care

FERRET CARE

BRINGING HOME YOUR FERRET: BE PREPARED! Ferrets are a handful at times. There are several things you must do before bringing home your fuzzbutt.

Ferret proof your home. They WILL be your furry children.

Ferrets are very inquisitive creatures. They like to explore everything. Decide where your new friend will be sleeping. Will he be a "free range" ferret? That is, will you let him go wherever he wants all the time? Or will he be staying in his cage and come out at play times and will he be limited to a specific room? Free range ferrets - You'll have a lot of work to do if your buddy is free range. Take it room by room and be thorough.

Take Note! If your ferret can get his head into a hole HE can get all the way in, if he doesn't get stuck in the process

. (One of mine can squeeze under a closed door!)

Living Room

Look for any cracks and holes. Check for any holes in the walls and patch any you find.
Hide all electrical cords. You might want to do this as your hiding them to save time. Child proof outlet covers may be a good idea if you have several that are unoccupied.

Check out your furniture. Arrange it to block off places you don't want your ferret to get behind. E.g.: My ferrets liked to go through the back of my entertainment centre and play. I felt it was dangerous so I taped up the passage way with cardboard. You can't tell it's even there and I feel secure when they are out. You may not need to go to such extremes but if you find that you don't like where they're hanging out be creative and block it off.

Beware of couches and recliners. The couch is the dream hide away of a ferret. Some ferrets love to get into them. Some problems with them getting in the couch are: digging out and/or eating the stuffing, being stabbed by springs and unfortunately, some use the couch as a "Port O' Potty" and well, you would probably need to throw it away after that... the couch not your ferret. But you can staple heavy fabric to the bottom of the couch and to any holes that the ferret may find. Futons are better when wanting to avoid couch mishaps but caution is still needed. As with recliners, moving parts are very dangerous to ferrets. Sometimes they can get caught in them and can be seriously injured or killed. If you have furniture with moving parts that you can't part with then please be very careful and know where your ferret is before sitting.

You may want to move any ferret accessible house plants. Ferrets enjoy digging in dirt, so if there are any plants that a ferret can reach you may need to move them to a new location. This would save you the aggravation of cleaning up dirt off the floor as well as keeping the ferret safe from poisonous plants. If you have a plant that can't be relocated try putting some heavy screen wire or large over the open area to keep the ferret out of the plant.

Vents

Make sure all vents are securely in place.

The Bedroom

Do the same as above as well as the following:

If your new friend will be sleeping with you at night make sure there is nothing to harm him while you sleep. Some ferrets can dig their way into the box spring of your bed, so this should be kept in mind and checked periodically or fixed as with the couch.
Be careful of leaving drawers and cupboard doors open. A fuzzy friend could decide to take a nap in there and when you close it he would be trapped.
Make sure there is a litter box, ferret food and water available also.

The Bathroom

There are some dangers to be aware of in this room.

As with children, keep all medicines and cleaning products out of reach. Some ferrets like the taste of soap so you may want to get a shower caddy that hangs on your shower head.
Keep the toilet lid down so a curious ferret can't go for a swim and drown.
The cardboard tubes that toilet paper and paper towels come on are also a problem. Ferrets sometimes get their heads stuck in them and suffocate. Solution: either throw the tubes away in a ferret safe bin or cut/tear the tubes open lengthways and flatten them a little so the head doesn't get stuck.
Now the big problem, cupboard doors. There are many different ways
to keep these doors from opening but the solution is different for every
ferret. I've found that Velcro strips work well and are the cheapest. You
can find them in the fabric department. Just find the point on the doors
that connects best with the frame and stick 'em on. Other solutions are
to purchase childproof locks. So far the best ones are the magnetic ones
that you can find at a DIY store.
Be sure to check for holes in the walls and any holes under cupboards. It would be a good idea to check inside your cupboards as well as the outside. My ferrets will lay on their backs and look under the lip of the doors to see if I missed a spot. They look like mechanics working on cars.

The Kitchen

Another fun place for a ferret.

Again check for holes in the walls, inside and outside of the cupboards. Also, block off any open space around your dishwasher, cooker and fridge.

Especially be careful of curious ferrets getting into you appliances while you have them open. My ferrets like to climb in the fridge to look for treats.

Beware of dangling power cords as well. Denzil, my ferret, once pulled my deep fat fryer down off the counter. Thank goodness it wasn't hot or I would have had a fried ferret instead of a frightened one. (DENZIL-"Stupid human should have known I love dangly things!")

Also make sure that beanbags are out of reach or have the zipper closed securely. As with children the Styrofoam pellets can be inhaled causing suffocation. Beware of all Styrofoam products because some ferrets will eat it causing intestinal blockage.

Be careful not to put your ferret in the washing machine. Some like to play in laundry and since they don't weigh much you might not notice they are in there.

Unless you can super ferret proof your laundry room I would keep this room off limits. They can get into many places that you or I might not think of.

Proper Housing Required

The wire cage is considered the best type of home for your ferret. However, you can also designate a room just for your ferret. The cage can be either the type with or without a pull out pan. But since ferrets like to use corners as toilets you'll need a cage that is big enough to accommodate a high sided litter box, a sleeping area, food area and some play space. I would recommend getting a multi-level cage, just in case you decide on getting more ferrets later on. My one turned into three...so far.

Accessories useful in setting up habitat
Some basic necessities for your ferrets' habitat.

Your ferret will need food dishes, heavy ceramic ones work fine. You can use large water bowls if your guys like to swim more than drink out of their dish. If your ferret is used to drinking out of a bowl and you change to a water bottle, show him that the water is in a new place by touching his nose to the spout.
Bedding can be an enclosed box with some kind of bedding material, such as a blanket, sheet or towel.
Litter and litter boxes are not necessary in the cage but do aid in decreasing odour and ease of cleaning. Litter can be clay, newspaper pellets or other type of litter that is acceptable to cats. Do stay away from clumping litter and wood chips or shavings (wood stove pellets are okay). Clumping litter can be ingested and then it expands causing blockage. Resulting in trips to the vet and possibly death. Wood shavings and chips can cause respiratory distress but if you must use wood, aspen is the best. Litter boxes should have high sides and a low entrance for ease of use.
If this type of box is unavailable, regular litter boxes will work until you can find them. In some cases your ferret may not need a high-sided box. This varies with each ferret, some just poop higher than others. You will need one box for the cage and others for outside of the cage.
You may want to get a ferret lead and a harness for your ferret. This is so you can go on walks together and enjoy the great outdoors. Hint: If you're single, ferrets are great conversation starters but please don't get one for this reason alone.

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