Geeting rid of the baby-proof wire around my FN

[Stormcrow]

I needed to put the extra wire around my cage for my 2 boys. When I got them, one was 2 months and the other 4. I know it depends from chin to chin, but I am wondering when they are big enough to remove it.

Some people tell me 4 months is minimum, before they will be too small for the bars.
The breeder where I bought them however said that this rule maybe goes for chins bought in petstores, and that chins from decent breeders grow big faster, so they are big enough to remove the wire at 3 months.

I guess age isn't a real indication, and I also know that the build varies from chin to chin, but is there some sort of a weight I could take as a "minimum" like in "don't remove the wire unless they both have x grams).

The reason why i am so eager to get rid of the wire is the visual aspect ofcourse, but I also noticed my chins bounce up and down a lot while excited, and they like to jump up in a corner and grab themselves to the wire, just hanging/standing there. I fear that one day they will miscalculate a jump, get stuck in a little square with a foot or paw and break it.

Any suggestions?

 

[mistywaterwoman]

I put Evie into an FN when she was about three months old BUT she was huge and already almost 500g. What I did was put her in there and watch her closely for several hours, to make sure she couldn't escape, or get stuck.

 

[Stormcrow]

And at theat point she never escaped anymore?

Get stuck in between the bars you mean? Like, sticking their head through and can't pull it back or what do I need to understand with that?
How does it work with a chin btw, is getting their head through something an indication the rest of the body can fit through aswell?

 

[mistywaterwoman]

She never did escape, because I waited until I thought she was big enough not to be able to fit between the bars.
I would assume that if they can get their head through the bars, they'd be out like a shot. Chins can flatten themselves out like rats can, to fit through small spaces.

If you see them TRYING to stick their heads through the bars, take them back out. I'm not sure how you would go about getting them un-stuck if their heads DID get stuck!!

 

[woolala]

I got my little girl when she was 335g, and she stayed in a feisty ferret just fine. The bars are 7/8 inch apart.

She pushed her head/mouth real hard between the bars to reach for treats and was never able to really stick her head through.

 

[Stormcrow]

well, i managed to weigh them properly (sandbowl on the scale and hoping for them to keep still for a sec ) and the 3 month old weighs 315gr and the 5 month old weighs 500gr. Im sorry for the grams, what do you guys use? Oz? in that case they are 11.1112 oz and 17.6369 oz

So, no idea if they are growing good, but the smallest one will still need a few weeks
Like I said, no rush from my side, just wanted to remove it for their safety, but I will just need to monitor them closely the next weeks

Thanks for all the swift replies!

 

[Lillybabe]

I removed the extra wire around my girls cage when they were 3 months old. I got them when they were just 8 weeks. At that point they were both around 400 grams. I can not recall but Trixie who is the smaller one may have been slightly less than 400. The wire on the front of one of the doors was not attached very well and the girls had managed to get off one of the wire ties. Luckily I was watching and caught her but I didn't feel the wire was safe to stay on. I watched them like a hawk for several days after I took the wire of the one door. They did not manage to even put their heads out so I decided it was safe to remove the rest. They are not both over 500 grams at just over 4 months and neither of them has done more than stick a nose out. I believe they are definitely too large to escape the Ferret Nation bars. Though, they've managed a few escapes when the doors were opened! They're tricky little things.

What food do you have your girls on? Do you have two food dishes? I'd just keep an eye on the younger one and make sure she's not getting bullied away from the food. Chinchillas can be a variety of sizes so it's really hard to say if she's small for her age or not. So long as they both have plenty of access to hay, water, and pellets they both should grow well. My girls are getting big! I really should get another weight to see where they are now. They turned 4 months old on the 2nd.