DIY Ferret Harness At Last!

[Klarissa]

I've been pondering a DIY ferret harness for awhile. Both Bear & Fredzia are quite tiny. Petsmart only carries the crappy vests & I've had to cut Bear out of a sewn tight kitten harness. Twice. Keep in mind, even the best sized harness a ferret will still escape from if given the chance.

So, today I present to you the DIY paracord "H" ferret harness.
Really quite easy, I whipped out a harness in about 40 minutes. Only took so long because I mucked up the sizing multiple times. Very durable and can be made in a wide array of super cute colors

You need:
Carabineer
Scissors
Buckles
Lighter
Lots of paracord (about 10ft per harness)
Instructions (Link below)

Helpful, but not necessary:
Cloth measuring tape
Extra set of hands
Some yummy treats to convince your fuzz to stay still(ish)
Heck, a yummy treat for you! You deserve it, being a ferrent is a lot of work

So, I made two separate loops - one for the neck & one for under the arms. A cloth measuring tape would go a long ways to making it the right size the first go The carabineer connects the two loops & is where the leash clips on. I'm using a cat leash & the clip works on the carabineer, but a smaller lead may not.




Instructions (PDF) **I take no credit for these instructions whatsoever! They are fantastic! Thanks to the peeps at Operation Gratitude!**
www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.operationgratitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/HowtoMakeaParacordSurvivalBracelet.pdf&ved=0CEsQFjANahUKEwjsjaiWs8XIAhWKlA0KHZLkDIk&usg=AFQjCNFUTVy2LW8PBs94eoq9txAH8sStFA&sig2=2e1sOQFWTZadkUPMMCKWPA

[bitbyter]

That is actually a pretty cool idea!! You could sell those!

[Klarissa]

I was thinking the same thing!

It works really well! I wish I had thought of it sooner. I'm trying I figure out how to bridge the harness & include keyring loop to clip the leash to.

When I get an extra set of hands at home, I will have to get a fuzz to model the harness.

The best part of working with paracord is, if you mess up you can untie it easily. Much less waste then working with most strings, threads, yarns etc.

[Sherry]

Get yourself an etsy account, and post in the general store here as well Don't forget to bump it on a regular basis for new members

[Klarissa]

Thanks! I'm thinking about making an Etsy store! I will be sure to link it here if I do!

Here are some pictures of my model Bear (who's winter coat is so fluffy). EDIT: I like to make sure 1.5 fingers can fit around the neck collar; & 2 under the arms/chest. I like the collar a bit tighter since that is where they start their escape... We have Bear in it now watching her closely make sure she likes the fit. She sure seems to like it, no complaints & no escapes

[Klarissa]

Update:

The harness work amazing! They didn't even try to get out of them. I imagine that's because a) they are made to fit, and b) I can make it so the buckles rest on their backs instead of their soft bellies.

I also switched to a lighter paracord (330 I believe) for the neck collar.

Fredzia in her harness

[Deleted]

This is so cool. I have a tiny girl also and have already resewn a harness twice to try to get it to fit her.
I'll have to try this. If you get your store up and running then please post it. I'm not very handy.

Fredzia is very beautiful and looks so happy to be outside.
(dance)

[Klarissa]

It's her first time and she loved it! She is a little too brave. A cat snuck up on us at the park & she was more then happy to chase it off, but I did it for her

I will! I'm hoping to have it up by the end of the month.

[Deleted]

This is great and we like many have a hard time finding a small harness and one that will not let him get his arms out of or end up like a skirt.

[Klarissa]

It's almost like the manufacturers of ferret harnesses have no clue how big, or rather how small ferrets are.

I've had 11 ferrets, and only 2 (both male) of them have fit in Petsmart harnesses without modifying it.

[Thérèse]

While I am a) in Australia and b) have only ever had male ferrets I will just comment on what would be the flaw in this harness for me. It doesn't adjust. Every time I put my guys in their harnesses I usually need to adjust them because the size they require in Summer and the size they require in Winter is very different. Just food for thought, otherwise they look great.

[Klarissa]

Unfortunately, paracord is not easily adjustable, at least not while having the clip on it. The clip makes it much easier to put it on/off, and in the event they wiggle out unclipping rather then cutting the harness off the ferret. Also, for smaller ferrets, once it's been sewn to make it fit, is usually limited adjustability anyways.

I'm in Canada, so my ferrets only go out spring/fall. Summer is often too hot & winter too cold to walk them.

A kitten harness or ferret harness typically runs about $12-15 CAD , where as the paracord harness costs about $5 CAD to make (& that's getting the cord from a specialty craft store - online carries is much cheaper). Could always make a winter harness/summer harness would still be less than a single harness. Or, mine tend to stay the same around the neck, only showing much gain in the body. A second loop to swap out during winter season would also work.

[lyles]

I seen some pull cord harnesses on Ebay but the strings seem too thin to be safe. :/

[Klarissa]

Not pull cord, paracord. Not sure if those are the same thing. However, they come in different weights. Each cord, has a bunch of little cords knotted inside the coloured sleeve.

Even the lightest cord, is still very strong.

That is my husband's paracord bracelet I made. The cord weight is what I used for the body strap/loop on the ferret harness. In this picture its holding up a 10lbs weight.



This is the neck loop/whole harness supporting 10lbs, made of a light paracord.



I also made a collar for my small dog (10lbs), and I'm making 2 (wider, but same weight cord) collars for my (families) standard poodles (65)lbs/75lbs.

[Deleted]

Thanks for posting! I can't wait to make a few for my fuzzies.