This is a follow up from my other ferret question. There are just a few questions I may need a little more detail on, so here they are:
1. Do they like to eat anything else besides the pet store ferret food? What else is good for a ferret diet? Any fruits or vegies?
2. Would it be possible to make a cage myself for cheaper?
3. Is their any way to get ferrets to not stink so much?
4. How big do ferrets usually get as adult size? How tall when they stand? How wide?
5. Is getting a special ferret ear cleaner necessary, or would just a plain normal Q-tip work perfactly fine?
6. Does NOT spaying or neutering them make any other difference (besides not being able to mate) as opposed to spaying or nertering?
7. Do they like a certain kind of bedding?
8. Can ferrets learn and respond to their name easily?
9. Are they basically just like small little rodent-like kittens that never grow up? (play and care wise, I know a ferret is a completely different species)
10. What do they usually like to play with?
11. Can they ruin things like furniture, carpeting, floors, wood, or any other household things?
12. Can ferrets tell the difference between a litter box and the corner of the carpet? (like an aged potty-trained dog can, if you know what I mean)
13. Do they prefer to drink out of a large rodent bottle or a water dish?
14. Can they drink anything else besides water?
Thank you for your time, and if theirs anything else I need to know about ferrets… please do tell! =P
Websites about ferrets and ferret care are welcome.
April 12th, 2010 - 9:18 am
Glad you are asking questions about ferrets and their care! First, you might want to get "The Ferret Book for Dummies". It has a lot of wonderful information.
First, make sure there is a vet nearby who takes care of ferrets; not all vets do.
Food – there has been discussion regarding "raw" diets (basically, red meat, frozen embryos, etc), cooked food, regular pet store food and cat food. Please don’t feed them cat food; it doesn’t have the nutrients for ferrets. With raw diets, you’ll have to find someone to get the food; basically, I’m not sure where, but there are places. Mine love the 8 in 1 ferret kibble. Once in a while I’ll put some Linatone on it and they’ll go crazy! Normally, most people do not feed their ferrets any veggies or fruit – the fruit gives them gas, and the veggies don’t do much except go in and out. Remember, a ferret is an obligate carnivore – basically, eats meat. The ferret kibble has meat; some people make a broth "Duck Soup" for when they are sick, which includes chicken, baby food and other ingredients. Duck Soup is easily found by just typing it in.
Cage – yes and no. Do not use wood as the urine and feces and other stuff will make the wood swell and smell. You’ll need a cage which has easy access for you to clean and some place for your little fuzzy to sleep, eat, stretch and "do business". Keep the food away from the business area. Plus, for the cage you’ll need to have coated wires for platforms. Check other websites for cages; you might get an idea from that.
Smelly ferret and spaying/neutering – usually a ferret will be spayed or neutered when you get them as a pet. If they are "intact", they can be aggressive and very territorial. It is best to have them spayed and neutered as the females can develop toxic anemia and die from not having babies.
Size – female ferrets usually are not larger the 2 lbs and the males are about 3 lbs. However, this will differ on different breeders abd strains of parentage (whether American or English). I had one boy who was about 2 lbs, and one girl who was 2.5 lbs. The American strand is usually smaller in size, while the English strand can get to 5 lbs for boys and 3 lbs for girls.
Bedding – anything soft. Old t-shirts is one that mine love. Easy to clean and toss. Some love to snuggle on the floor, others in a hammock, and others underneath something like they are burrowing.
Names – they can learn their names and respond to their names. However, they will not always do that – sometimes they are sleeping and don’t hear you, other times they are playing hard and having a blast and don’t hear you. But they can and will respond – give them rewards for coming to you when you call them by name, and they’ll learn to come easily.
Playtime – think of a ferret as a 3 year old child – into everything they can get to! You’ll have to "ferret proof" your house – get down on hands and knees, look for any escape routes (holes, stairs, doors, etc). They love shiny things and will steal a remote control and cell phone in no time flat. Playing is fun – basically anything with you. Play peek-a-boo with t-shirts, chase them, tickle them with an old makeup brush, tunneling, let them climb over you. Anything you can do to interact with them would be best.
Household stuff – yes, they can ruin floors, couches, etc. if you don’t control them. Limit them to one area where they can play. If you have a recliner, do not sit in it when they are playing around it; they love to climb in it and hide. They can climb curtains, jump from chair to chair, dig in flower pots and really make a mess.
Pottytraining – yes, they know the different, but you’ll have to work on making them use the box for their business. It’s a long way from the living room to their room where the potty is and they’ll just find a corner which is easier. It can be hit or miss – you’ll have to figure out what litter and type of box they like. Or, you can pick up some cheap tile squares from Lowe’s or Home Depot and put in corners when they are out.
Drinking – I prefer the bottles myself. With a water dish, it is so tempting to splash in it to get to the bottom. Make sure they get fresh water every day. At really hot times during the year, I give them some plain Pedialyte (the kind you give to kids) as a treat and for them to keep hydrated. Note this will make their business runny but will go away.
A lot of this is basically on the job training. Talk to your vet regarding illnesses and surgeries. Check the websites under ferrets. There ar many good site. Always be ready to learn something new from the fuzzies. Hope this helps.
April 12th, 2010 - 9:18 am
1. Ferret are strict carnivores – meat eaters. They lack a cecum and an appendix and cannot properly digest fruits, vegetables or grains. And not all ferret food is nutritionally good for ferrets. Feed your ferret the best food possible to avoid illness and disease, I feed Evo for ferrets and my female ferret Abby is 9 years old. Also for a new ferret feed a mixture of food because they imprint on whatever they are fed for the first few months and will only recognize that as food.
2. Yes you can make a cage, I’ll include a link below.
3. Don’t bathe your ferret, they don’t need it. The smell comes from the bedding and litter box, keep those clean.
4. Ferrets in the US, usually are small, because of early neutering. Probably no more than 3 pounds.
5. Use can use olive oil to clean ears.
6. Yes, it makes a big difference spaying or neutering, Female ferrets must be bred or given a hormone shot to bring her out of heat, otherwise she stays in heat and will eventually die. Male ferrets in season are very smelly and oily, most owner have to keep them outside. Females will also smell more.
7. Bedding – they love hammocks, and bedding they can sleep underneath or be covered. Avoid anything with a large weave and their nails sometimes split and can get caught. I used an old flannel sheet, I cut up into several pieces and hemmed for bedding.
8. Yes, ferrets can learn their name and respond, they are kinda attention deficit, sometimes just ignore you. They can also learn the word "no" or what I say is "stop it", because my little boy ferret has to dig at everything and drives me nuts. I read that they can learn more words or commands then dogs.
9. Yes they’ll stay playful like a kitten and act like a 2 year old
10. Play with boxes, tubes (use a dryer tube with the metal ends taped)m cat toys with bells, especially balls. Don’t use any soft rubber toys, they have a tendency to chew and could cause intestinal blockage. I also use the tough rubber small dog toys..
11. They might ruin carpet at where a door is closed, they a very adamant about getting somewhere they are not allowed, and some will claw the carpet up. I have a ferret that like to chew on my laundry baskets – wicker and plastic.
12. Ferret are pretty smart, but have a rapid digestive system, food goes through about every 3 to 4 hours, and when they need to go, its immediate. suggest to keep extra litter box, or use newspaper, dog potty pads in corners when they are out of their cage
13. A water dish is preferable, they’ll drink more. Ferrets are very susceptible to becoming dehydrated very easily. Use a heavy crock or non-tip bowl.
14. Generally no, bottled water, instead of tap water is preferable for ferrets, although I use watered down apple juice to give mine some herbal medications that are bitter
I’ll leave some links for more sources