by debferret

Making your ferret a home

Ferrets do need daily playtime outside of their cages, but they usually still spend a fair amount of time in their cage. A large, well designed cage is a necessity.

Some features to look for are; solid floors and shelves (wire mesh is hard on the feet, although you can cover with a towel), balconies, and ideally solid ladders. Multi-level cages are nice, but depending on the arrangement of the levels, falls are possible. Get extra shelves or use hammocks to make cages safer as needed.

You should purchase and set up your ferret’s cage prior to bringing them home, the cage will serve as “home base” for your new pet and should be ready and waiting upon his arrival. Below are some pointers for setting up your pet’s new domain.

Comfort Counts – There are many options out there in terms of the type of material from which your cage will be built. Metal, plastic, and various forms of wire or mesh are a few that come to mind (wood is not recommended).

**Manitoba Ferret Association has used cages for sale**

In choosing the best type of cage for your ferret, consider how easy it will be to clean. Will urine and food odors seep into the material and be impossible to scrub away? Does the cage offer easy dismantling or removal and replacing of each level so that you can clean all the nooks and crannies?

Ferrets aren’t known for their neatness, and will make messes in places you have only imagined.

If you choose a wire or mesh cage, be sure to provide adequate bedding, old blankets, towels and clothing work fine. The goal is to make sure that the pads of your ferret’s feet are not injured or sore as a result of walking around on wires or mesh all the time. Wire or mesh-type cages do have the advantage of allowing you to purchase the types of litter boxes and food dishes that can be hooked to the side of the cage, making it harder for your ferret to overturn them.

Arrange your ferret’s cage so that each “function” has a designated place. Setting up a safe and comfortable home for your new companion will help him feel right at home. You wouldn’t want to live in an unclean house, and neither does your ferret! A clean cage is essential to your ferret’s overall well-being.

Accessorize – Equip your ferret’s cage with the following:

1. Litter pan, or pans, depending upon the number of ferrets in the cage and how stubborn your pet is regarding “potty training.”

2. Dish that holds a good amount of food and is difficult for your ferret to overturn. Heavy dishes or those that can somehow be hooked to the side of the cage work best.

3. Large bottle or second dish that holds plenty of fresh water, keep the water near the food.

4. Area designed especially for sleeping, with either extra bedding or a hammock or two. Ferrets love to curl up in hammocks to sleep, but will also enjoy comfy hideaways such as the leg of an old pair of your sweatpants.

5. Do not keep toys in the cage. Your ferret may chew the toy & cause itself a life threatening blockage

Part of responsible ferret ownership is cleaning your ferret’s cage regularly. This includes scooping litter, wiping down the cage, washing bedding, and other daily or weekly tasks. Because your ferret’s cage is a relatively small living area, it’s very important to make sure that any mess is cleaned up promptly.

09.11.14

by debferret

I hate Duck Soup!

One of my shelter ferrets who came to me this summer is Molly, turns out Molly is a boy! His previous mom was told he was a girl and so for 6 years she thought she had “a big girl”. When I pointed out the “belly button” which only boys have she was speechless. Now Molly know his name very well and will come running so Molly keeps his name. Molly was very bonded to his first mom. She had been allowed to take him to school with her every day and he even slept with her. It broke her heart to bring him to me but she had not been able to find pet friendly housing in Saskatoon where she was heading for university.

I was very worried that I would loose Molly to a broken heart once he realized his mommy wasn’t coming back. I set up a small cage and placed it by my bedside. I put my well worn and smelly nightie in his hammock. I wanted him to bond with me and my smell. The first week was up and down. It was obvious that he was pinning for her but slowly he came out of his funk and started playing.

I tried over and over to introduce Molly to other furries hoping a playmate would give him some needed company. He went from running in fear to simply avoiding the other mild ferrets but he didn’t connect with anyone. Eventually Molly was doing so well that he moved into the main shelter room so that he could continue to be immersed in the other ferrets smells. His cage was right by the door entrance and he could see me coming and going down the hallway.

On Thursday Ivan and Loki arrived at the shelter. These two 5 year old boys put me at capacity and I was wondering who to move them in with. I often get the cage donated with the surrendered ferret(s) but it’s not the lack of cages but the lack of space to put them. Lots of donated cages are sold to help with the costs of food, litter and medical care. Ivan and Loki came in with a Ferret Nation cage which is the cadillac of ferret cages. I want to eventually have all Ferret Nation cages as they are so easy to clean. To set up the Ferret Nation cage I had to do some moving around and retire the last of the Midwest cages currently in use.

The long and the short of it I moved Molly into a different cage and moved it out of the shelter room to accommodate the Ferret Nation cage. Molly moved into another room. All seemed fine. The new boys settle in, met Napoleon and Indie and became instant friends. Great, love when that happens because in reality older ferrets are set in their ways and often don’t want any new friends.

Molly seemed fine in the different cage. Friday was busy day. I checked on Molly in the am before heading out to a funeral. His cage was pristine. Red flag! There should be crumbs on the shelf where the food is. Hmmm. I went from the funeral to Deer Lodge Centre to visit my brother in law and so didn’t get home till after 5:00 pm. I checked on Molly, cage is still pristine. I checked the litter box and found some loose pudding poops. Ok, he is stressed out about the move. I let him out to have some one on one play time with me. Molly made one circuit and found a hidey hole to sleep. I left him to sleep in my bedroom, closed the door and started my Med rounds which takes me an hour.

I offered Molly his favorite treats when I put him back to bed and he took them willingly. I had given him extra cuddles and treats. He would be fine.

I don’t like DUCK SOUP!

When I got up Saturday morning and checked on Molly, his cage was pristine. The litter box had a scant blob of pudding poop! Ok, I have a sick ferret. Not one crumb means he is not eating. I warmed up some Duck Soup and added a little Ensure to make it even soupier. Lots of folks call their duck soup by the name soupies. What is duck soup or soupies? You take your ferret’s dry kibble (2 cups)) and add boiling water to cover the kibble by an inch. Once the kibble is mushy, process it through the blender to make it smooth like pudding. You may need to add some warm water to make it the right consistancy. Some people will add a bottle of Ensure at this point – I don’t anymore as I want to control the amount of Ensure the ferret is getting. Pour the duck soup/soupies into small containers or even ice cube trays and freeze. Now you can pop out a cube as needed or for multiple ferret homes, you have just enough to share with the furries without it spoiling.

I offered the warmed duck soup to Molly, he turned his face away going so far as to push my face away with his front paws. Molly has never had duck soup and I had not had a chance to introduce him to it since he had arrived. Now I have a sick ferret who is going to have to learn to like duck soup on top of feeling yucky, not a stress free way to start.

I tried to offer duck soup off of my finger, wore it across me cheek, I filled syringe and gently squeezed some into the back corner of his mouth. The gagging that ensued would have been funny if I wasn’t so worried. No matter what I tried, the pudding texture of duck soup was not passing his lips. I was wearing the duck soup in my hair, on my arms and Molly was giving me the “why are you trying to kill me look”

On to plan B – Ensure

Ensure is my go to ” food” that has saved many a critically ill ferret, after warming I scruffed Molly, put the syringe at the back corner of his mouth so he wouldn’t inhale the Ensure in to his lungs. I slowly squeezed the syringe dry. Repeat times 5. Now he has something in his tummy but this is not enough to keep him alive, ferrets need to consume 90 cc over the course of a 24 hour period to live. The fight to take the Ensure exhausted Molly so I tucked him back to bed.

Plan C – Trying to think like Molly

So, I lost my familiar cage, I got moved from the familiar room. Molly was pining, he felt “lost” abandoned again, I could not put him back in the shelter room cage it had been replaced by Ferret Nation cage.

Fortunately, I had the cage he used when he first came in. I set up the cage, added his favorite toy and my nightie. I rolled the cage in to my bedroom and set it up right beside my side of the bed.

After getting another food dish I added the Marshalls food that he came in on. Molly had transitioned to the shelter food and most of the shelter furries don’t care for Marshalls so I always have a bag in my freezer from donations. I went and got Molly and we simply snuggled for awhile. Then I warmed up the Ensure and made him take 5 more 1 cc.

Tucked Molly in to the cage in my bedroom, I did one more thing, I kissed him and told him it was not his time to leave. I needed him to stay and love me for a little longer in return I got lick on the nose. Molly got several more feedings of straight Ensure but if I tried the duck soup he would gag.

I tell you I did not get much sleep as I lay there praying for the sound of a ferret crunching his kibble. In the wee hours of Sunday morning I heard that blessed sound. I peeked and Molly was eating from the Marshalls food dish, I fell back to sleep knowing that he wasn’t going anywhere just yet.

It has been 3 days now and we are still fighting the duck soup, the faces he makes make me want to laugh, you would think I was trying to feed him poison! He is now taking the Ensure without a struggle and I am grateful for that. Molly is eating some kibble but not enough yet; I am still using only paper towels in his litter box so that I can monitor his out put.

use paper towels to monitor sick ferret’s output

We are getting pudding poops, so the tummy is on the mend. At 6 years old, this is going to be harder for Molly to get over than say a 3 year old ferret, it could take a couple of weeks to bring him back to health!

Let’s just say, that Ivan and Loki, the 2 new boys are going to be introduced to duck soup this coming Saturday, better they get used to it now without the stress of being sick!

09.01.14

by debferret

Bringing your Ferret Home

Before bringing home your new carpet shark it is good to make sure you have everything prepared as (1) it will allow you to spend as much time with them as possible upon arrival and (2) some things are very dangerous to our little monsters.

These are must-haves for any little furry to live safely and comfortably with you;

1. Cage

This cage is large enough to have multiple water dishes - and because the bottom is so large a water on one side and litter box on the other is okay

Ferret cage all setup – hammocks to catch climbing ferrets

When you are not around to supervise your ferret the safest place for them is in a ferret friendly cage. It is recommended having the cage setup in a room where you spend your time most. This way the ferret will always feel a part of the family.

A ferrets cage should be chosen based on their life style. If your ferret spends most it’s time free-range, smaller cages just for sleeping will suffice. If you are unable to have your ferret out for more than a few hours, it is recommended that you acquire something a little larger (see here for example).

Ferrets do not live in aquariums, this will cause more odor, they need lots of air flow which will help keep the animal smell down.

Ferrets should never have wood chips for bedding, they like to eat everything and as wood is sharp this can cause internal injuries. Wood chips may also cause respiratory problems or liver disease.

You can find ferret specific cages at almost any pet store (new or used), online, a ferret shelter or pet supply store, etc. Metal is usually the norm as if created out of wood it may be harder to clean and begin to smell after time.

If you decide to get a cage that has a wire bottom, protect your monster’s feet by placing a carpet, thick blanket or piece of linoleum.

** The MFA has a selection of pre owned ferret cages for sale **

There are many options out there for housing, simple single levels, bi levels, multi levels. Just keep in mind when shopping; ample size, good ventilation, small openings between wire and secure doors.

Ferrets are escape artists – if they see you push a door closed they may try to push it open. Make sure you secure all opens and have a sturdy cage. I had to purchase a lock for one of my cages as my little Bandit (after watching once) would grab the door with her teeth and shake it until it opened.

2. Bedding / Hammock

Bandit napping

Ferrets love to tunnel in blankets, snuggle up in their bedding and curl up in a hammock. There is a huge selection of ferret specific options along with small animals or even cat products. As each ferret has their own personality find out what they like best and go from there. The only thing to note is stay away from Cat Nip products, this is not ferret friendly.

You can also DIY bedding and toys, just make sure it’s baby safe, as ferrets and babies both like to eat things they shouldn’t (i.e. no buttons or sharp pieces).

** The MFA has a great selection of bedding for sale **

Simple items around the house that you can use include; old towels, baby blankets, old sweatshirts, pillow cases.

Have an old pair of jeans? Cut the legs off and you have yourself a brand new ferret tunnel.

3. Food and Water containers

Turnip's favourite is when I add ice cubes

Discussion at the water hole

It is recommended to use heavy duty plastic or ceramic dishes. Ferrets tend to enjoy making huge messes and as much noise as possible.

For water I use both a ceramic dish full and two large water bottles, my boys Turnip & Radish like the bottles while Bandit would only drink from the dish. Turnip also enjoyed bathing in the dish, so always make sure to change often.

It is nice to have a bottle that holds at least 15 ounces, hung from the outside of the cage the monsters are unable to fiddle with. Changed daily or every second day to keep the water nice and fresh.

A great idea is to put the food on one level and the water on another while possible, so they have to get exercise in order to get both. Although if you happen to have an old or ill ferret you may want to keep them closer together. Another thing to note is ferrets, like us, prefer having food separated from their washroom, so as able keep the food and water on a different level than their litter box.

Please make sure that you don’t put the food dish too high up or too low on the cage when using ones that clip to the sides, as well as the water bottle so they cannot reach it. You don’t want them having to strain to get either their food or water.

Finally if you have a ferret nation cage that is about 4 feet in the air, placing heavy dishes at the top is not always best – ferrets like to push things off ledges. Depending how many ferrets you have in one cage consider having more than one food and water containers.

4. Litter and Litter box Selection

How I ended up with all these random photos of her I don't know but I definitely am not complaining!

Bandit modelling for us with her favourite brand of litter

The type of pan to get depends entirely on the ferret you are getting, along with the temperament, gender and age is a factor.

If you are getting a kit you don’t want anything that has too high of sides as their legs are quite short. As well with older, sick and injured ferrets, too high can prevent them from using the litter pan.

When adopting an adult ferret in perfect health you generally would want to get one with higher sides that of course fits well inside the cage, but remember ferrets have personalities – so before purchasing multiple see what they like.

Lastly I have noticed with my male ferrets they poop with their bums as high in the air as possible, while my girl would keep her arms on the edge of the pan and squat. For the males I had a high back corner pan, for my girl I would have a lower square pan.

The shelter in Winnipeg actually uses 2 pans the bottom one is bolted to the cage while the top one isn’t. It fits right inside the bottom one so you can remove it to clean.

You will also want to get additional pans to place in different areas of your home as they do go outside the cage when it is their time out for play. The best way to determine where to put these pans is to watch where your ferret decides to go and of course that is where you would put one.

Litter do’s and don’ts..

As you hopefully are aware ferrets are diggers and burrowers, with that please DO NOT get any; clay, clumping or flushable litter. These options tend to be quite dusty, even those that claim they are not and can actually cause respitory problems in your little one. As stated before do not use wood chips or cedar shavings as these do the same.

The litter I highly recommend is a pelleted litter. Natural of course without any added scents. These can be made of plant fibres or recycled newspaper. Lakewood Industries Premium Wood Pellets are what the shelter uses, they manufacture out of Ontario and readily available in Canada. I have used Yesterday’s News in the past as well.

5. Grooming

Group tummy licking from their (almost) weekly nail clipping

Bathing – Ferrets can be bathed every 2-3 months. This helps reduce the musk smell (although an important part of reducing the smell is keeping the ferret’s bedding clean and it’s ears clean). There are now several ferret-specific shampoos available, kitten shampoos and dry shampoos.

Nail Clippers – They need their nails clipped every week and a half to two weeks, be careful to not cut into the quick.

Ear Cleaning Solution – Earwax buildup is smelly and can lead to health problems if not cleaned. Any ear cleaning solution for cats or dogs will work, Saline solution for contacts also works well. Never stick a q-tip inside the ear canal.

6. Cage Accessories and Toys

Ferrets love tunnels

Ferrets will entertain themselves with anything they can find. Ferret-safe toys don’t have parts they could accidentally chew off and swallow. Always monitor all toys for damage, as accidentally swallowed pieces of things can lead to intestinal blockages.

You are the best toy of all spend time playing with your ferret. Later we will post of game ideas and DIY toys.

7. Harness, Leash and Carriers

Ferrets at the Spring frolic

Ferrets can slip out of a collar easily which means you will want a harness that goes both around the neck and front legs. There are two dominate options on the market (option 1 & option 2 – I use option 1).

You want to have it snuggly fitting but still loose enough to fit a finger between strap and ferret. It is never a good idea to keep a collar or harness on your ferret for prolonged periods of time, especially unsupervised and don’t forget to adjust them as your ferret grows (or possibly loses weight).

A portable carrier should be used for bringing your ferret to the veterinarian or other outings. It can also serve as a training aid by being used as a time-out cage for a misbehaving ferret. Never use a carrying cage as a permanent home for your ferret as they’re too small.

8. Treats

Scrappy sneaking some treats

Please remember that treats are just that, small rewards, they should not be a large part of your ferret’s diet. They are good for bonding with your ferret and rewarding good behaviour, as well as learning tricks. Later we will update with ferret friendly recipes!