Ferrets consuming fuzzy toys and blankets!

[Deleted]

    My first ferret, Timtam or Timeramatam is about 2 yrs old. when i first had him i bought him soft fabric squeaky toys filled with stuffing. he enjoyed in and was spunky! hiding them in all the little corners and places he could. and i began to notice that there were small holes. finally i caught him chewing on it and after that sure enough i found some fabric in his poo. YES I KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS! i knew it at the time after researching and freaked out.
    i got him x rayed shortly after and the vet said he was fine. i took away all the fabric toys and now try to give him hard rubber balls that are to big the fall apart or chew up and hard plastic toys. but now i have a new ferret approximately 6 months another boy named Boomie Obi Won. he's starting to do the same thing. i can't turn around and put something way in my room without fear of looking back and seeing them chew MY fuzzy blankets. ive been good about stopping him before he realizes what he's doing so he doesn't do it very often.
    but i see A BUNCH of ferret owners with fuzzy hanging cubes and hammocks and cute fuzzy blankets they sleep in. but my ferrets will try to eat everything. I got them a fuzzy hammock yesterday and they didn't chew it at all last night. Ive been keeping a close eye on them in the day but i can't at night and it makes me nervous.
    so tell me did your little fuzzbuckets have this problem at first? is it a result of teething from being babies? or boredom maybe? how did you stop them? and do you know of any soft non painted or splintering wooden toys for ferrets?

[Deleted]

How big is the cage they're in and how often do they get playtime outside of their cage? Excessive chewing could mean boredom.

[Deleted]

I'd take away the rubber balls and hard plastic toys. You'd be surprised what they can chew through and ingest.

[Deleted]

If you have a chewer then you've got problems. Denim is very hard to chew through and you might have to make bedding using that. There is also a fabric called RipStop which is used by the military and quite strong.

Check out the little one's mouth and see if there is an ulcer or something that is bothering him which might make him need to chew because it helps relieve the pain.

Hurricanekatt has a Koda who is an inveterate problem chewer and so does Julesalot.

[Deleted]

thanks for the advice guys! and don't worry they are under constant supervision when they play especially with their toys. those are the only ones the little guys wont eat. one little guy really loves sinking his teeth into things but he's not a baby anymore! they get approximately 4 hours of play but not all at once :/

Thanks poncesmom! I'll check when they wake up i didn't think about that. and i have used denim before but right now they are doing very good with the hammock! <3 hopefully it is just boredom I've been moving and packing so i guess i haven't taken them out enough. but that'll change and I'm saving up to get them a HUGE ferret nation cage cause i will be gone at college for part of the day 5 days a week. c:

should i start reintroducing soft plush? like with the hammock? and maybe next get them a cube to crawl in and out of, so they know its something not to chew but to use? im not sure i know what im talking about [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/.gif" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/.gif" style="max-width:100%;"] but i guess thats why im here c:

[Sherry]

Until chewing issues are sorted I'd hold off on what they enjoy chewing the most. And yes it can become a real issue. We just lost one the other night to a skineeze toy he'd not bothered with for 5 years
As poncesmom said- check teeth, give more time out, etc.

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2016 11:08:59 GMT -5 Sherry said:

Until chewing issues are sorted I'd hold off on what they enjoy chewing the most. And yes it can become a real issue. We just lost one the other night to a skineeze toy he'd not bothered with for 5 years
As poncesmom said- check teeth, give more time out, etc.

So sorry for your loss *hugs*

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2016 11:08:59 GMT -5 Sherry said:

Until chewing issues are sorted I'd hold off on what they enjoy chewing the most. And yes it can become a real issue. We just lost one the other night to a skineeze toy he'd not bothered with for 5 years
As poncesmom said- check teeth, give more time out, etc.

We call them little weasels for a reason. Really hope you're doing okay *hug*
Are there any toys that should be avoided at all costs? I mean obviously no balls small enough to swallow but is supervised playing with sweet wrappers okay?

[Deleted]

Feb 3, 2016 7:56:36 GMT -5 @rex888 said:

Jan 12, 2016 11:08:59 GMT -5 Sherry said:

Until chewing issues are sorted I'd hold off on what they enjoy chewing the most. And yes it can become a real issue. We just lost one the other night to a skineeze toy he'd not bothered with for 5 years
As poncesmom said- check teeth, give more time out, etc.

We call them little weasels for a reason. Really hope you're doing okay *hug*
Are there any toys that should be avoided at all costs? I mean obviously no balls small enough to swallow but is supervised playing with sweet wrappers okay?

Toys to avoid at all costs, anything made of rubber. I had a ferret choke to death on a rubber toy that was supposed to be chew proof for big dogs and I'd only had her 5 months, I found Sandy dead in a small pile of vomit with a big rubber chunk hanging out of her mouth, I've never even thought to buy rubber toys since for this reason.

[Deleted]

sweet wrappers okay?

So sorry about that frolicking ferret.. Glad you wrote that, as people will see how important it is to keep rubber away.


Sorry, but do not understand what a sweet wrapper is unless a candy wrapper??
Here is some of the things mine have chewed, and I have had to exchange it for a safer product: My rugs are now woven back, no latex back. Inkpens get trashed if they have soft grips, no pencils with erasers--- mine have gotten on computer desk. Suitcases stay in a closet that is closed all the time. Mine chew the handles. No Rubber toys whatsoever. No cloth toys with button eyes. Watch for inserts in shoes, they will pull them out and chew those.

Hubby even had to put a narrow strip of wood around washing machine, as senior crawled under it and punctured a rubber hose, which made washing machine leak.

Happy ferret proofing:))

[Deleted]

Feb 3, 2016 8:21:55 GMT -5 abbeytheferret6 said:

sweet wrappers okay?

So sorry about that frolicking ferret.. Glad you wrote that, as people will see how important it is to keep rubber away.


Sorry, but do not understand what a sweet wrapper is unless a candy wrapper??
Here is some of the things mine have chewed, and I have had to exchange it for a safer product: My rugs are now woven back, no latex back. Inkpens get trashed if they have soft grips, no pencils with erasers--- mine have gotten on computer desk. Suitcases stay in a closet that is closed all the time. Mine chew the handles. No Rubber toys whatsoever. No cloth toys with button eyes. Watch for inserts in shoes, they will pull them out and chew those.

Hubby even had to put a narrow strip of wood around washing machine, as senior crawled under it and punctured a rubber hose, which made washing machine leak.

Happy ferret proofing:))

Oh gosh! That's terrible frolicking ferret! I had no idea something so simple could cause that big of a problem.
Yeah, I'm in England so we don't call it candy, we call them sweets. So wrappers from Quality Street or Celebrations, our cats love playing with them so I was wondering if it was okay to let ferrets play with them too.

If I'm honest I'm still conflicted between rabbits or ferrets but I think ferrets would be much more rewarding than simple ol' rabbits. But it's why I'm doing this research. I've got specialist inserts in my shoes so I'd definitely have to watch that! I wouldn't have free roam ferrets either, they'd be constrained to 1 room or a playpen.

Thanks much everyone!

[Deleted]

Feb 3, 2016 8:58:15 GMT -5 @rex888 said:

Feb 3, 2016 8:21:55 GMT -5 abbeytheferret6 said:

So sorry about that frolicking ferret.. Glad you wrote that, as people will see how important it is to keep rubber away.


Sorry, but do not understand what a sweet wrapper is unless a candy wrapper??
Here is some of the things mine have chewed, and I have had to exchange it for a safer product: My rugs are now woven back, no latex back. Inkpens get trashed if they have soft grips, no pencils with erasers--- mine have gotten on computer desk. Suitcases stay in a closet that is closed all the time. Mine chew the handles. No Rubber toys whatsoever. No cloth toys with button eyes. Watch for inserts in shoes, they will pull them out and chew those.

Hubby even had to put a narrow strip of wood around washing machine, as senior crawled under it and punctured a rubber hose, which made washing machine leak.

Happy ferret proofing:))

Oh gosh! That's terrible frolicking ferret! I had no idea something so simple could cause that big of a problem.
Yeah, I'm in England so we don't call it candy, we call them sweets. So wrappers from Quality Street or Celebrations, our cats love playing with them so I was wondering if it was okay to let ferrets play with them too.

If I'm honest I'm still conflicted between rabbits or ferrets but I think ferrets would be much more rewarding than simple ol' rabbits. But it's why I'm doing this research. I've got specialist inserts in my shoes so I'd definitely have to watch that! I wouldn't have free roam ferrets either, they'd be constrained to 1 room or a playpen.

Thanks much everyone!

I'm not sure about sweet wrappers and ferrets, I've never let mine play with them out of fear that they might eat them because of the wrappers smelling of food.
If your deciding between getting a ferret or a rabbit then a ferret is much more rewarding, they're more interesting too, you can walk them, train them, hunt with them and show them I reccomend going to a ferret show to meet some ferrets and experienced ferrents who can offer loads of advise on about looking after them and about them
The first ferret show in England this year is at the Ashfield a Ferret Club at the end of this month, I'll be taking my ferrets and my polecat
www.ashfieldferretclub.co.uk

[Deleted]

They can be a bit too much for people. You have to be willing to ferret proof your house, give them time out of the cage  everyday---cruelty if not, because it would be like locking up a cat in my opinion, and of course--- we believe in feeding raw.

The cuteness goes away and novelty when the daily grind sets in--- cleaning potties,cutting meat---getting up in morning to feed breakfast when you would rather sleep.

While I have never owned a rabbit, I am sure people have gotten attached to them as much as you see people here r attached to their ferrets. I think the more time you spend with an animal, the more you will see its true personality and it will see yours. Both of you will then respond on a different level than the owner who keeps an animal in a cage all the time.


edit: cuteness does not go away

[Deleted]

Feb 3, 2016 9:09:31 GMT -5 @frolickingferrets said:

Feb 3, 2016 8:58:15 GMT -5 @rex888 said:

Oh gosh! That's terrible frolicking ferret! I had no idea something so simple could cause that big of a problem.
Yeah, I'm in England so we don't call it candy, we call them sweets. So wrappers from Quality Street or Celebrations, our cats love playing with them so I was wondering if it was okay to let ferrets play with them too.

If I'm honest I'm still conflicted between rabbits or ferrets but I think ferrets would be much more rewarding than simple ol' rabbits. But it's why I'm doing this research. I've got specialist inserts in my shoes so I'd definitely have to watch that! I wouldn't have free roam ferrets either, they'd be constrained to 1 room or a playpen.

Thanks much everyone!

I'm not sure about sweet wrappers and ferrets, I've never let mine play with them out of fear that they might eat them because of the wrappers smelling of food.
If your deciding between getting a ferret or a rabbit then a ferret is much more rewarding, they're more interesting too, you can walk them, train them, hunt with them and show them I reccomend going to a ferret show to meet some ferrets and experienced ferrents who can offer loads of advise on about looking after them and about them
The first ferret show in England this year is at the Ashfield a Ferret Club at the end of this month, I'll be taking my ferrets and my polecat
www.ashfieldferretclub.co.uk

Wow! I'll definitely look into going to that! Thank you!

[Deleted]

Ferrets and Rabbits are just so different in their needs.
Ferrets are extremely smart and can problem solve. Think two year old toddler and you have a very good idea of what you are in for.

Ferrets need alot of time and attention, plus stimulation and enrichment.
They don't do well spending alot of time in a cage.
They build bonds with their Ferrents and other Ferrets and will grieve over the loss of their home, friends and family.

They are fragile creatures and can fall prey to a host of expensive illnesses.
Ferrets are obligate carnivores and are not designed to process fruits/veggies/carbs or starches. They thrive on a protein/meat based diet.

Depending on your lifestyle, you will want to choose a pet who suits your schedule and how much time you have to spend on them and how much money you have available for Vetting.
Ferrets can be expensive to maintain and expensive to Vet.

I wish you all the best and am glad you are taking time to do some research first before you bring someone home to their Forever home.