getting my first ferrets tomorrow

[ianltz 5]

getting my first ferrets tomorrow. a pair of jills, been doing lots of reading up, just read somewhere that i shouldnt use wood shavings for there cages, any opinions??? anyone had problems using it. have got loads of shredded paper for bedding, just wood shavings for the hutch floor

[Malt 379]

Never had problems using shavings for the flooring, the only thing I'd steer clear off is sawdust.

[jonnytraff 8]

depends on what wood it is mate... like pine is fine.. its when you start using MDF and unnatural wood thats when they start getting breathing problems... ATB with them mate jon...

[Aaron_butcher 17]

It's fine, paper and hay lock together when you try and scoop out the sh!t and paper doesn't absorb moisture. Shavings are best.

[ianltz 5]

yes its pine, i work for a company that builds sheds, summer houses etc, so plenty of it for free, seems a better use for it than the skip, thanks guys, getting an albino and a sandy jill, 12 weeks old, then would like a black eyed white hob that i can get snipped

[tb25 4,627]

getting my first ferrets tomorrow. a pair of jills, been doing lots of reading up, just read somewhere that i shouldnt use wood shavings for there cages, any opinions??? anyone had problems using it. have got loads of shredded paper for bedding, just wood shavings for the hutch floor

SAME AS ME

[ianltz 5]

any tips for if they get a bit nippy?

[tb25 4,627]

just handle them every day,you should have no probes with them mate

[ianltz 5]

the guys been handling them everyday so hopefully no problems,but better to ask than do something to make them worst, should i leave them alone after settling them in for a couple of days or get handling them as soon as??

[longnetter 32]

I've used woodshavings for as long as I can remember . In the days before it was produced and sold for the pet market there was some real shoit around............never had a single problem ever

 

ATB

[Malt 379]

the guys been handling them everyday so hopefully no problems,but better to ask than do something to make them worst, should i leave them alone after settling them in for a couple of days or get handling them as soon as??

 

The more handling the better, so as soon as. Ferrets are not nasty animals, but they can be a bit boisterous and rough with you & each other. Ferrets have rough skin, they'll rag each other round like mad and it won't hurt them a bit. You've got to teach them that your skin isn't as tough!

 

The way I do this with kits is to let them know when they're hurting you by either giving a yelp when they nip a little hard, or hissing at them like an adult ferret would. I've always encouraged my ferrets to mouth my hands as kits after I became confident with them, they seldom bite you out of anger & soon learn to ease off with the bite power.

 

Another thing to note is that some ferrets learn that by giving you a nip, they'll be put down straight away, and start associating giving a nip with being put back in the hutch or on the floor. Don't give in to them when they start that, keep a good hold of them in the proper way until they relax and give up before you put them down/back in the cage.

 

Good luck with the ferrets.

[Kay 3,709]

Good luck with your new ferrets

[ianltz 5]

well here they are guys, i know u have all seen ferrets before, but i think there great, when i go to the cage they run out of there bed and down the piping to the play area, none have tried to bite me yet (i did say yet lol)really pleased, there 12 weeks old, what age do ferts stop growing???

 

 

 

and thanks to all that replied with some helpful advice

Edited August 6, 2010 by ianltz