ferret nation worth the price?

[Sovay]

Hi all,

I'm been scouring craigslist for months waiting for a good deal on a ferret/critter nation. I found one somewhat close to my house and the owners said they'd take 100 bucks for it.

It's a 4-level version, and they said it's about 4 years old. They also said there are a few spots of rust on the cage and the plastic insert parts are worn and beginning to crack (I'm not sure what plastic insert parts means?).

So my questions are
a) is the rust a deal breaker? Or can I fix this?
b) what are the plastic insert parts and can I fix/replace/rig these?

Is it worth the 100 bucks? I wanted to get this cage as a space efficient way to house two chins separately, or if I get lucky, together if they get along.

thanks for your help and opinions!

 

[Sandi]

There is no 4 level version of the ferret nations. Can you find out the model #? Before agreeing to buy it, I would want to look at it first. It may be worse than what is described.

 

[Sovay]

http://204.11.89.120/ProductPages/FerretNation.asp

Model 142 isn't considered 4 levels?

 

[EMSChins]

When they say 4 level I have generally found that they include the plastic ledges on each of the two levels. Some people don't know the difference between levels and ledges. I believe they mean the two level cage with two ledges. The plastic pans can be replaced with bass pans and instead of the plastic ledges, you can replace with fleece items, wood ledges, etc.

I have generally found that $100 is the going rate for a used cage unless in terrible condition.

 

[obcsed]

It is probably a 142. Some people count the shelves as levels. If it isn't in terrible shape, $100 is very good. The plastic trays and shelves can be replaced. ferret.com has them but it would be a better idea to replace the trays with Bass pans and the shelves with wood. Plastic isn't good for chins.

 

[LoveBug]

you can even tile the bottoms of the cage if you don't want to get bass pans.

and i agree with Sandi i would want to see what it looks like before i say yes to it. Because it may be in worse shape than it is described. I know the one i got was in worse shape than they said but it's easily fixable.

and my guess is as well that it is a 142

 

[Sovay]

ok, If the plastic insert parts means the shelves, that's not a problem. Their current cages have wooden shelves anyway, and I had planned on just making more of those.

What about the rust issue? I have no idea how I would deal with that and I can imagine rust is very bad. But I've seen others on here that said they fixed up old rusty cages.

I'll def reserve the right to refuse if it's in bad shape. That's a CL golden rule

 

[LoveBug]

I believe the plastic inserts are the shelves and pans.

And I'm not sure about how to fix rust, I haven't had to worry about that.

 

[obcsed]

As long as it hasn't rusted through, you can simply scrape it off and repaint the bare metal to prevent further rust. It is all going to depend on where it is and how bad.

 

[rainey]

I feel like if it's rusty it shouldn't cost $100. I just payed $100 for a used FN142, and if it had had rust I wouldn't have gotten it. But it also depends on how easy it would be for you to clean it up/paint over. If that doesn't seem like a big deal for you then I would get it, or talk them down on the price if you can.