Ferrets sleep a lot—12 to 16 hours a day. That makes ferrets great pets for people with busy lives. Ferrets do need attention during the time they’re awake, though. They are animals who thrive on interaction, both with each other and with their human family. My ferrets interact with my cat and all three of my dogs, too. You’ll need a safe place for your ferret or ferrets to be out of the cage to spend time running around, playing, being held and petted, exploring the area.
I suggest starting small for your first ferret—buy a ferret playpen.
Ferret playpens are portable, foldable, plastic-coated metal panels that open into an enclosed exercise area for your ferret. They are constructed specifically to prevent ferrets from climbing up the sides. They come with plastic bottoms if you plan to use the playpen outside, and with tops that can be either a plastic shade cover or an additional panel of the same material as the sides (all of those accessories are optional). Ferret playpens are not inexpensive, but they are a good alternative to losing your ferret!
You can easily move your ferret playpen around in your house so that you and your ferret or ferrets can be in the same room without your having to watch them every second to be sure they don’t escape. It’s exactly the same principal as a playpen for a baby. With a ferret playpen, even the kitchen becomes safe. (Otherwise, it should be off limits to ferrets. Too many holes to get out.)
With a ferret playpen as an early purchase, you’ll be able to take the time to ferret-proof larger areas—like whole rooms, if you are able. I have a ferret-proof room that is also a dog-proof room, with items I don’t want them to mess with well out of reach . . . after ten years of experience! It took that long to figure out what worked and what didn’t. In the process, there were some losses, but mostly a great deal of rearranging when a ferret showed me he’d figured out how to get to that shelf after all!
When you set up a ferret-proofed “loose” area, baby gates are your friends. But you must use the right ones. Ferrets easily climb up the plastic mesh on most common baby gates. Sometimes they go right through the mesh itself! You need a sturdier baby gate, one with solid plexiglass sides. Ferrets can’t get a purchase on that with their paws, so they can’t climb up and over it, and they certainly can’t get through it. These gates work just like regular baby gates. They are expandable to fit in most single doorways and at the top or bottom of stairs. These gates can be used for dogs as well as ferrets—even for human babies, too!
Ferrets are very small animals and they can fit through very small openings.
You must take great care to “police up” any area in your home where a ferret will be let loose, even if you fully intend to be watching every second. They are fast little rascals, you know! Here are some general rules for a household with a ferret or ferrets. Safety first is the watchword.
- Dog or cat doors to the outside must be latched when ferrets have access.
- Keep the lid closed on the toilet if your ferrets visit the bathroom.
- No recliners. It’s just too easy for a ferret to crawl in and be crushed.
- No open windows, doors, screens, cabinets, appliances, containers. And no wastebaskets available in any area to which ferrets have access. I have removed all the wastebaskets from the floors in my second story. Ferrets love wastebaskets—the fuller the better! They will take everything out, inventory it, then bring it piece by piece to one of their favorite hidey holes . . . because that’s what ferrets do. Put your wastebaskets up on a shelf or behind a closed closet door.
- Oh, closets! Ferrets love closets. Keep closet doors closed!
Corners are very attractive to ferrets—for places to pee and poop.
I have had good luck with all of my ferrets in that, when they were loose in their ferret-proofed area, they chose to use their litter boxes rather than eliminate in corners. I provided lots of accessible litter boxes, in cages and out. My original two ferrets, though, did gravitate toward one place—and only one—where it was impractical to place a litter box. That was in the corner right next to the door to the room.
I tried litter boxes of several shapes in that location, but there was no way to anchor them to the floor. The ferrets ended up moving them around, kicking the litter onto the floor, and not using them for elimination anyway. I gave up on litter boxes for that one place. Instead, I put down newspaper there. When they were younger, I taped the newspaper to the floor to prevent them from dragging it around the room. As they grew up, playing with the newspaper held much less interest for them, and I no longer had to use the tape.
One effective deterrent is to fill a corner with an object so your ferret can’t “back up to” the corner (that’s how they eliminate). Flexible plastic tubing in a variety of lengths is very popular for ferret “tunnels,” and it can be pushed back into a corner and held there with tape or any object heavy enough that a ferret can’t move it.
I suggest checking corners often throughout your ferret area. When you discover that one has been used as a ferret bathroom, secure a litter box there or introduce something else to make it impossible for your ferret to eliminate in that place.
Check often, too, for ferret stashes—where they hide the loot they steal.
Ferrets never seem to get bored with hiding and re-hiding their treasures, so, every couple of days, do a “sweep” of their stashes, pick up all their hidden objects, and place those objects around the room—either in one big pile or distributed to many locations. Your ferrets will most likely make it their mission to return those “freed” objects to hiding, and they will go about that task with great fervor. It’s great fun and exercise for them, and engaging entertainment for you!
I teach my ferrets a “recall,” not unlike the one I use with my dogs.
I call them by name, in a high and happy voice, every time I give them a treat. I encourage them to come a little farther toward me for a treat, even if they’re in a cage. When they’re out, I call the whole bunch: “Ferrets!” in that same happy voice, and reward them all with a chew stick the minute they find me. They usually come running. When they don’t come running, and I’m sure they haven’t escaped, I know they’re probably sleeping. Then I set out to find where!
Your ferret may slip away sometime, as mine have down my stairs (no baby gate!). If you have a “recall” word or sound (like a squeaky toy), you may increase the chances that the ferret will run toward you, instead of away, when he’s loose in your home. It certainly can’t hurt to give it a try!
