Care for a Ferret

Ferrets are cuddly and cute and make good pets if you care for them well. They need a lot of attention, quality care and good housing to thrive and stay healthy. Achieving this goal with your ferret starts with these suggestions.

Steps

Housing your ferret

  1. Get a cage that is large enough for the ferret to separate its bathroom business away from where it sleeps and has its comfort.
  2. Provide comfortable spaces. A hammock adds more comfort for your ferret––they love to climb on them and sleep.
  3. Provide at least one bed area per ferret. Though they do like to snuggle together, they all need their space.

Keeping the ferret's housing clean

  1. Clean out the cage every second day. It is important that you clean the cage every other day. However, if you have more than one ferret, clean the cage daily to avoid odor.
  2. Wipe the cage down with a cleaner that is natural and safe for ferrets.
  3. Allow the cage to dry. After cleaning the cage and making sure it is completely dry, add fresh bedding or litter.
  4. Wash all hammocks, beds, sleeping bags, and other ferret accessories once a week. For washing machine safe items, use baking soda, as detergents or bleach may irritate your ferret's skin. For hand-washing items, just use hot water.
  5. Use a litter that is natural or designed for ferrets. Pine bedding or cat litters are not recommended, as the fumes and dust can cause your ferret to become ill with respiratory problems. A cat scooper works well for removing ferret waste and soiled bedding or litter.
    • Completely replace all litter every three to five days.

Feeding the ferret

  1. Obtain suitable feeding containers. You will need a non-spill food dish and a water bottle or non-spill dish. Ferrets tend to make a mess, so it's a good idea to keep something under the eating area if you have a drop bottom style cage.
  2. Put fresh food out every day. Providing healthy food is very important for your ferret. Provide food designed just for ferrets, with high protein and high fat content. It needs to be as close to zero carbohydrates and sugars as possible, as ferrets are carnivores. There are two choices for a diet: kibble, or mice. You can keep a ferret alive on kibble alone, and you can give it both mice and kibble, but never have it on a strict diet of mice. Raw animals from the pet store help a ferret's teeth and can help it to live a longer life, while kibble keeps protein and fiber in balance. Treats can also help to fatten up for winter and have a healthy source of taurine.
    • Ferrets are strict carnivores, which means no vegetables, fruit, nuts, or grains of any kind. If you cannot find a treat that your ferret likes, you can, however, feed it very small amounts of banana or watermelon. Any mildly flavored, non-acidic fruit can sometimes substitute for treats, but do not give it a lot or give it only fruit. The ferret will not benefit from it, except for taste.
    • Another treat idea is warm––not hot––pieces of meat.
  3. Avoid certain foods. Grains will generally make your ferret sick, so it is important to avoid giving these. Among other things, milk, chocolate, dog food, and cat food are not good for your ferret. Ferrets have very delicate stomachs and these items can give them diarrhea and make them very ill. However, this isn't a fact, as there are vets saying that you can feed ferrets kitten food, as long as the first ingredient listed is meat, and it doesn't include corn or grain.
  4. Provide fresh water every day. Bi-odor can be put in the ferret's water to help reduce odors. It is best to use bottled water, or have a water softener. A ferret's water should be room temperature and not ice cold or it will avoid drinking as much as it needs and could risk getting a cold. Ferrets need a lot of water or they will dehydrate.
    • To tell whether your ferret is dehydrated, pinch the skin on its scruff ( the back of its neck) gently, pull up, and let go. If it snaps back like the skin of the back of your hand does, it's healthy. If it takes a while to flatten or sticks up straight, see a vet.

Providing enrichment for your ferret

  1. Provide adequate enrichment for your ferret. Ferrets are smart and social creatures that need lots of exercise and interaction. Let the ferret out of its cage at least once a day and play with it, or just let it romp around and sniff your stuff.
    • Ferrets get bored very easily, so provide a variety of toys for it to play with. Switch out toys they can play with every other day.
    • While some people like to keep their ferrets in 'play pens' for playtime, ferrets do just fine roaming around the house with, of course, supervision.
    • Most ferrets generally get along with cats and dogs. However, some like to nip or mouth, at which the other animals might get agitated.
    • Taking your ferret on walks is also great.
    • An ideal playtime for a ferret is four hours a day, at least.
  2. Provide plenty of attention. Ferrets are, essentially, little tornadoes consisting of fur and pure energy. They need a lot of attention to stay healthy. If they are cooped up in their cage all day, they become more likely to damage the cage and/or themselves by ripping things up in an attempt to vent their energy. Make sure you can commit to at least an hour of exercise a day for your ferret.

Caring for the ferret's health

  1. Take your ferret to the vet on a regular basis. You can help keep it from getting sick, as well as catching illnesses earlier when it is still easy to treat them. Ferrets have a high risk for immediate allergic reactions when it comes to vaccinations when compared to other domestic animals, such as dogs and cats. These reactions are almost always deadly; try to avoid them if they are not necessary. If concerned or unsure whether to vaccinate your ferrets, talk to your veterinarian.
    • Ferrets can catch a cold and the flu from people.[citation needed] If you are sick, wash your hands before touching ferrets and their stuff. Avoid contact with your ferret until you are well. This is hard to do but will prevent costly vet bills and having to give your ferret medicine.
  2. Get your ferret fixed. This lessens the effect of cancer for your pet and helps keep the odor away from them.[citation needed] They will be much happier fixed and less cranky.
  3. Bathe your ferret once every six months or annually to keep it clean. Bathing it too often can result in dry skin and over activated stink glands, causing even more ferret smell. Some people advise not bathing it at all, and just relying on it to naturally clean itself. You may wish to only bathe it if something is spilled on the ferret by accident.
    • Use ferret shampoo, which can be found at a pet store.
    • A ferret's coat is important to its health. If its coat is soft, full and doesn't have an unusually smelly odor, then your ferret is healthy and kept well. If any excessive hair is missing on a ferret, other than the tip of his tail, see a vet, because this could be a sign of adrenal disease.
  4. Ensure sufficient downtime and sleep time. Aside from playtime, your ferret needs its sleep to prevent it from getting sick. Ferrets like to sleep in dark, quiet places, so cover the cage with some blankets when you're in the room and make as little noise as you can.



Tips

  • Trim the ferret's nails every week or get someone else that is professional to do it if you don't know what you are doing. Ferrets get their nails stuck in things and it hurts them and they will go crazy. They even get stuck in their cage, so keep an eye out for that.
  • Ferrets love squeaky toys! They will chase it and make their adorable noises. If you can't find your ferret, just squeak the toy and it will run to you.
  • Ferrets like tug-o-war, but be relatively easy on them.
  • Groom your ferret every once in a while.
  • For a great treat, you can use chicken or turkey flavored Gerber's baby food. This tastes great to them and is healthy and safe.
  • Regular bathing is not recommended as it just makes their skin dryer which will just cause them to release their natural oils, which have a musky odor. If you do want to bathe your ferret, use a special ferret shampoo that is gentle on the eyes. Also, some ferrets know how to swim, but some don't get in the water enough to know how. Bath time is learning time also, fill the tub until it reaches your ferret's belly then let him get used to his surroundings. After about 1 minute, pour a little bit of shampoo and his back and gently scrub the surface on his hair. turn on cold/warn water and rinse him off(when you wash them, try avoiding the face). Most ferrets will dry themselves off. Set out a ruff towel and let your ferret roll around it until it is satisfied with its dry fur.
  • If your ferret is deaf, which is common, use stomping or hand signals to communicate to your pet.
  • If you have a male ferret you are better off with just him. No matter the gender of the other ferret, he may get aggressive and territorial. If you want more than one ferret, it is a good idea to have just females.
  • Use Goodbye Odor from Marshall to get rid of skin odors and waste odors. Put five pumps of it into your ferret's food or water. You can find this at a pet store that sells ferret items (in North America).

Warnings

  • Ferret Proof a House.
  • If your ferret is acting strangely, take it to a vet. Ferrets can get cancer, pneumonia and other sicknesses. If you or a family member has the flu, be very careful because the ferret can catch it and this can be fatal.[citation needed]

Things You'll Need

  • Large ferret cage
  • Hammock, sleeping bag or other bed
  • Bi-odor ferret waste deodorizer
  • Cage liner material
  • Ferret food
  • Non spill food dish
  • Water bottle or non spill dish
  • Litter
  • Litter box
  • Litter scooper
  • Nail clippers
  • Ferret shampoo
  • A leash and harness

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