Ferret Caresheet

[Jay_Bunny]

This is my attempt at writing up a ferret caresheet. All information was provided by members of Holistic Ferret Forum (www.holisticferret.proboards80.com)

General Ferret Information

Scientific Name: Mustela putorius furo
Common Name: Domestic Ferret
Life Expectancy: 8-10 years
Color:
Ferrets come in a variety of colors and patterns, with colors ranging from, sable, albino, chocolate, champagne, cinnamon, silver, dark sable, and panda. Patterns include mitts, blazed, Siamese, and badger.
Length:
Males - 18"-24" (45 - 60 cm)
Females - 14"-22" (35 - 55 cm)
Weight:
Males – 2-5lbs
Females – 1-2.5lbs
Temperature:
Ferrets fair well in temperatures below 80F. Since ferrets have no way of cooling their bodies, high temperatures can not only make them uncomfortable, high temperatures can kill them. A good range in somewhere in the 60’s or low 70’s, but they can tolerate cooler temperatures.

Housing Information:

Housing is an important part of keeping ferrets. Housing options range from single level cages to elaborate outdoor enclosures. Single level cages are usually only big enough for 2-3 ferrets. Two level cages can house more or give your 2-3 fuzzies more space. Ferrets like soft, fluffy things to sleep in. Many people use blankets and soft hammocks to decorate cages. This gives the ferrets a comfortable place to sleep rather than sleeping on commercial bedding or a hard floor. Cages can be simple or elaborate, depending on your tastes, but as long as the ferret has a comfortable place to sleep and a few toys, his/her time spent in the cage should be fine.

It is important to give your ferret as much out of cage time as possible. Many people let their ferret free roam around the house, using cages only as places for their ferrets to sleep. It is important to ferret proof your house if you plan on allowing your ferret to free roam. Ferrets require at least 4 hours of out of cage play time every day.

Outdoor enclosures and playpens are a lot of fun for many fuzzies. Protect them from sunlight and birds of prey and you should be fine.

[Jay_Bunny]

Grooming:

Ferrets require very little in the way of grooming. Ferrets should not get any more than one water bath per month unless they have gotten into something messy. Too many baths will irritate their skin or make them smell worse than what they did before the bath. If you want to give your ferret a bath using ferret shampoos, only one bath ever few months is needed. Ferret shampoos are safe to use and effective. Ferrets do require nail trimming. A ferret’s nails grow very fast and you will need to check the nails often for over growth. You can use a simple set of nail clippers to do the job. Many ferrets find nail trimming to be unpleasant but it does not hurt them. You must be mindful of the quick and make sure not to hit it when you clip. The quick is a blood vessel in the nail and nicking it will cause pain and bleeding. Keep some (stypic) powder on hand when clipping nails. If your ferret is squirming when you are trying to cut his/her nails, you can scruff them to make them calmer and to hold them in place. This will make nail trimming easier on the both of you. You could also put a drop of Ferretone on the ferret’s belly. While they are busy licking the treat off, you can quickly and safely trim their nails.

Diet:

Diet is probably one of the most debated topics when it comes to ferrets. The truth is, most commercial diets do not meet the nutritional requirements of ferrets. Most contain too much plant material and can cause serious health problems. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, meaning the only thing they should/can digest is raw meat/bones/whole prey items. Some of the health risks of feeding commercial kibble diets may include adrenal disease, overweight/underweight ferrets, obstructions, smelly/loose stools, malnutrition, and teeth/gum problems. All of the nutrients a ferret needs can be obtained through raw meat, meaty bones, and whole prey items. The ferret’s digestive system is very short, sometimes digesting a meal in only a couple of hours. Ferrets enjoy many types of meat and whole prey and the more of a variety you feed; the less you have to worry about nutrients. Ferrets enjoy chicken, turkey, beef, pork, venison, rabbit, duck, fish (on occasion), quail, organs, ect. The list is almost endless. As for whole prey items, ferrets will eat just about anything as long as it is the right size. A single ferret would eat mice, rat pinkies-small rats, button quail, baby rabbits, chicks, lizards, frogs, hamsters, gerbils, crickets, super worms, feeder fish (on occasion), African soft furred rats, guinea pigs, ect.
Note: Please do not feed your ferrets whole prey items from outside. These animals could be carrying disease or parasites. Please provide you ferret with whole prey from clean, parasite free suppliers.
The average ferret should be given a meal consisting of 2-3oz of raw meat/meaty bones/whole prey per meal. They should be fed twice per day, once in the morning, and once in the evening. All left over meat/bones/prey remains should be removed after a few hours. Ferrets also like to eat something called soupy. The recipe for soupy varies depending on who gives you the recipe, but a good one to follow is listed here:

8 oz raw chicken thigh meat (including skin and fat)
1 tsp of crushed eggshell powder (take a raw eggshell. Rinse it out. Let it dry. Crush to powder)
1 raw chicken heart
1/2 raw chicken liver
Water (use more to make it soupier, less to make it thicker)
(Recipe by Heather from Holistic Ferret Forum. Used with permission.)




Note: If you are not able to provide your ferrets with a raw/whole prey diet, and need to feed a kibble diet, please do your research carefully and only choose the best possible kibble. (Choose kibbles with little to no plant material in them)

[Jay_Bunny]

Enrichment:

Ferrets enjoy play time just as much as a human child. They chase, wrestle, toss toys, steal shiny objects, and climb. Provide your ferret with plenty of toys that are made from different materials and come in different sizes. Cat toys work just fine, especially those with bells. Watch your ferrets though. Ferrets can chew through their toys and choke on the bells.

A favorite of many ferrets is the dig box. This can be very simple and cheap to construct. Get yourself a large Rubbermaid tub, with or without the lid. Cut a hole in the side, large enough to fit a plastic tube (make sure the tube is big enough for your ferrets to get through easily). Attach the tube to the hole and fill the tub halfway with fun digging material. (newspaper, rice, ping pong balls, shredded paper, plastic eggs. Sometimes you can put an inch of water in the tub and let your ferrets go for a swim. (Please supervise all water activities).


Ferret FAQs:

Do ferrets bite? Yes ferrets do nibble from time to time. On occasion you will get an actual bite that breaks skin. This is normally a depressed or aggressive ferret telling you what’s on his/her mind. Regular handling and lots of enrichment and out of cage play time helps lessen or eliminate biting.

Do ferrets smell? All ferrets have a unique odor. Most ferret owners don’t mind the smell and some don’t even notice. The odor is very slight and the smell you normally hear of people talking about comes from an unclean cage. Ferrets fed on an improper diet tend to have very smelly poops.

Do ferrets make good pets for children? Ferrets make great pets overall but because of their active nature; attention needs, and dietary needs, young children should not be responsible for the care of ferrets. Under supervision they may interact with them.

Are ferrets noisy? If you’ve ever heard a ferret scream, you will know that ferrets have the potential to be very loud. Most of the time, ferrets are quietly sleeping and even playtime doesn’t boost the noise level. When a ferret is frightened or is being aggressive, they can let out a very loud scream though, so if you are looking for a silent pet, a ferret is not for you.

Do ferrets get along with other animals? Ferrets can be great playmates to cats and some small dogs, but please supervise all interactions between ferrets and other animals. Big dogs and ferrets should be kept apart. Friendly cats can make great wrestle partners. Birds, small mammals, fish, and reptiles, do not make good playmates.

[kitsunex]

my only comment so far is about the housing. the housing requirements you list are too small IMHO. even a single level cage i would say is too small for a ferret. you want to have at least 1 hammock per ferret. usually the lowest level is where the food, water and litter is located, since its the area most likely to get messed up. then the upper levels are for play/sleep. i would say for one ferret a 2 level cage is a minimum. for more than ferret you want to get a 3 level cage or larger.

also you might want to put in a snippet about how Ferrets can't handle heat very well and they get heatstroke extremely easily. They can handle the coldest temps there are (people in the UK house them outside year round with no problems) but heat will kill a ferret quickly. they don't have a lot of body mass and once their temp shoots up and they hit heat stroke, a vet visit is a must. i always recommended when temps get above 80 that either an air conditioned environment is required or you can freeze water bottles and place them inside sleep sacks for them to rest on.

[Jay_Bunny]

I think I did mention temperature in one of the sections. As far as housing, as long as they are getting a lot of out of cage time, a single level cage is fine for a ferret. Most single level cages have an insert that serves as a "second level" so the ferret can sleep away from his toilet. I have a Ferret Nation 142 model cage, which is a two level cage with mini levels on each of the main levels. This cage can house up to 5 ferrets as long as they are given sufficient out of cage play time, which mine do. I house four ferrets in it right now.

[Boanerges]

Wouldn't feeding a ferret raw chicken make them carry salmonella? I don't know anything about ferret's, I just know my wife always wanted one and I was not aware that they ate raw meat.

[kitsunex]

Wouldn't feeding a ferret raw chicken make them carry salmonella? I don't know anything about ferret's, I just know my wife always wanted one and I was not aware that they ate raw meat.

nope. its what they would naturally eat in the wild. I know some ferret owners that feed their ferrets live baby chicks. they eat them, feather, beak, feet, etc. there won't be anything left.

ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means they don't have the physical ability to digest plant matter. Many theories suggest that feeding kibble to ferrets is the reason behind the high cases of adrenal disease and insulinoma. this seems to be supports by ferret owners who feed whole prey to their ferrets not needing the surgery at all or later on in life.

fact of the matter is that if you own a ferret, you better start putting money away because when they hit approx. 5 years of age, get ready for EXPENSIVE procedures. they are NOT a cheap pet by any means.

(sorry i sorta rambled off onto a tangent there)

[Jay_Bunny]

I don't think all ferrets over the age of 5 need expensive procedures. I guess we will see with my four. My oldest is almost a year and a half.

Eating raw meat will not hurt a ferret. Their digestive systems are too short to catch any food related illnesses. The bacteria doesn't have time to take hold in their system before being eliminated. Compare their digestive systems to ours and you will see why we humans would catch salmonella or something similar. Ours is long and the bacteria would sit there for a really long time, allowing it to incubate and take hold.

Raw meat and whole prey items to wonders for ferrets. I haven't had a chance to go to the store to get meat so my ferrets ate kibble last night. (I felt soooo bad) My oldest girl who is, by far, my best hunter, looked at the kibble, then looked at me as if to say "Ok mom, joke's over. Gimme a mouse!" I'm currently trying to get my feeder colonies up and going so I can switch them to a whole prey diet. It will be cheaper to keep feeder colonies going then buying them meat every week. Chicks are good snacks, but don't make much of a meal. I plan to feed the following to my ferrets once I have my own house and have the room for these feeder colonies:

Mouse (already producing)
Rats (already producing)
Chickens
Rabbits
Button Quail
Gerbils
Hamsters
African Soft Furred Rats
Frogs

[kitsunex]

well i guess i should clarify. the around age 5 part,was in regards to Marshall Ferrets. They all seem to develop Adrenal between 5-7 years of age. with most dieing around the 8-10 year mark. As far as the kibble,that is only partially at fault,with the early spay/neuter being the other part of the fault in this matter. Marshall fixes them before you get them,so they are being spayed/neutered at around 4-5 weeks of age. Whereas if you get a ferret from a private breeder, most will require that you wait until they are 5 months of age before doing the spay/neuter,which seems to lead to bigger, healthier ferrets.

granted Marshall is in a bad position. they are too large to trust the consumer to spay/neuter. the average consumer probably isn't aware that when a female ferret goes into Heat that she HAS to breed or she could potentially die from anemia.

I've been a part of the ferret community since 1991 having cared for and owned quite a few over the years. If your ferret doesn't get adrenal or something else around the 5 year mark, you are very very lucky. Ask around to other experienced ferret owners if you don't believe me.

the fact of the matter is, if you don't have a ferret health fund set up with at least $500 per ferret in it, then you will potentially be in for a rude awakening later on and your ferrets will suffer because of it. Adrenal is not fun to watch as your ferret loses its fur and wastes away.

a lot of ferret owners don't think about these things when they buy the cute little fuzzbut and take it home.

i don't own any at this time as i recently lost the last of my last brood of ferrets and my heart can't take it to own any more for a little while.

[Jay_Bunny]

Isn't adrenal caused by malnutrition over a long period of time. I know a friend of mine had a ferret die of adrenal and she fed him kibble. Actually all the ferrets I've ever met or seen have been fed a kibble diet. I'm feeding mine a raw/whole prey diet. I was told this would help prevent adrenal from developing. All my ferrets are Marshall ferrets.