Housing Your Ferret
Your ferret should always have a large, clean, comfortable, ferret specific cage or "kitty condo" type cage available to keep him or her safe when you are not at home or in the event of an illness or emergency. Ferrets should be caged or kept in a "ferret proofed" area of your home when you are not home to supervise them and at night when you are asleep. They should be kept indoors in a temperature controlled environment if outdoor temperatures are hotter than 80 degrees F and colder than 45 degrees F. Ferrets should never be housed in a glass fish aquarium due to lack of air circulation and moisture buildup on the glass bottom. This excess moisture can lead to bacterial and fungal infections on the skin and in the lungs (can lead to death). Fortunately, there are a variety of fun ferret cages to choose from . You can spend any where from seventy-five to one thousand dollars on a ferret cage. My advice is to start with a multilevel cage that has "easy cleaning" features. I own two ferret cages - one with a plastic bottom and coated wire that easily lifts out for cleaning, and one with a metal bottom that is easy to clean as well. Cages with metal bottoms may have the potential to rust and corrode if exposed to urine, feces or water. However, if you purchase food and water dishes that attach to the cage, litter boxes and throw rugs to cover the bottom of the cage, rust shouldn't be too much of a problem. If you are purchasing a cage with coated wire, keep an eye on your ferrets to make sure they are not chewing the coating off of the wire. This can lead to a gastrointestinal blockage or poisoning. Also, make sure your ferret cannot fit through the slats of the cage. It is important to note that you should never line the bottom of your ferret's cage with cedar or pine chips . Some research has found that Pine and cedar chips contain oils that may be very harmful to your ferret's respiratory system (and liver). You will often see ferrets housed in a large aquarium with cedar chips in the pet store. Please be aware that this is wrong and you should not house your ferret in that fashion. Rather, use a ferret specific cage and cover the bottom of the cage and any wire mesh with a throw rug or soft (and durable) pieces of fabric . Ferrets should not walk on wire grating alone. Put a corner litter pan on one side of the cage and food and water on the opposite side of the cage. This will encourage them to use the litter pans. Ferrets will generally not use the bathroom around their food. Your ferret will also need soft places to sleep and hide (the more the better- dark places to hide are necessary for good ferret mental health). You should also cover the outside of the top (or sleeping level) of the cage with a sheet or blanket to make it dark and private. Good choices for sleeping materials are ferret hammocks or sleep sacks that hang from the cage. You can also put durable fabric on the different levels of the cage. My ferrets love to curl up in my old sweat shirts. I pull the arms of the sweat shirt through the slats of the cage and tie them together outside of the cage. This keeps the shirt stationary. Then, I put an old tee-shirt inside of the sweat shirt to add more padding. Ferrets love to crawl inside soft materials. Always opt for tougher fabrics. Some ferrets may chew on fabric and can get blockages if they swallow pieces of material. Keep an eye on your ferret and make sure his or her bedding is not being chewed or is missing pieces (if they are, remove them right away). Ferrets should not be walking on wire grating or wire mesh alone. Be sure to cover the bottom of the cage and any wire mesh levels with throw rugs, fabric, old clothes or pieces of tough vinyl (such as pieces of vinyl flooring). You should use recycled paper litter in pellets or shredded paper, not clumping litter, or clay litter (unless it is dust free) in your ferret's litter box. Ferrets love to play in fresh litter boxes and will often run their noses through the litter. Clumping litter can clump in a ferret's nasal passages and cause respiratory problems. Look for pellet litter designed for ferrets containing recycled paper, and don't purchase ferret litter or bedding that contains cedar or pine chips.
Cage Accessories Check List
1. Two or more high back corner litter pans for ferrets (one or two for the cage and more for outside the cage). 2. Heavy ceramic food and water dishes or dishes that attach to the cage. 3. Cage hanging water bottle. 4. Towels, old shirts, pieces of fabric, or a throw rug to line the bottom and levels of the cage. 5. Hammocks, sleeping sacks or soft sleeping tubes (make sure they are washable). 6. Toys - play tubes and tunnels (a must have- ferrets love tunnels), hanging toys, rolling balls etc. 7. Recycled paper pellet litter for ferrets.
Cleaning the Cage
You should clean your ferret's cage regularly. Bedding should be washed once a week and litter pans should be scooped out at least twice a day. Food dishes should be washed daily. Unless an accident occurs, I usually do a major cage cleaning once a week. Empty all of the litter from the litter pans, wash the litter pans, wash the sides and ramps of the cage and wash the base of the cage. Toys should be washed as well. You should avoid using cleaning products such as Lysol (the disinfectant spray too) when cleaning the cage. Lysol and other cleaning supplies are extremely toxic in very small amounts if ingested. I prefer to use an antibacterial dish soap and water. I usually fill the bath tub with hot soapy water and wash the cage, cage base and plastic toys (sort of like doing the dishes). I drain the water out of the tub and rinse using the shower. You can also use a very weak water and bleach solution (about 2% bleach and 98% water). Always be sure to rinse well, for ferrets like bleach and will drink it (of course bleach is very toxic). Wash any fabric bedding and toys in the washing machine. Use detergent that is fragrance free to avoid eye or respiratory irritation. Keeping your ferret's bedding, litter pans and cage clean will deter fleas, decrease odor and cut down on the transmission of bacterial and viral infections. * For quick "mini" clean ups, baby wipes work very well, especially to wipe out the pet carrier if you are on the road with your ferrets. Helpful tip: If you own more than one ferret, you may want to purchase a second small cage to use in the event one of your ferrets gets ill or requires surgery. Most veterinarians will require you to isolate your ferret after surgery for a week to ten days. Article written by Mahri Shelton EverythingFerret.com Check out our Ferret Supplies page! _________________________________________________________________________ Home Page Home page About Us | Ferret Memorials | Ferret Photo Page! | Ferret Classifieds | Chat and Message Board | Training the Domestic Ferret | Ferret Ownership | Ferret Nutrition | Ten Tips to Help Keep Your Ferret Happy and Healthy | Ferret Health Issues | Housing Your Ferret | Ferret Supplies | Grooming the Domestic Ferret | Ferret Book and Product Recommendations | Links to Ferret Information | Ferret Proofing | Domestic Ferret Behavior | Tips on Introducing Your Ferret(s) to a New Ferret | Toy and Game Ideas | Ferret Shelter List | Frequently Asked Questions | Ferret Stories | Favorite Links | Contact Us | Coming Soon ________________________________________________________________________ The information provided in this section is not intended to be used in place of proper veterinary care. This web site contains the opinions of the writer. The reader of this site must use this information at his or her own risk. |
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