Help

I had to laugh when I read your post, Derrick – these little guys have a knack of giving us heart attacks as they’re so intelligent and can figure out all sorts of things 🙂

As I say, us ferret owners must be paranoid and if you think a ferret can’t go into a tight spot, or climb a curtain, or anything like that – think again – LOL!

Andy had some terrific advice. All I have is this link to ideas on how to fix a gate onto your stairs, which I hope will help 😀

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=2061

The words ferret and proof, when combined are about as big of an oxymoron as terms such as military intelligence….

Sorry to tell you this, but it seems you already have a good idea the gates may not work, at least out of the box. I have four fuzzbutts myself, three of which are regular climbers. Anything from certain fabrics (especially if you forget to cut their nails) to plastics with small holes.

That’s not to say that they may work for you. One of our local pet stores used to host a ferret park each month. We would set up two sets of dog playpen fencing to let the fur kids play. Some of them would try squeezing through the gaps between panels (yes, my little escape artist is the only one to make it) and only a handful were prone to multiple escape attempts by climbing them (again, my little escape artist was the only one to ever make it). Most of the carpet sharks were happy enough to stay inside and play.

I’d also warn against anything that is supposed to be wedged in place. Mine have the knack at removing such obstacles. One of them has the knack for hiding them as well.

Now that I’ve gotten the bad news out of my system, here’s an idea that may or may not help in this situation. Purchase one of the cheap gates that can be hard mounted to the wall by the stairs, some string or wire ties, and a piece of poster board. Cut and fit the poster board to the size of the gate, poke a few holes in it and attach it to the side of the gate that faces away from the stairs. Make sure the bottom portion of the poster board is attached well enough that it will withstand the marauding nose, teeth and claws of a curious carpet shark, and there are no gaps around the gate, or the little one will have lots of fun attempting to get past the new ‘toy.’

If the poster board works, you can then pick up some clear plastic floor runners (got mine at Ace Hardware for around $10, used to place around doors mine have tried to dig around to save the carpet) and either glue it or use the string/wire ties. Other materials could be used (plexiglass or plastic sheets would work well.

Good luck, and enjoy the love and silliness your little ball of fuzz will bring you.