Messy noisy ferret

[nudge99]

Hi again, not posted in a while (mainly becase iv had no new problems with my fuzzy til now ) but here i have another question for you pro's. I try to get my ferret out of the cage for at least 5 hours a day and normally just let her run round my room freely as i pop in and out throughout the day. However, between 5 and 6 in the morning she decides its wake up time and bangs and scratches at the side of her cage, bashes her food trays about (i have now bought ones that bolt to the side of the cage so she cant tip them over) and if that doesnt work she crawls round the sides of her litter box and often underneath it (it is triangular shaped and only attaches to the cage by the top point so the bottom can be lifted quite easily) and then flick all of her litter everywhere. I try to ignore her to teach her that making a racket and a mess will not give me her attention but this goes on for an hour, often 2 hours in the morning. Not only am i having to clean her entire cage out often twice a day now, she keeps me awake and wakes up other members of my family. I don't really know what else to try and i dont want to give in and let her out in the mornings when im still sleeping. I try getting her out for as late as possible (often til past midnight) but she still insists on waking me up at 5am every morning ^^. Please tell me there is a light at the end of the noisy, messy fuzzy tunnel .

[shiftyferret]

Curiously... how old is this ferret?


Also, I've found either going to the local hardware store and buying large alligator clips(if they have rubber tips, remove these) to clamp the litter box in place.
OR if clamps won't fit, drill a small hole into the sides and use a cable tie or 'zip tie' them to the bars of the cage. That should make it harder to flip the litterbox... though don't be shocked if she just digs the litter out instead.

[bitbyter]

I find my ferrets (who free roam in their own room) are more active between ~4 pm until 7pm and then age at ~4am until 7am. They are both active individually at other times but they are almost always both up and playing at these times. I think they are naturally wired to be up and playing / hunting during dawn and dusk. The only thing I can really suggest would be some ear plugs or maybe some quite toys to keep her occupied in her cage.

[Sherry]

Clamp the litter box down. She'll stil bang the bejeepers out of it, but it should help with clean up. Keep ignoring. Don't talk to her, don't even look at her.
Also, ferrets are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk.

[Deleted]

What I did was drill a hole into the litter box and used thin metal wire and twisted it around like twisties from a bag of bread. That way if I need to get the litter box out to scrub it down every few weeks I don't have to cut zipties. Just twist and release.
As for the banging of the cage, have you tried a cage cover? Maybe if she sees how much darker it is with a cage cover and how much more quiet it is she'll be inclined to go back to bed. I know they make great Ferret Nation cage covers.. Do you have a Ferret Nation or something else? Besides that, the only other thing that I can think of is build a remote dig box or put a playpen around the cage with toys and things for her to do and leave the door open for her to go in and out of the cage to the playpen as she pleases. If none of the above is possible then continue to ignore her. Lol

[Deleted]

I use metal clips to secure my litter box down. Dixie was really bad, but one you secure everything down; they find something else to mess with ;D

[nudge99]

thanks guys will definitely try drilling holes in the litter box and using wire or something to clamp it down more (although she does dig the litter out anyway and rolls around in it ). I think i might start sleeping in the spare room so i dont get woken up quite so early. Shes 12 weeks old atm so still extremely hyper and every time i go in the room if shes in her cage she automatically starts crashing about ^^.

[Sherry]

Oh, I'd forgotten how young she is! Yeah, it's going to be a while before she settles. You might also want to invest in a square or rectangular high back pan. That will make it easier to attach, and she'll be more likely to use it as she grows. None of ours like even the large triangle pans.

[Deleted]

Outdoor excursions helped with Dixie as a baby. It's a great release for kit energy