Ferrets are an exciting and unusual pet that work great for children and people who like social creatures. Unlike a cat, they like to be held, so you should tailor your ferret care around a “heavy touch” scenario. To help them “bond” with their creature, having people work with them in the first month of life really helps them adjust better to handling humans.
Here’s the most important ferret care information I learned: Ferrets also like to “get out of the house,” so to speak. It’s not unusual for attentive ferret owners to take them out every day, if not more than that. If you like the idea of your ferret running around, it’s important to make sure the room is safe. Since ferrets can be a bit mischievous, you’ll want to keep an eye on it. They’re chewers, so responsible ferret care (not to mention taking care of your possessions) requires that you keep your valuables out of harm’s way.
Ferrets do best when fed a strict diet. They thrive on a high protein diet, more than 35% protein. They also need enough fat, so aim to give them around 20% fat content. High-end cat foods will work, although optimal ferret care will incorporate real ferret foods. Available these days are foods designed expressly for your nutritional needs and digestive systems. The reason for this is that ferrets do better with more fat than cats.
This is not specific information on ferret care, but as you know, with any captive animal, a supply of fresh, clean water is a must. Surprisingly, ferrets tend to drink more water if it is provided in a bowl, rather than a water bottle. Of course, bowls are hard to keep clean, and you might even end up changing the water more than once a day. If this sounds too tedious for your time constraints, water bottles work just fine. If they are so thirsty, they will drink.
If you’re new to ferrets, you may have heard that ferrets can smell. Well, stallions come from the mustelid family. This means that they tend to have a “scent” as they age. A common and simple solution is to deodorize the ferrets. Veterinarians used to caring for ferrets will find this to be a very standard procedure. In fact, it’s best to keep your ferret’s vaccinations up to date anyway, so you may even be able to take advantage of the descent on top of one of the trips to the vet you’d be making anyway.
Another important information about ferret care that many overlook is the subject of breeding. Another thing the vet can help with is spaying. If you’re sure he won’t breed your ferret, he can spay it. Otherwise, you could be in for a surprise if your ferret is exposed to another of the opposite sex. And sometimes people determine that one is not enough. You don’t want to have to stream that new addition just because they’re opposite genders and yours isn’t fixed.
With an introduction to diet and eliminating odors, we should briefly discuss a suitable cage to keep your ferret in. You’ll be better off with a larger cage if you can afford it. A larger cage means your ferret can stay clean and you won’t need to clean it as often. However, when selecting a cage, keep in mind that your ferret may escape if it manages to get its head through the slat on the side. Also check out how her feet fare on the bottom. If your feet get caught, this could also cause problems.
One final aspect of ferret care that I want to cover is placement within the room. When deciding where to place the cage within the room you’ll be staying in, keep in mind that ferrets sleep a lot…sometimes up to 20 hours a day or more. So it’s great if you can put your ferret’s cage in a place where it can have a darker place to sleep.