feeding den and eating on the carpet

[lnsybean44]

Hi everyone. So for a little bot of background, my two raw eating ferrets get ground raw in the morning (6 or so frozen 1-2 ounce pieces) the whole prey, rabbit or cornishe hens at night. The problem is that they insist on eating on my carpet. My parents havent found out yet thankfully and I am getting the blood out of the carpet before anyone sees but I am concerned about both sanitation and the fact that it is a pain to clean up.

They have a feeding den that Kenora uses just fine but the new boy doesnt get that he has to stay in the cage to eat and now Kenora is following suit. They also have two cardboard boxes to eat in if they bring their food outside of the cage while I am at work. But they wont use either box or their feeding den. Any suggestions? I do only have one feeding den for but there isnt room in the cage for more and when it is out of the cage they move the meat to the floor even faster. I have yet to catch either of them actually moving the meat. While I am there they eat in the den/boxes but when I come home there is a mess... usually right outside one of the boxes (and yes they are all good sized boxes)

Thanks!

[sherrylynne]

I would gather they are free roam? Can you try a large plastic carpet protector under the feeding dens? Sort of the kind under office chairs.
Or would they just move the meat from there to the rugs?

[lnsybean44]

They are in half of my bedroom and the other business is in the other half. They are out from 7am until about 1 am. I think they would just move it off of the plastic. I can try putting some plexiglass down to give it a go but im not certain it would work. Their real feeding den is currently in the top level of the FN cage along with their water. Then the two cardboard boxes are outside of the cage on opposite sides of the pen. I have tried offering food by hand and directing them toward the den but Newt is persistent. He swings right around until finally he gets fed up and drops the meat i offered. Maybe if I keep that up he will eventually get it?

[sherrylynne]

To be honest? No idea. Not a lot of help, I know. I could only ever get one of mine to take to a den out of the original 4. I gave up after a couple of weeks. Lucrezia flatly refused to even go into it . If the food was too far back for her to stretch her neck to reach it, she wouldn't eat.
I wish I had more ideas for you. Hopefully someone else will pop in here with some!

[spiritualtramp]

I skewer their meals with shower curtain clips and hook them to either their feeding dens (cardboard boxes) or inside the cage... this way by the time they eat enough to take it off the clip, the mess is less of an issue. Just make sure to wash the clips thoroughly with each use, and if they begin to tarnish or rust, toss them. I have several and rotate them out so they have time to sanitize between (I soak them in vinegar then let air dry.) Hope this helps

[lnsybean44]

Maybe I will give that a go. it will work for night feedings at least. Ill have to figure out something new for the ground meats. Thank you.