Please help- at my wits end over the litter box

[PorkbunPrincess]

Hey guys, so my ferret is now almost 7 months old. I have not been able to get him out of the habit of digging out his entire litter box, whether it's clean or soiled. It's extremely frustrating to come home to, and gross, and I ended up having to carabiner his box to the cage as well as twist tie a grate over the litter. This combination of things has now brought back my worst enemy: the phorid fly.

These things are awful if you've ever had them in your home. They multiply like crazy, take over everything, and are unsanitary and dangerous.

Because the poop gets stuck in the grate and is *impossible* to get off, the flies found their happy place and now I'm sitting in my living room in tears because I'm so frustrated and don't know how to keep a clean, fly free cage without litter and poop everywhere. I literally don't know what to do.

If any of you have any suggestions for alternative litter scenarios that would make it so that a grate isn't necessary and/or box would not be a play pin for Edmund, I would be eternally grateful. As of right now, it's both a play box and a breeding ground for flies....

When this happened in my cat's litter box, I was able to get rid of them with cedar oil, but that obviously will not work in this situation given the fact that it's toxic to ferrets...

Guys, I'm literally crying. Please help

Thank you

[Corvidophile]

Sounds like a switch to puppy pads or paper towels might be necessary. Put them in the bottom of the litter tray with just a smattering of litter covering them so it’s familiar as the place to go, then stop adding the litter on top after a few days.

[abbeytheferret6]

I think corvidophile's puppy pads r a great idea.

I use them totally on the floor in my ferret room--- in the room's two corners and then in a couple places they have picked as favorite spots. I put baby blankets in the other corners---like behind the door. That stops them from going there as a habit. I do put two 21" by 21" together tho or 1 xtra large in those places. I let them slide a little up the base in corners, so pooh will not get on baseboard. U may have to use tape at first but maybe not.

As ferrets get older they tend to get better and better at going to potties. Just have plenty of potties or pads scattered about your house---put in their favorite places. I put pillow cases or baby blankets from goodwill under potties that re scattered thru my house, so they can wipe their bottoms on that instead of on carpet.

[Charlie]

It might be the litter you are using. What are you using? Puppy pads are a good option.

[brittanyb]

I agree that puppy pads are the way to go! I use the ones with the adhesive tabs in each corner to keep them in place, because although my ferrets are great about using their litter box while inside their cage at night, they will occasionally poop in corners while free-roaming. Puppy pads have been such a lifesaver (and time-saver!) for me. Your ferret is still quite young, so you may still have good luck getting him litterbox trained. Baby ferrets are pretty notorious for playing in their litter boxes, unfortunately.

[Sparrow]

You've probably solved this issue by now, but are you using paper pellets or scoopable litter? Puppy pads are good, but my ferrets would pull them up when they were little. Anything that was meant to stay put was like a magnet for "let's move this to where its not supposed to be."

[magik]

I have ferrets that like to dig in their litter boxes as well. It's annoying. I have been thinking about getting a litter box with a grated bottom, but I haven't done it yet, because I'm not sure how well it will work with a ferret. Another thing my ferrets do, and have been doing for quite some time, is they go potty right outside their litter boxes, even when their boxes are clean. I've always given them treats for going inside the litter box, so they'll go in the litter box if I'm watching them, but they'll often go right outside the litter boxes when I'm not watching them. I have put potty pads under their litter boxes. At first they liked to tunnel underneath them, so I started sticking them to the floor, so they don't really do that anymore, even though I no longer stick them to the floor. They have never chewed them. If I need to cut them, I take packing tape, and I put it along the edge I cut, otherwise they'll get inside the litter pad, and the stuff they use in them is bad for them if they ingest it. I have no idea how to stop them from going right outside their litter boxes though. They pretty much have free roam of most of the house... well... half the house (I couldn't ferret proof the rest). They also always use the litter boxes in their cage, but they are almost never put in their cage. Unfortunately I got a bunny cage with a ribbed bottom, so when they are in there they scratch the bottom of the cage, and it's really loud and annoying. They generally do this if they are bored, or to get attention, or even when they are mad about something. So the majority of the time they aren't allowed in their cage. I am thinking about getting them a new cage, but since they have most of the house to roam around in, I'm not sure it's worth it. I have been thinking about getting them the grated bottom litter boxes though, so they can't dig in their litter anymore.

[pablos27]

Did you try to give them a digging box? That could help. I use jasmine rice in my digging box - it's safe for ferrets, it absorbs some of their skin oils and it smells nice. They can dig there as much as they want.

I think it is quite normal that they still have some 'accidents' outside the litter box. I guess it's impossible to get them 100% potty trained (they are little bit like humans - if they know 'the boss' is not watching, they will try to cut corners).

[lumboo]

My boys are kept outside in a hutch so I don't have the same frustration as you - which I have to say, would have me in tears too.

However, I wanted to say that my breeder hadn't used a litter tray and when I said I was going to use one (well, three as its one on every floor of the hutch), he said they'd think it was a toy.

I was surprised that they never dug it, and I think the reason is that firstly, they are let out into the garden each day and they dig in pots and flowerbeds to their hearts content. Soil is a completely different texture to the litter I use, which I guess then feels insubstantial to dig in.

If you could find a dig box for him with something that feels and smells totally different to his litter, it might help him realise the difference.

The second thing I think helped was that as soon as they woke up, I put them on the litter tray. They were often doing their business whilst yawning at me. Now, out of habit, it's the first thing they do when they wake up.

I also don't fill up the tray more than a third or quarter way up. That way, it's the right level to use, but a rubbish place to dig as they would hit yet bottom too quickly

I scoop the trays every day but only do a full wash and clean once a week. This was to allow them to recognise their toilet area and keep using it

Not sure if any of the above helps, but hope you find a solution that does x

[Charlie]

Nov 13, 2021 1:28:58 GMT -5 magik said:

I have ferrets that like to dig in their litter boxes as well. It's annoying. I have been thinking about getting a litter box with a grated bottom, but I haven't done it yet, because I'm not sure how well it will work with a ferret. Another thing my ferrets do, and have been doing for quite some time, is they go potty right outside their litter boxes, even when their boxes are clean. I've always given them treats for going inside the litter box, so they'll go in the litter box if I'm watching them, but they'll often go right outside the litter boxes when I'm not watching them. I have put potty pads under their litter boxes. At first they liked to tunnel underneath them, so I started sticking them to the floor, so they don't really do that anymore, even though I no longer stick them to the floor. They have never chewed them. If I need to cut them, I take packing tape, and I put it along the edge I cut, otherwise they'll get inside the litter pad, and the stuff they use in them is bad for them if they ingest it. I have no idea how to stop them from going right outside their litter boxes though. They pretty much have free roam of most of the house... well... half the house (I couldn't ferret proof the rest). They also always use the litter boxes in their cage, but they are almost never put in their cage. Unfortunately I got a bunny cage with a ribbed bottom, so when they are in there they scratch the bottom of the cage, and it's really loud and annoying. They generally do this if they are bored, or to get attention, or even when they are mad about something. So the majority of the time they aren't allowed in their cage. I am thinking about getting them a new cage, but since they have most of the house to roam around in, I'm not sure it's worth it. I have been thinking about getting them the grated bottom litter boxes though, so they can't dig in their litter anymore.

What kind of litter are you using?  In the cage I use litter boxes with World's Best Kitty Litter in it, but outside the cage I use puppy pads.  For the most part my ferret is good at hitting the puppy pads but he likes clean pads.  Only a few poops and I have to change the pads. lol  I use the puppy pads outside the cage because I had used litter boxes but he would expand the area he was going in so I went to puppy pads.  He seems to want more space when he's outside the cage.  In the cage it's more confined so they always go in the box but outside the cage there's way more space.  It's hard to confine the area to go in.  At least the puppy pads take up more space.

[unclejoe]

i use pine pellet horse bedding in the cage boxes. Spray lightly with water and it turns to sawdust. 100% in the cage. Outside I have to put puppy pads in a lot of corners, For some reason, no matter how many boxes or what litter we've tried, they just prefer flat open pads. 30 ferrets