet moves freely around the apartment, then the house may be small. Also, the size of the dwelling depends on how many pets live in the house.

To build an ordinary cage at home, you will need the following materials:

• solid wooden yards, the length of which is calculated from the parameters of the cage;
• plywood sheets 10 mm thick;
• aviary net;
• platbands for installing a metal lattice;
• linoleum;
• hinged door hinges;
• screws, latches and handles.

First of all, a strong frame of wooden bars is knocked off. A strong tree should be chosen as the basis, since the entire weight of the dwelling will fall on the bars. To cut the shelves, use dense plywood or chipboard. The floors between the tiers can be either solid with one entry hole, or in the form of a shelf system. According to sanitary standards, the plywood itself should be covered with linoleum: this will not only help get rid of the unpleasant odor, but also make it easier to clean the home.

All horizontal surfaces in the cage must be well fixed, since during active pastime the ferret jumps and runs a lot. It is also important to check that the screws are securely screwed into the wooden surfaces, as any sharp objects can seriously injure the ferret. Home safety is the main credo for any pet owner.

The simplest roof of a house has a flat horizontal shape, but it can always be designed to suit the design of the room. The roof can be sloped and gable, and the surface can always be decorated with carvings. Often, homemade cage craftsmen cut small holes in plywood and cover them with a lattice. It is easy to attach items for games or a hammock to the fine mesh. Vertical partitions of 3 walls of the cage can be made of plywood. The front side should be equipped with doors.

Double-leaf doors

To facilitate cleaning the house, the cage facade is equipped with special double-leaf doors, which can be made at home. The procedure is quite simple:

1. Two frames are knocked down, the size of which must match the size of the facade.
2. The workpiece is sheathed with plywood.
3. At the level of each tier, holes are cut along the perimeter of the entire tier.
4. The holes are closed with fine mesh or lattice.
5. On the inside of the door, special bumpers are attached at the level of each floor so that debris does not fly through the net.
6. Finished doors are installed using hinged hinges.
7. To prevent the ferret from opening the cage on its own, a latch is installed on the door.

Interior arrangement of the house

First, you need to equip the ladders between the tiers. The tray is placed on the ground floor in the corner. The bowl and drinker should be in the opposite corner from the tray. On the second tier, a closed house should be installed, in which a soft bedding is placed. Without such a shelter, the cage is of no value to the animal. This box should have an entrance about 15 cm in diameter cut out so that the ferret can easily climb through. You can make a similar room yourself from an old box.

If the predator did not like the wooden building, then a house should be made of fabric. The walls of such a soft home are sealed with foam rubber. You can take an old bag as a basis. The material for the house is not particularly important, the main thing is that the animal likes it. Ferrets carefully choose a place for themselves to sleep, and the animal will not settle for the night in a rejected dwelling. Also, play equipment should be added to the cage: balls, hanging toys and special surfaces for the claw point.

Caged hammock

It's no secret that ferrets love hanging out in suspended fabric structures.Such hammocks can be purchased at a specialized store, however, making them with your own hands is extremely simple.

First of all, to make a hammock, you will need strong fabric and lacing for fastening. The size of the workpiece varies depending on the size of the animal and is usually about 20 square meters. see. The fabric for a hammock can be used in a variety of ways, for these purposes, jeans, canvas or cloth are suitable. The fabric is folded in half and sewn with an envelope. Foam rubber or synthetic winterizer is stuffed inside. Lacing is sewn along the edges, with which the hammock should be fixed. If there is a window lattice in the roof of the house, then the ends of the fasteners are simply tied with several knots.

In the absence of mesh windows, 4 nails are driven into the ceiling and bent in loops. Alternatively, you can simply drill 4 holes in the roof and attach the lacing to the outside of the cage.

Climbing pipe system

To increase the amount of movement, a tubular system is installed in the cages in a limited space to move ferrets. These small predators love narrow manholes that resemble natural burrows. Such a system is best made from pipes with diameters of 10 cm.

For the design, you need to use ordinary plumbing pipes made of plastic. To mount a pipe system in a cage with your own hands, you need to stock up on short pipes, tees and adapters. The turns must be done at a 45 ° angle, otherwise the ferret will simply get stuck. A similar structure can be extended from the first floor to the last.

Other types of homemade cages

Plywood and mesh are not always used for cladding a house. Many owners are attracted by such material as plexiglass. However, a few holes must be drilled in such a house to allow air to circulate, otherwise ferrets may suffocate.

Sometimes, instead of plywood, an aviary net is used to make a cage. It is pulled along the perimeter of the frame outside the dwelling. The frame itself in this case is made of metal tubes. Even if the structure is large, it still remains light, thanks to the hollow frame, so it can be safely carried from the street to the house. It is important to remember that in such a house at low temperatures the ferret can freeze.