Everything Ferret

Training the Domestic Ferret

Some of the most common questions I receive are in reference to ferret training.  So, I am going to offer some advice and tips on various aspects of training a ferret.  Although these tricks of the trade have worked for me, not all ferrets are the same, and not all ferrets will respond to the same training methods.   Training a ferret does require patience and creativity.

Topics Covered in this Article:
•   Nip Training
•   Litter box Training
•   Fun Tricks

Nip Training

So, you bring your little bundle of joy home from the pet store or shelter, he or she looks at you, squirms out of your hands, and nips you on the toe or finger.  What do you do?  What you don't do is kick your little buddy, thump your little buddy on the nose or hit your little buddy.  This will only cause fear and further biting.  Believe it or not, most nipping from ferrets (especially kits) occurs because they are trying to get you to play with them!  Ferrets have very tough skin, so nipping each other during play does not cause them any harm.  Humans, however, are a different story.  Our skin is very soft compared to ferret skin, so a hard nip may feel like a bite.  

If you have adopted a ferret who has been abused, it is very possible that your ferret is actually biting out of fear.  It will take a lot of patience and love to earn your ferret's trust and stop the biting behavior.  However, if your ferret is a baby or has not been socialized, you just need to teach the little rascal that nipping is painful and not acceptable.  You always want to encourage gentle "mouthing" on your fingers and toes.  This is the main way a ferret will interact with it's surroundings and play with you.  However, if your ferret is causing you pain, try the following tips:

•   If your ferret nips you too hard, say  "no" very loudly and clap your hands.  Gently scruff your ferret (the loose skin on the back of it's  neck) and drag your ferret across the floor (very slowly and gently) for a few feet.  A ferret understands this language.  You are basically telling your ferret that you are the dominant ferret in the household.  Often, ferrets will scruff and drag each other during wrestling and playing.  The dominant ferret will drag the submissive ferret across the floor by the scruff of the neck.  Keep in mind that ferrets can be sore losers.  Your ferret may jump and lunge at you after you scruff and drag it  (it's all in good fun)! This can be pretty funny.  My young male ferret still tries to scruff and drag me from time to time (using the socks on my feet of course).  Time out can work as well.  If your ferret nips you, say "no" and put your ferret in the cage for several minutes.  He or she may begin to relate nipping with time out and "no" and will stop the behavior.

•   Purchase some Bitter Apple, Bitter Lime or Fooey from the dog and cat training section of the pet store (or from this site see (                                                         )  These products taste terrible (believe me, I tried a little- big mistake!).  Spray a small amount on your fingers, toes or anything else your ferret likes to nip.  Ingesting too much of any of these products can cause gastrointestinal upset for your ferret, so use it sparingly.  After your ferret has tried to nip you and has been repelled by the horrible taste, wash your hands and give your ferret a "lickable" treat like Ferretone or Ferretvite from your fingers.  You want to teach your ferret that licking is good and nipping too hard is bad.  You don't want your ferret to be afraid of your hands, or avoid them all together.  Usually, after a period of time, your ferret will lick your fingers and play gently with them.


•   If your ferret has suddenly become a "nipper" think about things you may have changed.  Have you started wearing a new perfume?  Have you started putting lotion on your hands and feet?  Did you just wash your hands with soap?  Are you wearing lipstick or lip gloss? Ferrets can react to certain scents, especially those that contain musk.  Ferrets do love the taste of bar soap (they like the lard and the fragrance) and cosmetics, so they may try to eat your hand or lips if they smell too good to resist. One of my ferrets will actually wait by the sink for me to finish washing my hands (I have strawberry soap).  She loves to lick my hands when they are freshly washed.  Ferrets also enjoy licking lotions and water off of hands and feet.  All of these can possibly lead to a nipping incident.  Because I do apply lotion to my feet on a regular basis, I have found that wearing socks around the house has stopped any nipping to my feet.  Ferrets love feet!  This could be due to the fact that their vision is so poor, and your feet are the only clear things they can see while on the floor playing.  They also seem to love "stinky" feet (I won't go into detail on this one).  Wearing socks can and will solve the feet and toe nipping problem.

•   Finally, it is important to handle your ferret as much as possible, and give it lots of affection.  A ferret who is neglected and left alone for long periods of time in a cage,  may become a nipper or biter (just like any other domestic pet who is neglected).  Always interact with your ferret, play with your ferret and hold it as much as possible.  Give your ferret treats while you are holding it.  You want he or she to feel secure with you and it's  surroundings.  A ferret may nip out of fear.  A ferret may also nip or bite if it is not feeling very well.  Get to know your ferret.  If your ferret nips or bites you each time you try to pick it up, and this is not normal behavior, he or she may be injured or sick.  In this case, a trip to the veterinarian is in order.


Litter Box Training

So, your little rascal is leaving gifts all over the house.  What do you do?  Well, the problem could be you!  Ferrets will naturally back up to go to the bathroom in a corner.  This behavior is usually taught to kits by their mothers.  However, some kits have been removed from their mothers too soon.  In this case, YOU have to be the ferret's mother and teach litter habits.  If your ferret is missing the mark, consider the following tips:

•   When you take your ferret out of the cage to play, try waiting until they have used the bathroom (or check the litter box in the cage to see if there is fresh stool).   Ferrets will always use the bathroom within the first fifteen minutes or so after waking up.  But beware!  Many ferrets will figure out your system and pretend to go to the bathroom just to get let out of the cage (my ferrets do this). Just be sure they actually produce!

•   If your ferret is not using the litter box in the cage, try using a litter box with a lower front ledge.  Many ferrets don't like to "hop" over the ledge of a litter box.  They just want to back up.  I actually made my own cage litter box by cutting a cat litter box in half.  This eliminates the front ledge all together, and makes it less fun to play in.  You can have some litter spill out of the front, however the excrement is always in the back corners of the box.  It has worked wonders for me.  Put bedding, toys  and food in the corners you don't want your ferrets to use as a litter box.  If you have recently purchased a new cage, you can expect litter box accidents.  Ferrets will have adjustment issues when their environment has been changed.  Just keep placing stool in their new litter box and try to put food and toys in all other corners.  This problem should straighten out with time.

•   Put litter boxes in just about every corner of the house to begin with.  Your ferret will usually pick out a few favorites.  Place a heavy water proof mat under and around each litter box to protect your carpet from accidents.  If your ferret likes to chew on the mat, spray it with some Bitter Apple.  Again, if your ferret is going to the bathroom right in front of the litter box, a lower front ledge may be needed.  Male ferrets seem to need larger litter boxes than female ferrets (due to their size).

•   Ferrets will not use their litter box if the box is too clean or too dirty.  Changing the brand of litter can also cause litter box accidents.  If you do change litter, try blending the old with the new for a while.  Always keep a piece of stool in the litter box.  Ferrets need to be able to smell their excrement.  Scoop out the litter box on a daily basis, and wash all litter boxes on a weekly basis.

•   If you have more than one ferret, your ferrets may be competing for a litter box.  For example, my older female ferret will not use a litter box that my young male ferret has used.  She has her boxes and he has his.  If he uses her litter box, she will not use it.  This has caused accidents!  Observe your ferret's behaviors.   A dominant ferret may be causing other ferrets to not want to use the same box.

•   Finally, your ferret could be sick.  Often, ferrets will start having litter box accidents when they are not feeling well.  Insulinomas, adrenal disease, gastrointestinal upset and many other conditions can all cause litter box accidents.  Ferrets tend to experience hind leg weakness when they are sick.  They may not have the energy to jump in the litter box or make it to the litter box.  If your ferret has started having problems out of the blue, and their environment has not changed, take your ferret in for a check up.


Fun Tricks

Ferrets are pretty fun to watch all by themselves, however you can teach them some entertaining tricks. You may never be able to teach your ferrets to heel, but you can teach them to come when you call them and to recognize certain works or phrases.  Training a ferret does take time and patience.  If you would like to teach your ferret some tricks, consider the following tips:

•   Ferrets are very sensitive to sound.  Purchase a variety of noise making toys, like jingle bells, tough rubber squeaky toys (those made for large dogs), and stuffed animals that make a sound or make a sound when you throw them.  Once you find a sound your ferret is interested in, you are in luck!  This is a great way to find a lost ferret, and to entertain your friends.  For example, my male ferret will run out of any hiding place when he hears his "Happy Two Thousand" stuffed ball or his "Giggle Bunny."  Each stuffed animal makes a noise when you hit it against something.  The stuffed ball (with a happy face and a top hat of course) says "happy two thousand" and then giggles when you throw or hit it.  My ferret is crazy about it, and will run out to retrieve it and hide it from me.  Our friends get a big kick out of it.  All of the parts are sewn into the stuffed animal, so there isn't anything he can chew off (this is very important).   Stuffed animals that are located in the infant section are usually safe for ferrets.  Just keep an eye on them and make sure your ferret is not chewing and ingesting any material.

•   My female ferret can do a little dance when she wants a treat.  You can do this by making your ferret stand up on his or her hind legs to get a treat, and then lowering the treat to ground level.   Point your finger while holding the treat in your hand.  Your ferret will stand up for the treat, and then return back to his or her normal position when you lower the treat.  Give your ferret a treat after doing this.  Eventually, your ferret will stand up on his or her hind legs when you bring your pointed finger from ground level to "stand up"  level.  Always reward your ferret with a treat after doing this. Now, repeat the "up and down" pointed finger (slowly) three times in a row.   My ferret will stand up on her hind legs, then go back to normal standing position, stand up on her hind legs, then go back to normal standing position,  three times in a row.  I call this the "Cha Cha."  While your ferret is standing up and going back down, you can say "Cha, cha, cha."  Of course, you always reward your ferret with a treat after going through this.  Now, dancing for a treat is pretty normal for my ferret.  She gets so excited each time she sees me in the kitchen (that is where I trained her).  Doing the "Cha, Cha" everyday has become a normal part of her routine.  Just be aware that not every ferret has the patience to learn tricks.  Young ferrets are especially difficult to train (they just have too much energy and not enough concentration).  Training your ferret can take months, so don't give up.

•   When your ferret is young, use repeated phrases to familiarize your ferret with the human language.  For example, my ferrets can understand  "Eat some chow" (they will run into their room and sniff the food bowl), "bedroom," "time for bed,"  "treats" and "Come on troops!" (they will both form a line and follow me into the kitchen to be fed in the morning).  Their vocabulary truly shocks me everyday.  So, if you want your ferret to understand your language, talk constantly to your ferret and repeat phrases.  For instance, when your are feeding your ferret,  refer to the food as "chow" or anything you want.  They will eventually relate the word with their food.   Be sure to use their names constantly.  You will know they know their name when they start looking at you when you call them (however, they may not always come).

•   Finally, some people have been able to teach their ferret how to roll over (I can't seem to get mine to do this).  Start by gently rolling your ferret over when he or she is on the ground.  My male ferret allows me to basically roll him around the floor  as if he were a rolling pin!  Some ferrets are not comfortable with being rolled over (they  feel vulnerable).  To teach your ferret how to roll over, you can put your ferret on the ground on it's back and gently roll your ferret over.  Say "roll over," and give your ferret a treat.  After doing this for several weeks or months, your ferret may learn to roll over by voice command.

A visitor recently wrote to me and gave me some tips on how to get my ferrets to roll over (thank you Russell).  

I recently looked at your web page. You said you couldn't get your ferrets to roll over. I have found a way
that is really easy to do this. First show them the treat, then move the
treat to the side of their head (they will move their head to try to get the
treat), then bring the treat around the back of their head (again they will
move their head to try to get the treat), if you keep moving it they
eventually won't be able to move their head any more and will roll over to
get the treat. At first instead of rolling over they may turn their head
around the other way to try to get the treat. Just keep doing it until they
roll over for it. Don't give them the treat if they turn their head around
the other way. I tried this and got them to do it the very first day. Let me
know how it works!

Article written by Mahri
EverythingFerret.com

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