Caring for your ferret
"I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being."
Abraham Lincoln
Housing - home is where the heart is!
Firstly - whats your new pal (or hopefully pals as ferrets are social creatures and do much better in pairs or trios) going to live in?
As large as you can afford,both space and moneywise, as a guide I would not consider putting 2 ferrets in anything smaller than a double tiered hutch with dimensions of 5' x 2' (although a hugely massive size can not compensate for love and attention!)
Outdoor ferrets - Hutches or sheds can be used,chicken coops with attached runs are becoming increasingly popular. The position is important, it must be dry, away from draughts and be made of easily cleaned timber,and preferably have a hutch cover for the great British weather! Against a wall where sheltered from the wind and rain is ideal. The hutch should be secure to stop ferrets from escaping and to stop other animals breaking in. An attached run area gives extra space and is often quite easy to fix onto your hutch or shed.
Runs need to be on some form of concrete as ferrets are ferocious diggers and can tunnel under things quite quickly!
Outdoor ferrets need to be kept in the shade and kept cool in the summer.They do not have the ability to sweat and can not regulate their own body temperature and will die very quickly from overheating.
I can not stress the importance of this enough,bottles of frozen water/marble chiller blocks an be used during the warmer months to help keep them at a comfortable temperature.
Whether you choose to have indoor or outdoor ferrets they should be kept warm (during winter), dry and comfortable. Their house should include a sleeping area, exercise space, toilet area (we use cat litter trays) and be securely fastened,which may mean extra bolts and catches. Hutches and cages should also be cleaned out daily if not more with a regular airing and proper clean out weekly. Safe pet spray detergents are good to use - we use mistral odour fresh for their cages and laundry.
Indoor ferrets - tiered cages are popular,I would recommend something like an explorer or ferret nation, they have lift out plastic trays for easy cleaning and you can hang tunnels and hammocks from the wire roof and sides. They also need a warm and cosy place to sleep - such as a cat igloo or wooden bed box with fleece blankets, a litter tray and food and water supplied.
Bedding - my personal choice is fleece blankets, easy to change and to bung in the washing machine.Dust extracted shavings, some of the horse bedding such as auboise or megazorb is fine, its all down to personal choice.The only thing I really wouldn't recommend is hay,can be full of dust and fungal spores and is particularly prone to going mouldy quickly if it gets damp at all.
Fun and Games- ferrets just wanna have fun!
Ferrets are very active when they are awake and need out of cage time on a daily basis (as much as you can allow,they will start to calm down and find somwhere to nap when they have had enough and get tired),be that in an outdoor run or a room in your house.They are extremely playful and when an owner sees the "weasel war dance" for the first time it is often with shock and amazement, some even think their ferret is trying to attack them when what he wants to do is invite you to play!
Favourite toys - anything and everything! Tubes,carrier bags,jinggly balls,bits of cloth,bubble wrap,ball pits,sand boxes,pasta dig boxes,shallow water trays but most importantly other ferrets and YOU!
Your ferret will love having an oversized moveable stash toy,trouserleg tube,and general plaything to roll them around and gently bowl them about.The more time you put into your ferret the better the bond and the more pleasurable animal you will have.
Avoid toys with small parts that can be broken off and swallowed.
Rubber toys are best avoided as ferrets have a tendency to chew rubber and it can cause blockages which are always expensive and frequently fatal.
Food and Drink - Food glorious Food!
In an ideal world ferrets would be fed as near to their ancestors wild prey as possible, but as we all know life is far from simple!
My ferrets are fed a good quality ferret kibble with raw meat as a supplement.There are many brands about, you should really go for one that has 40%+ protein. My preferred makes are Dr Johns Merlin,Science selective,Vitalin and James wellbeloved. Pet stores such as Pets at Home and Jolleys do their own brand which seems to go down quite well with mine,as does Alpha ferret feast. The only one they really won't eat is Chudleys - which is one of the lower protein varieties packed out quite substantially with fillers.
Raw meat - anything really thats not processed, bone in is good for their teeth, offal,(in smaller quantities due to high levels of vitamin A).
Chicken,turkey,beef,pork,lamb and game meats are all fine.
If you want to give a little bit of cooked meat (again not processed due to high salt content and seasonings) thats okay too - but NOT with bone,cooked bone splinters and can cause ruptures to the gut.
There are some good all meat - BARF (bone and raw fed) diets about that consists of purely meat,the meals needs to be specifically balanced to provide all the nutrients and vitamins that a ferret needs to stay healthy.
I don't have any experience in total raw feeding but there is a lot of information about
https://www.barfworld.com/index.shtml
https://holisticferret.proboards.com/
Treats
Ferretone- -the ferret owners must have!, an oil based treat that is essential to keep wriggly fuzzies still for essentials such as nail clipping!
There are lots of recipes for "duck soup" - (homemade not shop bought) available online.
Chicks and mice - the type that are available in reptile shops go down well once per week.
Kitten milk or human lacto free - ferrets are lactose intolerant
There's a fair few commercial treats that can be bought online --- N-Bones,Cheweasels,Foamy Fries and Bandits to name but a few!
Fruit and cereals are to be avoided as the digestive system of a ferret is not designed to process high amounts of fibre and can cause serious illness.
Water water everywhere!
Ferrets need fresh clean water available at all times,from either a bottle or bowl.During the winter please be aware that quite often the metal spout freezes up prior to the water in the bottle part so it is easy to miss.
Mine have a morning bowl of lacto free milk - available at supermarkets - which they love!
Please be aware your ferret needs water in its liquid form 24/7 - dehydration occurs faster than people may think and is a killer!
If you have a problem or a worry thats not covered here such as aggressiveness please do not hesitate to contact us and we will help if we can or point you in the direction of someone who will able to. Nothing is insurmountable and most issues can be improved!