# Warning to all FN owners



## Mana (Apr 22, 2007)

To anyone with a Ferret Nation, or possibly any cage really - be very VERY careful when closing the doors! Make sure your rats are safely away from the door so nothing can get pinched or stuck when the door closes.

I just almost could have killed my girl Magic - I was busy keeping several of the others on the bottom away from the door while I was slowly closing it, and she was on the shelf with her head lowered, and I almost closed the door on her. Her skull could have been crushed. I'm not even entirely sure she's okay because her head was pressed between the edge of the shelf and the door for a second before I realized she was there. She didn't even squeak.

Everyone, please be very careful and watchful! That could have been a horrible tragedy


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## madeittothemoon (Nov 1, 2007)

Oh man... I'm sorry that happened- I hope she's okay!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

You have to be very aware of where your rats are when you close those doors, get into a habit of closing them slowly so if something happens they are only pinched/bruised rather than crushed and possibly dead. You also have to be careful of any rat that is able to get its head through the bars (all the front corners have wider spacing) as they can get caught and suffocate.

I do a little singsong to my rats when closing the door..."Watch your toes, your bits and your pieces"...they now back up


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## Mana (Apr 22, 2007)

Yes, exactly - if I hadn't been closing the door so slowly, Magic would probably have been killed  I always say "Watch out, girls!" when I close the door. When I do, two or three of them will back up, but with usually all or most of them hanging out of the door wanting me to take them out, I have to push them out of the way, or try to dump them all into a hammock or something so they can't get down fast enough to get in the way of the door.


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## rat_ratscal (Sep 23, 2007)

lilspaz68 said:


> I do a little singsong to my rats when closing the door..."Watch your toes, your bits and your pieces"...they now back up


i would back up if i heard it too............. once i forgot to close the cage entirely, i have holes in my walls and they dont come to their names, it was open for atleast an hour and they didnt even go out! they always put their tails in the corner or grip onto it for a ride, it's cute, but it scares them half to death, so i dont know why they do it :rolls:


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## SammyNova (Aug 26, 2007)

I tell mine 'Move it or lose it boys' and they all back up just enough for me to close it without catching them. (Though Sam sometimes likes to lunge at the door and ride it.)


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## lostbutnotforgot (Apr 19, 2007)

I think that was my biggest fear when I bought the cage, but I'm always extra careful (albeit I only have one rat). I like the backup command though, I will start to teach her that!


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## crapola (Feb 12, 2007)

i tell mine "noses and tails, noses and tails" and they know to move back... sort of. the boys dont yet, but the big girls know what it means, and the little girls dont care, they just want to escape.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

I've caught Puck's hand in the door before (just briefly and not hard enough to hurt him.) I watch carefully as I shut the doors... they usually back up. Usually.


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## cjshrader (Feb 15, 2007)

I've done this a couple of times with Ratlas. Though my other rats back up, every time I open that door she comes right to the edge and sticks her head down and just freezes. Sometimes I have to pick her up to move her.

Luckily for me they do squeak when I start to close it on them, so no serious injury, but I wish they'd back away.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i wish mine would do the same. last night it was almost a full five mintues getting all 11 back away from the door long enough for me to close it. once i'd get a few of them to get back ink, babydoll or bribery would be hanging there head out or have escaped... which means i had to open the door again put the escapee back and make sure no one else gets out or gets caught. 

i think they were so bad last night because they've probably missed me. i've been so busy preparing for final exams that are too close together that i haven't had as much time with them as they are used to. that or i smelled of some really yummy food or something... for stewie to be as interested as he was i bet it was latter. 

anyway, i think just about everyone has had an almost experience by the time they've had their rats for over a year or so. and we all learn that we need to close the door slowly because of it too.


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## Berks (May 15, 2007)

It is a habit now of mine to close the doors extremely slow. Ive never pinched anyone bad but I did get a soft squeak once from Willow because she decided to stick her head out at the last minute. My girls also have a bad tendency to turn around when they back away so I find myself doing a tail check and moving them outta the way!


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## BlueSkyy (Sep 27, 2007)

i always say "Watch out guys!" and Scout will move away but Panda keeps trying to nudge it open with his snout...thankfully, the door i use for "rattie removal" is on the very top layer, so they can't dangle their heads out from above. if i make my voice kind of angry and say "No, Panda" he'll scamper away, but i don't like scaring him by using the angry voice


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