Up-and-coming Ferret Owner

[DPK Exotics]

I hope to get my first ferret in May or June, and I am PUMPED. But, I want to prepare! My account is pending approval (I love holistic/natural approaches to everything- especially human and pet care), but I want to go ahead and post questions. Because all I know is that I like to go into PetLand and Man's Best Friend and pick up and cuddle ferrets. I know they're smart, they're little pigs, and they're very busy / playful.
I do not know at this time if I am getting a male or female, I don't have a preference.

1.) Cages
The obvious place to start. I work at PetSmart (therefore getting 15% everything in store... but not online unfortunately, I think), and the only cage we have marketed for ferrets is the All Living Things starter kit, which probably isn't what it needs to be, am I correct?.. I mean I know nothing of nothing, but it looks too small. I would like a wide option of cages in varying price ranges, feel free to post your personal opinion on the product.

2) Bedding
What do I use? Where do I use it? Just over the bottom of the cage? 

3) Litter Boxes
I heard the corner ones are too small. Cat litter box, maybe? Do I use cat litter, or the litter marketed for ferrets that looks like small pellets.

4) Toys
Can you suggest specific toys or EXAMPLES of good toys to put in the cage? How many? Also, I was planning to provide a hammock- they seem to really enjoy them, correct?

5) Nest Boxes
Didn't know they needed them til I signed on to here. How many? How big? Snug or a little room? I know ideal is like a box with a small opening, correct?

6) Water
I read on here to not bother with water bottles, to use water dishes that can screw onto the wires, right?

7) FOOD
Okay forget pellet food, I'm thinking raw. Just meat? Do I mix in veggies or fruit? I heard fruit as treats, then I heard no fruit, then I heard omnivores, then I heard no, strictly carnivores... what do I do? I have a lot of snakes so I will have rats and mice on hand, do I add on to that? What are good treats? Do I leave in a full food bowl, or feed a certain amount daily? Once a day, or more? Do I pick out the bones?

8) Tips to teach walking on a harness?

9) Ferreting?
I'm a strong believer that animals that CAN have a job, SHOULD have a job (i.e. teaching a dog agility, carrying a backpack, training all intelligent animals)... and I would *love* to learn to hunt rabbits with my ferret. I know the general process, and I know what *I* do, but not how to train the ferret. Do I start really young? What with? I'd love any sort of guide. This gives me rabbits to eat, my ferret a well-earned dinner and enrichment (I'm assuming freeze the bunnies first before offering raw to avoid parasites- that's what I'd do if I feed them to my snakes), etc. Would love input on this.

10) Smell
Everyone claims ferrets have a bad stench. I've had ferrets all up over my face and nose. They have a SMELL, just like any animal has a SMELL, but it wasn't overly strong. Would like to explore why they have the reputation, and if there is anything I should do to help keep this down- though I know they groom themselves.

Other forms of training I'll wait until the day is closer, I just want a heads up on harness / ferreting because I feel like that will take the most prep. All the babies I hold tend to be really chew-y but I just assume they're teething. I usually gently hold their muzzles and give them a slight "shake" and say "no", followed by giving them an appropriate item to chew on- usually braided parachord on my car keys. Is that right? Also, some are really cry-y, do they grow out of that, or will they keep doing that if they want attention.

ANYWAY, thanks for all this, I'm really big on all kinds of reptiles, this is my first... anything in this general family of animals.
Thank you for your time!

[Thérèse]

Howdy. Welcome, Sherry usually does a morning approval of accounts but morning up in Canada where she is and here in Aus where I am are not the same, so I don't know when that will be, but she does do it daily.

Firstly you don't say where you are and that can make a difference in some things. A large percentage of HFF members are in the US but it is an international forum, so there are quite a number who are elsewhere. I am in Aus and things are different here but I will try to answer your questions.

1) Cages. Will depend very much on where you are. Most Canadians/Americans will generally recommend the Ferret Nation (big preferred point is ease of cleaning with the doors) but other places in the world can't get them. My guys are free range, ie. I do not put them in a cage they are free inside my house, so except what I have read I am not up on cages just no ferret Nation gets a lot of votes for best cage.

2) Bedding. People get bedding sets that include all sorts of covers etc. They cover levels, ramps etc. to ensure comfort and safety for their ferrets (ferret feet do not do well on exposed wire cage bottoms). My ferrets have all sorts of sleepy sacks and blankies about to snuggle in. Ferrets like to snuggle into comfy things. Bedding sets for cages, most get more than 1 set so that they don't have to get it straight back in when washing it.

3) My guys aren't real good with litter boxes (my fault I am not good at the litter box training and so I spend time just cleaning up poop). Most ferrets prefer a litter box they can get their whole body in, usually this isn't possible with the corner ones. Most use cat ones with a side cut down or else a rubbermaid type container cut down. You will need more than one. At least one in cage and several out of cage, number will depend on number of ferrets, area they can have access to and how lazy they are (ie. how far they are willing to travel to find a box when they want to go)

4) Toys. Ferrets tend to have different personalities and so tend to like different toys. There are threads about specifically on in cage toys, try looking in Enrichment. Just generally, toys most ferrets like are tunnels, boxes with holes cut in to get in and out, dig boxes (ie. abox with something to dig or tunnel through, eg. scrunched up newspaper, dirt, cornstarch packing peanuts, dried leaves, balls), towels for riding on when pulled by you, derby eggs (plastic eggs with something inside that makes a noise like beads and with a crochetted cover), cat teaser toys (just make sure there is nothing that will come off and may be swallowed and cause a blockage). Use your imagination. Ferrets, like small children can make a game out of anything and usually like the packaging more than the toy.

5) Nest boxes?? am thinking this is just referring to having a hidey hole that the can sleep in, like a cuddle cube (padded cube with entry hole). But maybe it means feeding dens. Ferrets like to eat in private, so an overturned ice cream container with a hole makes a great feeding den.

6) Water. Ferrets definitely do better with a water dish, they will not get enough to drink from a bottle and will need to be taught how to use it first anyway. Just be warned some like to dig all the water out before drinking and some like to tip the dish over just to see whats underneath. Thats why many have lock crocks for water, or something very heavy.

7) FOOD. Ferets are obligate carnivores. This means they get nothing from fruit, vegetables, grains etc. These foods will actually cause illnesses in your ferret and should not be given. Best diet is a balanced raw diet. So much more than just meat. It needs to be meat, organs and bone in appropriate proportions. Whole prey is an excellent diet. To cover all bases, you should feed 3 protein sources (ie. from 3 different animals). Ferrets imprint on their food though and so can often be hard to get to eat a good diet if they hav e been fed on something else while young but it can always be done with perseverence and if you are getting a young ferret, feed as much variety while it is still young and imprinting, so that you will have more options to feed later. There are many threads in the nutritional section and also there is a program where you can apply for a mentor to help you get your ferret eating a well balanced raw diet after you have made 15 posts.

8) Ferrets will never walk n a harness like a dog, ie. heal, but even though they may act like they are crippled and can't walk when you put the harness on, if it means adventures outdoors and they are ferrets that like that, they will soon happily have it on. Mind you you need to adjust it carefully because ferrets often can slip out of them if you don't. Particularly wee girls ferrets, it can be hard to find a harness small enough that they can't slip out of.

9) Ferreting. This will depend very much where you are. I believe it is actually illegal in much of the US. Here in Aus there are many who work there ferrets, believe the SA ferret organisation actually has it as part of it's program but my guys are strictly pets. Being an international community though there are members who do work there ferrets, one being Bev (crazylady) over in England.

10) Smell. This reputation is from long ago. Ferrets were mainly kept as workers. They weren't desexed or taught not to bite and were kept outdoors. Ferrets produce scents with their hormones. An entire male ferret especially when in season is producing a lot of oils and his hob smell to let the girls know he is about and a tough he ferret. In the US most ferrets are desexed well before you see them by the mills and so you never will get to smell an entire hob in rut if that is where you are probably but it can be smelly and their coat is very greasy too. At other times though, they don't smell much at all and if they have a good diet they will only have a very slight smell and it is not unpleasant at all. Also because they had this reputation for smelling, when they did start becoming more popular as pets, people started bathing them. This will add to their smell because when you strip the oils from their coat they tend to produce even more to replace them and then end up smellier. A good diet, clean bedding etc and little to no bathing (I bought a bottle of ferret shampoo when I got my first ferret back in 97 and it is still around here somewhere unopened) and you won't have a problem with smell.

Hope this helps

[Deleted]

Congrats for looking for answers before you get a ferret! It's a timesaver for sure.

There are sub-boards on here with lots of info and details on just about every of those topics -- especially food, naturally. But I'm assuming you live in the US, and hunting with ferrets is illegal just about everywhere here. You'd have to check local regulations. Ferrets themselves aren't even technically legal in some cities/counties/states. But there are plenty of other training and enrichment activities you can do with your fuzzy if you feel like he or she is needing the challenge!

Having whole prey already in the house is great. I also have snakes, so we make a lot of bulk frozen mice and rat orders. If your future ferret is young, getting him or her started on whole prey right off won't be any work at all.

[Heather]

Hey...thank you for doing your homework, so very much appreciated :thankyou:
Therese has answered all your questions. Prowl around, you will see pics of our set ups, how our little ones live and are kept. It really does depend on where you're located.
ciao

[Deleted]

I contacted someone from MSFWP (I'm from Mississippi in the US), and ferreting IS legal, so I'm super excited. (:

I will get a Ferret Nation cage, I already found one I liked on Amazon. About bedding- so you don't use loose bedding like CareFresh or aspen shavings in their bottom pan? Just cloth covers to protect their feet? Okay, that's surprising. So I DO have to teach my ferrets to use the litter box, I was wondering if they required training or just took to it like cats do.

Yes this was VERY helpful, thank you so much.

[Deleted]

Hi and Welcome to the HFF (wave) It looks like you have had alot of questions answered. It's great to find you doing some research first, before someone comes home with you. Carefresh bedding or aspen shavings are more suited to Guinea Pigs or other small animals. With ferrets, you think along the lines of a cat or dog, or small toddler. They want blankets to sleep in and under, hidey holes and hammocks are fun, but they love to be "under" something. As far as litter training, some will need to be shown the litter box, some will take right to it. It depends on the ferret. We do have threads on ferret boot camp, and that method seems to work really well for our ferrents.
As far as toys go, the best toy is another ferret to play with, they are super smart and need alot of stimulation. You can put toys in the cage, but they also need alot of out of cage time and they love to explore, so that can be a great bonding time for you and your ferret. We do border patrol every morning. That means walking from one end of the house to the other, just checking stuff out and seeing everything. I lift them up and show them sinks, inside cabinets and they have to see inside trash bins and up under everything. Then it's time for blanket rides and they play for several hours, chasing each other and running in and out of tunnels. Mine are free range, so they don't have any cage time. They will take naps during the middle of the day, and then are up again, in the evening for several hours of play.
How are you planning to teach the ferret to hunt? I'm in the States also, so I don't have any experience with hunting with ferrets. Ferrets do not have a homing instinct, so are they on a leash?

[Deleted]

Feb 20, 2014 18:07:26 GMT -5 @dpkexotics said:

I will get a Ferret Nation cage, I already found one I liked on Amazon.

There's only one actual Ferret Nation cage, made by Midwest Metal: www.midwesthomes4pets.com/products/ferret-nation-1

It comes in a Single (181) and Double (182) level. You can get an Add-On Unit (183) to make it three levels. The "Critter Nation" is the same cage with closer bar spacing meant for pets like rats, but works just fine for ferrets as well. I point all this out because the first search result for Ferret Nation on Amazon is NOT a Ferret Nation cage! Prevue's "Feisty Ferret" cage looks similar but is significantly smaller and doesn't have a solid second level or double opening doors. Don't be fooled

Also, the Ferret Nation doesn't have a tub-style bottom, so you wouldn't have any luck with shavings even if they were appropriate. With training and a little luck, your ferret will use a litter box with a non-clay litter (paper or wood pellets, usually). I have four ferrets in a double-wide double-level Ferret Nation, and over 1/4 of the cage is devoted to litter pans...

Far as I remember for hunting, the ferret is sent into the warren to flush the rabbit out, at which point either a dog or a net catches it. If a net, the human then dispatches the rabbit. No leashes on the ferret, but some use GPS units.

[Deleted]

It seems like everybody covered this pretty well, but I'd like to throw in my two cents.

Some people do actually use loose bedding, but I think its a waste because my little guy kicks it out of his cage and all over my floor, so I started giving him old clothes instead. Holey shirts are nice for snuggling in, old jeans are great for burrowing into, and old towels are good for lining the floor. As long as yours doesn't become fond of chewing fabric, I think old clothes are the best & most cost effective option. Plus, it helps them get used to your smell.

Something else you also need to do before bringing home a fuzzy is ferret-proofing a room, if not your whole house. Get down low and keep in mind that a ferret can get into anything the size of it's head. If there's anywhere that your ferret can get into where you wont be able to reach it, block it off. Block off entrances to behind big, dangerous appliances like your fridge or laundry machines. Block off holes in your cabinetry (if you get down and feel along the bottom lip of your cabinets you'll likely find a hole in at least one of the corners where a ferret can crawl through and then hang out in the space between the bottom of the cabinet and the floor. Trust me, you don't want this to happen because you'll be spending a while trying to coax your fuzzy out of the neat little hidey hole it found.) You also wanna make sure things like electric heaters are up off the floor (ferrets have high pain tolerances and slow pain responses and can burn themselves without realizing it or understanding why) as well as anything rubbery, spongy, or small enough to eat. Keep in mind that ferrets are basically toddlers, and interact with their mouths.

You aren't going to be able to get everything though, I guarantee that your fuzzy will quickly find something you didn't catch, so please keep a very close eye on your ferret because they will be sure to show you all the things that you missed. If your ferret slips your watchful gaze and gets into somewhere that you can't reach, try using a squeaky toy or a squeaky soundbite on your phone (I don't know if every ferret is as responsive to the noise as mine, but Cooper comes RUNNING if he hears squeaking) and/or a treat to coax them out.