Litter Box Training A Ferret??

Question

How do you litter box train a ferret and what procedures are their to it and if you know a website that tells you, please tell me it! I am having so much trouble with house breaking the little fellow and what do you do with your ferret, if you own one, to house break it? Thanks!

Answer 1

I feel for you I really do!! It took me about 8 weeks of HARD work and DETERMINATION to train my boy Freddie but my girl only took about 3 weeks. Here are some tips.
1. Get yourself some Ferretone, they will do anything for this and you can give them a lick when they go in the pan.
2. Don't use the corner type pans, use the large square high backed pans, ferrets don't like the corner ones.
3. I use old newspaper in my pans, it's cheap (ask neighbours and friends for old ones) and
it doesn't get into their toes or feel funny on their feet.
4. Be patient, NEVER shout or get cross if your fert misses the pan, reward him when he does go in the pan even if you've put him in there. Eventually don't reward him unless he gets in himself.
5. This is the tip that worked for me....when you see him get ready to go.......push him backwards so he has to lift his back legs up to get into the pan. I was picking my Freddie up to put him in and I really think he didn't know how to get into the pan.
6. Remember.....ferrets are never 100% litter trained, the best you can hope for is probably a 85 - 90% hit rate.
Good luck hope this helped xx

Answer 2

Litter training is possible, although ferrets do not naturally take to it as well as cats. Providing a stable litter pan that can be firmly attached to the cage is the first step. Start off keeping your ferret and its litter pan in a small area i.e. by confining the ferret in the cage and even blocking off part of the cage if necessary so there is limited space for the ferret to do it's business. Part of the pan must have a low edge to allow the ferret easy access, although part of it can be high walled since ferrets like to back into a corner and may overshoot the edge of a low pan. Do not keep it meticulously clean - placing or leaving a small amount of urine or feces will reinforce that this is a bathroom area (the key being a small amount - the ferret may not use it if it is too dirty). Keep the rest of the cage a sleeping (lots of cuddly bedding) or feeding area. Place the ferret in the litter box before taking it out to play, and return it to the box frequently during play or any time the ferret looks as if it may be getting ready to urinate or defecate.


See more here:
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/ferrets/a/ferrettraining.htm

Answer 3

I feel for ya! :)

Unfortunately...ferrets have a 'hit or miss' policy on bathrooming. They really and honestly could care less about using their box. Even still, there are some things you can do:

Use the same litter EVERY TIME. Ferrets are picky...sometimes if you change the brand of litter that is all it takes for them to stop using their box.

Use the biggest "corner style" ferret litter pan you can find. Instead of buying the small one for 6 bucks buy the large one for 10. After a ferret starts to grow (like a weed) they no longer want to use a small box. They like to have their whole body in the box when they "go" and if the box is too small...forget it...they will poop right next to it. Long story short...buy the biggest one you can find!

You will need atleast 3 litter pans! You will need one for inside the cage and 2 for outside of the cage. Place the litter pans in corners where your ferrent frequents for toileting.

Last but not least...if your ferret poops on the floor, pick up the poop with a tissue and place it in the litter pan. Show your ferret where the poop is and he/she will get the idea.

Keep in mind that your ferret will never be 100% in its litter pan. :( Yes...its the sad truth. But it does help if they atleast make it 90% of the time!! After some time it will be a piece-of-cake!

Good luck and take care of those fuzzers!