Help with Ferret Litter Box

[Himitsu]

My little sister has a ferret named Cinnamon (nicknamed Mini). She completely changes the litter in the litter box (using a liner) every 4 days, and scoops the soiled litter out of it 2-3 times a day in between that. Now, the problem is she dumps that soiled litter in an old, empty, gallon ice cream bucket. Upon opening it to clean the litter box (she was up at my older sister's with Mom so I had to take care of Cinnamon) the smell was enough to almost knock me out with my breath held. So my question is, is there a more efficient way to keep the smell down without changing the litter box every day?

On a different note, does anyone know a way to get them to eat treats? She literally shows no interest in anything other than her normal dry food. We've tried giving her peanut butter (to help with clipping her claws), meat puree baby food, ferret soft treats... nada.

[satomi325]

My little sister has a ferret named Cinnamon (nicknamed Mini). She completely changes the litter in the litter box (using a liner) every 4 days, and scoops the soiled litter out of it 2-3 times a day in between that. Now, the problem is she dumps that soiled litter in an old, empty, gallon ice cream bucket. Upon opening it to clean the litter box (she was up at my older sister's with Mom so I had to take care of Cinnamon) the smell was enough to almost knock me out with my breath held. So my question is, is there a more efficient way to keep the sell down without changing the litter box every day?

On a different note, does anyone know a way to get them to eat treats? She literally shows no interest in anything other than her normal dry food. We've tried giving her peanut butter (to help with clipping her claws), meat puree baby food, ferret soft treats... nada.

What kind of food are you feeding the ferret? Diet has a huge impact on the odor and amount of poop

Wet ferret poop smells. It goes odorless once it dries. A dry poop also shrinks 3-4x in size since it has no moisture.

I change litter once a week. I spot clean in between changes and just pick up poop with toilet paper and flush that down the toilet. No yucky smelly poop container!

Do you have Ferretone? It's a good tool to use when cliping nails. It's a liquid syrup that's basically ferret crack. (Ferretvite/Nutrical is a similar product but in a paste form) All my ferrets go nuts for it. I only use it for nail clipping and to give meds. Turn your ferret over in your lap onto her back. Just pour some Ferretone syrup onto her belly. It may be cold so she will want to sit up if she doesn't know what it is. So just hold her down for a second until she realizes she has a treat on her belly. She will then keep herself busy licking up the syrup. In the mean time, clip nails.
Like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUtsh91B32Q

Ferrets tend to imprint of food in the first 6 months of their life, which is why it's a good idea to give them a mixed diet.
They're usually pretty picky about food given after that time period. It's not impossible for them to get used to something after those 6 months. But it does take some work. And some ferrets are more willing to try new things than others, but in general, they tend to imprint.

I had a ferret kit fed only Marshal's kibble for the first few months of his life. I got him at exactly 6 months of age, so he was already imprinted on that type of food. Marshal Brand food is terrible so I wanted him to eat the quality diet I had for my other 2 ferrets. It took him about a month or two to fully switch over to my diet. I had to gradually include my diet bit by bit into the Marshals food so he could get used to it. And he used to hate treats as well. He wouldn't take treats on his own. He didn't associated treats as something that was edible so I would have to put some in his mouth for him to try. After a few times of giving him the treat, he takes it on his own and can't get enough.



And not all ferrets will take all types of treats. They all have their likes and dislikes. I have a total of 3 ferrets.
They all like the ferretone syrup. One will eat anything. One will take just soft treats. The last won't eat any other kind of treat.


Edit: it helps to get her to like baby food/meat puree. If she ever gets sick, chicken baby food is a life saver since most sick ferrets don't eat on their own. Try syringing her some a little bit at a time. I guarantee that she will eat it on her own after a few tries. Like I mentioned before, ferrets don't usually associate new foods w/ food.

[Himitsu]

She is fed Zupreem Ferret Diet.

I'll have to tell my sister and mom about the Ferretone (I think they were told about it before). I usually have to help hold her down to get her claws cut because she doesn't like it.

[satomi325]

She is fed Zupreem Ferret Diet.

I'll have to tell my sister and mom about the Ferretone (I think they were told about it before). I usually have to help hold her down to get her claws cut because she doesn't like it.

That's a good diet.
I include that into my food mix. Prior to Zupreem, I only used 8-1 Ultimate and Drs. Foster and Smith Ferret diet. After I added Zupreem, I have to admit, it did make my ferret's poop smell more than usual.
But their poop dries fast, so the smell usually doesn't linger. I think the main problem is that you're putting it in a sealed container so the poop just sits and stays wet. I can only imagine that the odor from that container is like hitting a wall.
Flush the spot cleanings or dump it in a plastic bag and put it in the trash can.

As for nail clipping. If you can't use ferretone, you can scruff her. Scruffing doesn't hurt the ferret. Ferrets are in fact calmed by it. She will go limp when scruffed. (Scruffing is also good to use when syringing liquid food)

[Himitsu]

That's a good diet.
I include that into my food mix. Prior to Zupreem, I only used 8-1 Ultimate and Drs. Foster and Smith Ferret diet. After I added Zupreem, I have to admit, it did make my ferret's poop smell more than usual.
But their poop dries fast, so the smell usually doesn't linger. I think the main problem is that you're putting it in a sealed container so the poop just sits and stays wet. I can only imagine that the odor from that container is like hitting a wall.
Flush the spot cleanings or dump it in a plastic bag and put it in the trash can.

As for nail clipping. If you can't use ferretone, you can scruff her. Scruffing doesn't hurt the ferret. Ferrets are in fact calmed by it. She will go limp when scruffed. (Scruffing is also good to use when syringing liquid food)

We don't flush the waste because Mom doesn't want to worry about the litter backing up our septic system (we live out in the country). And it was like being crushed between two very fast moving walls. :P I was mainly asking because towards the end of that 4 day changing period the smell will start wafting in to my room across the hall.

I had to look up what 'scruffing' was, and when I tried to try it on Cinnamon my little sister got mad at me, telling me not to be mean to her ferret...

[satomi325]

We don't flush the waste because Mom doesn't want to worry about the litter backing up our septic system (we live out in the country). And it was like being crushed between two very fast moving walls. I was mainly asking because towards the end of that 4 day changing period the smell will start wafting in to my room across the hall.

I had to look up what 'scruffing' was, and when I tried to try it on Cinnamon my little sister got mad at me, telling me not to be mean to her ferret...

Scruffing doesn't hurt a ferret. They have very thick neck skin. It isn't mean either. If you watch multiple ferrets play, they will scruff each other. It's actually normal behavior for them. And like I said previously, it actually calms them down.




Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

[Zombie]

Haha, I saw the title and was going to say satomi had your answer

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

[Himitsu]

Scruffing doesn't hurt a ferret. They have very thick neck skin. It isn't mean either. If you watch multiple ferrets play, they will scruff each other. It's actually normal behavior for them. And like I said previously, it actually calms them down.




Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

I tried explaining that to her, but she wasn't comfortable with me messing with her ferret like that. And I've seen some of the ferret play at Petco. One wouldn't stop 'chewing'/tugging on another's ear. And I will admit that they can be quite cute when they bound around and play like that. I wouldn't ever want one of my own, but they are very neat animals. My sisters wants a second one. She's currently working on wearing my mom down to let her. XD