how to treat ferrets?

[foxtails 272]

iv just got home to my misses going mad at me ,,,,,,,,iv got 2 albino jill ferrets the one sleeps alot but the other one runs back and forth the cage constant for about an hour at a time mostly all day???my misses read up on ferrets and seems to think that i should put a hammok in the cage for them toys,,blanket,,as sawdust and hay are no good????and toys to play with??my 2 ferrets are working ferrets they have enough space,fed properly,handled all the time,,,,,whats peoples views???is my misses right??

[leegreen 2,169]

If you misses wants a hammock, toys and a blanket. Then that's fine she'll have to buy some.

[Bunny Boiler 177]

These things wouldn't go a miss. Bigger cages, as you would expect are better cages. Make rooms, that way you can separate you the cage up into different things as well. At one end, have a "bedroom", which should be out of the wind and warmer (I have old cut up bits of clothes, socks cut open, t-shirts etc. Which can be washed and dried easily. If you have two lots, you just rotate it, one washing, one being used), the other end, as far from the bedroom should be the toilet, make it open as possible to "air". Also, if you use trays, it makes cleaning out the cage alot easier, as you remove the tray, wash it and replace it. Remember, you don't need to bed the whole cage. It would cost me a fortune if I did. They need bedding, and a small amount to poo on. The sections in between should be spacious, so the ferrets have room to run about, but have things to play with. For example, I have a tennis ball in mine, which the regularly knock around and push about (Something with a bell in can be interesting to them, just make sure they can't eat it). Also, Ferrets do have a thing for hammocks, but generally, they won't sleep in them at night (Mine don't anyway). as they're too cold and I can't fit all 3 of mine into the hammock. I also have a little "rock pool", which consists of old cotswold stone with a ceramic dish on top, and more stone built round it, and a tunnel running under it. There are a few tunnels in the cage also, linking rooms and the other section of the cages. The ceramic dish comes out every day and has the water changed when I do the bottles. It's not deep enough to drown in, or for them to swim, but they can pad through it and get their bellies wet on hot days. I have a section for food also, so that it's easy to clean out and they can't spread carcasses or food around the cage and hide it (increasing fly numbers). Generally, my flies are at a minimum, the smell is almost nil, and the the ferrets seem very happy and healthy, always coming out to welcome me and play when they hear me coming up the garden. Hope this is a help, although guaranteed, someone will do it completely different to me, but it does not make mine or there way wrong, as long as the ferret is healthy and happy.

 

Atb, Bunny.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Bunny Boiler

[sam4530s 37]

i use a towel or a t towel to make a homock , mine sleep in it all day and night i actually have 3 hamocks and thay love to play and fall about in them , tennis balls are a good idea too , when animals of any kind are roaming up and down the bars its because there bored stiff , try some toys and a few tunnels like drainpipe and see how ya get on , all the best

[gnipper 6,466]

Big cage, shavings, hay, a pipe and fresh food and water is all a ferret needs imo. If the cage is big enough then more toys etc can be added but they soon get bored of them.

People who use blankets etc as bedding do you feed a natural diet or biscuits?

[jimster68 123]

all my ferrets are workers ,but i still put a few different thing in the cage to stop them getting board and keep their minds active ,ferrets like to play and investigate anything new ,i put anything from bits of pipe ,cardboard tube ,old dried leaves for them to dive about in and play .

i also save any old tshirts or towels for bedding and just throw them away when i clean them out and replace with another .

nothing wrong with stopping ferrets from getting board .

[Tug 168]

The ferret is a working animal, and it's active mind benefits from stimulation. Mine have an old pillow case that had been knotted in the corners, hung it up from cord to make a hammock. They jump around on it, chase each other, hide in it and sleep on it. Dead simple but they love it.

A pipe is also good. How big is your hutch?

[joe14 98]

I feed meat and yes my ferrets do have blankets, hammocks etc! Your lass is right they do need something to do.

But the best thing you can do for them is let them in the house each day, run or outbuilding they wont play with toys in a small hutch no. But they will go in hammocks.

 

Hammocks you can get from ebay, dont use towels or anything, always use fleece, as theres no loose threads for them to get claws stuck.

So any fleece jumpers are great for bedding also.

Free carpet tubes from carpet shop, compost box. Also wicker hanging baskets make great hammocks. Put a blanket in there, they'll love it!

I just get toys from poundshop but when mine are out they just love a carrier bag to play in.

 

Hope this helps. Enjoy ya ferrets!

[johnrthrfrd 223]

All my ferrets work but they have a few toys in there court to keep them happy they play for ages in a old football hung from the roof on a rope with a couple of holes cut in it they also have a couple of them balls made for dogs with a squeaker in them and a couple of bits of pipe to crawl through they will play for ages then all curl up for a kip then it's back to play they have hay to sleep in.

[BenjaminCadd 109]

Mine have a hammock and they use it most of the time so i dont think you could go far wrong with making one up!.

[alfhucker 4]

Mine are in there hammock all the time through he day , also loads of cheep toys hard plastic easy to drop in a bowl of disinfectant and clean , my ferrets are workers and I think if you treat them as you would like to be treat then thay will serve you well , I mean who wants to go to work then come home to nothing , recon I would be walking around going mad lol lol, don't think it makes your ferrets soft having activates in there cage it just means there happy to work ,

[Simoman 110]

Its called environmental enrichment, the more stimulating things you put in the hutch the better the welfare of your ferrets, not rocket science.....................

[Ferret mad Dave 65]

Mine have 2 hammocks cat scratch pole rocks about 6 meters of pipe in different places ramps all over pop hole boxs old t shirts for bedding hutch is about 6 foot high by two half meters long happy ferrets is a happy ferreter

[joe14 98]

two of mine live in here but they spend most their day in the big run.

As you can see theve got stuff to do and littertrays make it piss easy to clean out.

 

Theyre run

Edited August 31, 2012 by joe14

[jezza 126]

nice set up that