My husband just brought home a ferret - HELP!!! We have no clue about ferrets or what to do with them. HELP!!!

Question

The poor thing was being neglected by her former owners and they just didn;t want her....in my defense I have wanted one for quite a number of years and just couldn't let the oppurtunnity to help go..she is fulll grown and seems to be adjusting to our family very well...any and all help is much apprecciated;O)

Answer 1

My ferret is going on 2yrs old. I have a lot of info on ferrets in general. Once you read this you'll probly be a little overwhelmed, but truthfully my Dante is really low maintaince & my Boston Terrier Clover is more trouble taking care of than him.

Pretty much all you need to do is feed & water a ferret. Have a cage w. accessories, play with him, let him explore, groom him & ferret proof your house. Oh and don't forget the yearly visit to your vet.

General
-Ferrets are carnivores
-Are very playful & just fun to watch
-Shiver when they are happy
-Can not survive in hot weather, they need to be in temperatures of around 68-74degrees. 80 degrees can cause a heatstroke & can be fatal. A ferret in 90degree temperature for 10mins will collaspe & possibly die. Keep your ferrets away from changing temperatures or drafts.
-Can sleep up to 18hours a day
-Are alot like cats in the sense that they come around when they want you, they are not "needy" for your attention
-Bite hard when playing
-If biting takes place outside of play time, they may need to be bite trained
-You can dis
-Are playful & kitten like
-Are very good climbers
-Are very good at getting what they want
-Are theives, will hide your stuff (mine steals all kinds of bottles, insoles, anything w. a rubber like texture, deodorant, clothes to sleep in under the bed, etc).
-Mine loves to scoot his bowls around the floor & knock over anything he can find (usually dishes & glasses).
-Ferrets love to tunnel & dig. You can buy ferret tunnels in pet stores or just let him crawl around under a blanket. You can make a dig box w. a plastic storgage container filled w. uncooked rice (instant rice if swallowed can cause blockages).
-Many cat toys are acceptable for ferrets
-Happy ferrets "dook", like of like a clicking or clucking sound
-Mad ferrets hiss, it's so cute to hear
-Happy ferrets do the war dance, the war dance is a where the ferret gets a spurt of energy & hops & runs around & bites in the air.

Supplements that are great
-Ferret lax- good for hairballs, blockage of swallowed items, dry cough or gagging, loss of appetite, or string like stool
-Bi-Odor- put in water & it helps eliminate
-Uncle Jim's original suk soup mix, mix w. water & syringe feed to sick ferrets that won't eat
-Ferret Rx- rup a little around ferret's nose, helps relieve respiratory distress, runny nose, & cogestion
-Ferretvitte vita-sol liquid multi vitamin- it's yellow, you don't have to worry about a picky eater because it goes in the water.

Grooming
-Ferret shampoo or kitten shampoo. Bath no more than monthy, they have scent glands (you can get them descented, but they cannot remove all of them). I bathe mine every 3 months, the more often they bathe the more odor they produce. Mine little guy barely has a smell. After baths make sure you have towels in the floor when you put him down. You'll need to dry him as much as you can while holding him & when you put him in the floor he'll franickly rub all over the towels to get dry.
-Brush to prevent hairballs.
-clip nails about every three weeks, just trim the tips. I don't know if you've even trimmed a pets nails, but it's like clipping a dogs nails. Look for the pink flesh & cut above it to prevent bleeding. Regular nail clips work fine.
-Ear Cleaner. You can use either ferret or kitten safe cleaner. I use a qtip, but ONLY go around the outer ear, you can easily damage a ferret's ear.
-Toothpaste, again either ferret or kitten safe product & a finger brush, like in the baby aisle. Make sure you get the back teeth.

Hazards
-Fruits & veggies (they cannot digest it)
-avocado & chocolate is poisonous
-caffenne & alcohol is poisonous, (mine loves tea & mountain dew, we have to keep an eye on full glasses)
-Rubbery & other small objects that can be ingested (blockages)
-Dairy products
-Anything w. large amounts of sugar in it (they love sugar, can cause obseity, tooth decay, & aggravation of hypoglycemia caused by insulinomas)
-Foods high in cereal grains, especially corn, can contribute to formation of bladder stones. Look @ food labels for kibble, alot of brands have alot of grains in them.
-Being outside. Ferrets cannot be in hot weather. If you take your ferret outside, which they love, make sure he/she's wearing a halter & leash. Ferrets outside with no restraint will wander off & get lost. Ferrets are fast, so you wouldn't be able to catch him. Most ferrets that get lost in the "wild" either starve to death or die of heat exhaustion or get eaten by another animal.
-Airconditioning vents, make sure they are secure & the ferret can't get in one, because he will.
-Do not let them fall more than 4 feet, bones can be broken. My ferret has fallen several times like that, but he hasn't broken anything yet.
-Screen doors & windows, keep window closed, ferrets can get screen open & they will jump out. Ferrets don't have good depth perception & they are very curious, so ferret proof your house.
-Electrical cords, some ferrets bite into cords Some have died & some just have burns on their mouth. You can buy covers to go over the cords @ home depot.
-They will try to get into dark places, so you'll have to keep an eye on them. Don't let them in the kitchen, mine climbs in the oven & it takes forever to get him out. I've finally got it ferret proofed enough where he hasn't figured out how to get in it.
-Ferrets are so smart, you have to stay one step ahead or he'll be in some pretty dangerous situations.

Common hazards
-acetaminophen
-acetone
-alcohol
-ammonia
-antifreeze
-bleach
-boric acid
-brass cleaner
-caffeine
-camphophenique
-carbon monoxide
-charcoal lighter
-chlorine
-chocolate
-christmas tinsel
-coffee
-cola
-copper cleaner
-corn removers
-crayons
-deodorants
-deodorizers
-detergents
-disinfectants
-drain cleaner
-drycleaning fluid
-easter basket grass
-fabric dye
-fabric softener
-flea/tick products ( you can by marshall's brand made for ferrets)
-floor & furniture polish
-gasoline
-gun cleaner & gun powder
-hair dyes
-herbicides
-iodine
-kerosene
-laxatives (except the ones made for ferrets)
-lead
-lighter fluid & matches
-lye
-medicines
-mineral spirits
-model glue
-mothballs
-muriatic acid
-nail polish
-oven cleaner
-paint & paint remover & paint thinner
-perfume
-perm solutions
-pesticides
-photo solution
-pine oil
-polish remover
-raw meat
-rat poison
-rubbing alcohol
-salt
-shaving cream & shaving lotion
-shoe polish
-silver polish
-sleeping pills
-slug & snail bait
-soaps ( mine likes licking soap, keep out of reach)
-solvents
-spices
-spot remover
-spray starch
-sulfuric acid
-suntan lotion
-super glue
-tar
-toliet bowl cleaner
-turkey bones
-turpentine
-wart remover
-wax
-weed killer
-window cleaner
-wood preservative & wood stain


Medical
-Need yearly shots
-Can get earmites (scratching constantly & ear wax the color of coffee grinds are signs) the vet can give you some drops
-Have dental problems, brush teeth w. finger brush every 1-2 weeks.
-Blockages... Fruits, veggies, pennies, rubbery substances, & other objects if swallowed can be hazardous & possibly deadly if the ferret cannot pass it. Ferrets feel w. their mouths, so keep small items out of reach. Sometimes blockages can be passed by giving a ferret laxative, otherwise usually surgery will fix the problem.
-Respiratory problems. Keep your ferret away from powdered products & dust.

Playtime
-Ferrets need to have atleast 1hr out of cage for playing, exploring, & bonding.
-Mine loves his rik-e-tik toy, its a ferret size snake. He likes playing w. cat toys (the kind w. the mouse on a string, the kitten mitten), marshalls 20ft tunnel, & crackle tunnels
-They are really fun to watch
-Watch children & other animals around your ferret, make sure they play well together.
-Some ferrets love water, mine hates water. My sister had 2 that would swim in the bathtub. If you want to try this make sure you remove anything around tub, like bottles. Make sure the water is warm, fill the tub about half full & hold him in the water to see how he'll react, if he starts squirming or freaking out take him out and dry him off (also make sure the door is shut, if he does freak out), if he seems to like the water let him do it own his own. Don't force him, my husband did & now he hates water more than the first time.

Housing
-Ferrets cannot survive outside, they are house pets.
-Ferrets need a tall cage w. lots of soft bedding. My cage is 32x20x58. You should have corner litter boxes w. a ferret litter of a paper based cat litter like yesterday's news cat litter. DO NOT USE wood shavings or the other cat litter w. crystals.
-In the cages you should have a 16oz or bigger water bottle, a food bowl (beware of digging), atleast 2 hammocks or other ferret bedding, a toy, a litter box.
-Bedding you can make or buy bedding, most prefer fleece, it's good to have mulitiple for washing.
-Good little that helps w. odor, yesterdays new cat litter, marshalls ferret litter works great, & the sheppard & greene litter. Ferrets go in corners or edges, so it's easy to box train them. Also, if you do not use litter, the cage will really smell bad! Also, it's good to have a litter box out of the cage for playtime.

How to pick a healthy food
- atleast 35% protein
- around 20% fat
-pick low carb
-pick low fiber
-read the first 5 ingredients, out of that list the first 3 ingredients should all be animal protein
-mixing foods is a good idea, ferrets are picky, that way if you run out of food & the pet store is also out of your brand, you'll be able to buy something he'll recognize & eat.
-When i first got my ferret he was eating marshall's food, which is not that great. So i started mixed his food & slowly winged him off of it. I started feeding him zupreem, sheppard & greene adult, iams kitten, and 8in1 ultimate crunchy. I couldn't ever find iams at the stores i was going to so I stopped using it. Soon, I will be ordering the ferret store brand, because it is a really healthy less costly food. So, he'll be eating the ferret store brand, zupreem, and sheppard & greene (i wanna get rid of the 8in1 because it's kinda costly)

Food & water
-Healthy choices are 8in1 ultimate (8in1 selet isn't nutritious), Iams kitten(make sure it's kitten), zupreem, sheppard & greene, pretty pet, & the ferret store superior choice(can be purchases @ drfostersmith.com).
-Do not feed dog food, ferret will die of malnutrition.
-Ferrets need a constant supply of food, they usually eat every 4hrs
-Treats healthy choices would be foamy fries, totally ferret treats (the only 2 treats he'll eat), there are alot of other brands, but go for sugar free, look on the label for sweeteners, ferrets tend to have dental problems, you can also feed them eggs, lean meat, & meat flavored babyfood(make sure it doesn't have carbs or veggies or fruits)
-Make sure your ferret has a clean supply of water, if in cage use a water bottle, out of the cage use a bowl (ferrets drink more out of a bowl, make sure he/she can't knock it over).
-Always have food & water available for ferret (especially for playtime out of cage).

Scruffing
-A form of restraint used for punishment, restraint for grooming or medicating, helps when bite training. You can look up scruffing on the websites I listed for my source of info.
-You can also find how to bite train, i took me about 2wks to bite train dante


REALLY GOOD WEBSITES, BEST PRICES ON FERRET SUPPLIES, (i've searched all over the web for the best prices, try ferret.com first, this is where i usually order his food, they beat anyone's price!)
-ferret.com
-drfostersmith.com
-ferretdepot.com

Answer 2

what was your husband thinking getting a ferret when you know nothing about them? A responsible pet owner learns all they can about a pet BEFORE they bring one home. Just look up sites on Google about ferret care.

Answer 3

Oh god. Never buy an animal unless you know almost everything about it. I do hope you don't have a cat. I have heard many tragic tales of a ferret killing or injuring a cat. They are carnivorous, at least in the wild. HIDE YOUR JEWELRY! they have "hidey holes" where they hide everything they find that is shiny. Really. If you want to keep the little bugger, it should have a 2 story house with a hammock. oh! and they love friends (ferret friends).

Answer 4

Arghhh... This is why I hate impulse buys =[. Please do your research the next time you get a pet; you'll have this ferret for 5 years at the VERY least (and up to 14).

Here are some websites that should help:
http://www.hugawoozel.com/ferretcare.html
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/ferrets/a/ferrets101.htm
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/ferrets/a/ferrets101_2.htm
http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=SmallAnimalsCare&marker=1&articleId=1154077755755
http://www.weaselwords.com/page/index_care.php
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=467

(And don't release it into the wild if you can't keep it, whatever you do--my cousin works to rescue escaped/released ferrets, and he says that the majority die because of weather exposure and lack of food.)

Answer 5

Oh boy...you certainly are going to learn the hard way. :) hehe No offense. I really do admire people who take on neglected animals. You did do the right thing...now you can do the 'righter' thing by researching about ferrets and giving your new addition the best care you can.

I really could go on and on and on about ferrets and their care. hehe It really would be less painful for both of us if you checked out two of my favorite websites. The sites are easy to navigate and very thorough with their information. They are also more organized with the information then I could be just typing on and on. Give them a look. And good luck! You will find that you learn something new every day with these critters.

http://www.ferretsr1.org
http://www.ferretuniverse.com

Answer 6

First of all check out different websites on care of ferrets. My husband and I have had ours for 5 years, it runs around the house unless we our gone then it goes in a kennel, it is potty trained to go in the cat box and we feed it dry cat food. Can cat food and other treats a couple of times a week. It sometimes will go after our feet when we our walking but a tap on the nose makes it quit and it will grab a finger if someone is shaking it, I just open its mouth and put it in the kennel so it knows it did wrong, it sleeps on the bed under the covers while the cat and dog sleep on top, ours is not unscented but the smell is not that bad at least not to us and most people do not know we even have a ferret. To us it is great but they are not for everyone. Good Luck

Answer 7

You can litter train them they like hammocks to sleep in. I had 2 they used to chase toys like a dog and bring them back, also check at the library for a book on them
Good Luck

Answer 8

Not good....Check out www.ferretuniverse.com and do some research. Look up a few other websites, and buy some books. Good luck, they are loads of work, but worth every second of it!

Answer 9

oh dear? ferrets can be quite agressive especially the males. they eat meat and they also from memory of my childhood smell pretty bad too. The babies are very sweet but still have a powerful nip? you really need to access whether or not its aggressive - they make very good pets if have been handled correctly especially if there are children or other pets in your household. Unless your husband intends to go rabbiting I would suggest finding an alternative home and buy a bunny rabbit or a dog

Answer 10

Be very careful and do your research. I heard they have a tendency to get aggressive and bit hard enough to break the skin. They also carry several different types of pests.

Answer 11

Ah, ferrets. Do you know if they have had their scent glands removed? I know, we're talking ferrets, not skunks, but ferrets stink to the high heavens because of small glands in their body. Either bathe that sucker daily, and clean his pen alot or see if you can get them glands removed. Taurine is a vitamen supplement for ferrets. You can get them special ferret food with taurine added, or buy it in a bottle and squeeze some in his dish now and then. Also, teach him not to bite. If he bites and holds on ( which our ferret used to do) keep cayenne pepper handy, and dump it down his mouth. Seriously. They can bite like a shark. Not that I would know. Or else, use your other hand to shove your finger in his mouth towards his throat. He gags and releases. Don't be rough doing that or have long nails. That could hurt. They're very stubborn, so teach 'em young. Teach them to play nice. They're very actice, so invest in some kittty dinkle balls. They love those. Teach him the word 'no!' and get a spray bottle, filled with water. Good punishing method. Keep objects you wnat kept nice off the floor, including backpacks and papers, shoes, breifcases, vases of fake flowers, etc. Also give it attention, attention and more attention. They love to play.