Help with a Ferret

General Discussion
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Ahoy, I recently got bored and decided to get a ferret. I managed to get a bit of information from websites and people but for some reason every source I meet/read online call their Ferret the huggykinsmugginmcwhiskers so it hard to get a straight answer.

First of all, is there any common household food that is a good treat for a ferret. They are carnivores so meat should be fine but I was thinking, something quick that I can grab to teach it something (like comming when I call for it, stopping what it is doing, ect) and going “one second” and going off to cook some meat isn’t exactly a good idea, and from what little I have garnered, dog/kat treats are also a bad idea based on how the ferret digestive system works.

Secondly, what is the best method to teach them not to defecate in the corners of the room they run around in. i know you can get a pen, but honestly I think that is little better then a cage, it likes to run around and I let it do so, but unfortunately sometimes I look away and plop It is learning and only goes in one corner of the room now, but I’d like it to go back to it’s cage. If someone has a suggestion o how to teach it this other then simpling yelling at it when I see its about to poo, please put it forward.

Lastly, do ferrets ever learn to calm down. It is fun to watch it skitz out and run around, and young dogs do the same thing where they are buckets full of energy. I am just wondering how long it takes for a ferret to mellow out. If never, its fine, it just means I need to get it more toys or something to tire it out (take it for walks maybe) but it would be cool just to have it sit next to me for 5 minutes without it running off. (Note she still is young, about 8 weeks)

Thanks for the answers

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Is there any common household food that is a good treat for a ferret?

A: Chicken can be given to them, but you should just find your local pet store and buy ferret food. Much cheaper and made specifically for them. Avoid any corns/rice/grain based food, their digestive tracts can’t take them.

What is the best method to teach them not to defecate in the corners of the room they run around in?

A: They will always defecate is the corners of your room. I always had newspaper in the corner of my room, so thats just how it is going to be. What you can do is if you seem him going to crap in the corner, pick them up and walk them back to the cage. When they are done, the feed them a treat (which can be bought at any pet store). My ferret sometimes would go back to her cage, but almost always will do it in the corners of your room. You could always grab it by the back of the neck and put their nose in their own shit and yell NO! Some will learn some won’t.

Do ferrets ever learn to calm down?

A: Hell no. They are ferrets, their calm down time is when they are sleeping (which is for like 20 hours of the day). If they are not sleeping, they will be up and about. Just have toys or socks (they love white socks) and some treats around you. Make sure that you “ferret proof” you room. Get a dryer duct to put behind any dressers or on cable wires (ferrets will bite anything) and make sure there are no parts of the carpet falling apart, ferrets will bite onto that and try to pull it out. Just like cats they will be able to slip under the most impossible cracks and door ways, so get rubber guards of the sort.

Ferrets are awesome pets, they are always excited and fun to play with. They are much more challenging to teach tricks, but it is possible (got mine to jump from my dresser to my bed). Make sure you always clip their claws, those things can get super sharp at times. Ferrets WILL bite, the worse place is soft skin on the inside of your elbow (by your bicep). It is possible for them to draw blood, but nothing serious. Tubes, boxes, toys, socks and other animals are all good for ferrets, they love to play.

Man I want a ferret again, had to give mine up when I went college. She would be 9 or 10 now, which is considered to be very old for a ferret.

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Ferrets are awesome, but they don’t smell very nice.

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you can buy ear cleaner to reduce the smell they output and as long as you change their litter box regularly the smell should never be an issue.

As far as dedicating in corners there is one trick you can use but it’ll make your house messy for a long time.

Buy a cat litter box and put it in the corner somewhere. Over the rest of the room(s) that they are going to be in put clothes or bed sheets or anything soft all over the place. They won’t shit on things that they think are their bed which will give them only one option which is the litter-box you have strategically placed in the corner. It takes a while to fully train them(month or 2) but when it’s all said and done you can let them run around to their hearts content.

Funny story about ferrets.

One of the ferrets we had was a real rascal. REALLY loved tearing shit up. Well we had indoor cats as well and the mom just had a litter of kittens so we would lock them in a room whenever we let the ferrets out for their protection. Well one time the door didn’t get closed completely and she snuck in and killed two of the kittens. I got to walk in and see her liking the blood off her snout…needless to say my mother wasn’t too happy lol…

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Well I feed it ferret food already was just talking about a quick treat. the store I bought the ferret from was small, so it had food litter and a cage but not many extras, I picked up a few things for it.

As for pooping, I think I will just get a small aluminum cooking tray and fill it with a little litter for the corner she has taken a liking to, for easier cleanup and just deal with it.

For the record, my feret actually isnt very bitey, has no interest in wires unless they are very soft rubber (which is good because I have a ton of wires, only one of them interest her (the WiiSpeak cord (bought for MHTri… and noone has them so doesn’t matter)) she does bite a little but only in freak out mode (where it starts hopping around, bumping into things, falling over itself, ect.)

I guess I should count myself lucky that it is well behaved (for a ferret) the only thing it does that is annoying is… plastic bags, it goes after them with a furvor, well and the pooing, but that seems common

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They like leather stuff as well, my cousins ferret tried to crawl right into my pants and steal my wallet while I was wearing them. It had several hiding places throughout the house where it put the stuff it stole, so learn where those are too!

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i keep an extra litterbox outside of my ferrets cage…scoop some of his poop from the cage litterbox into it, so he will have a reason to use it.

also, keep an eye out for missing shit. Ferrets are natures gypsy, and will hide shit in hard to reach places (i once saw mine drag a fucking SHOE under my dresser, and i checked under there and found my wallet, a cordless phone, and TONS of other shit there).

also, learn to play Ferret bowling (put them on their back on tile/hardwood floor, then slide them away for fun). They eventually do their “happy dance” where they jump up and down and shit. Also, they love to burrow, so feel free to put them in a pillowcase and poke them or make em chase your fingers, just so they have some fun.

also, beware of ferrets and cats. My ferret tried to kill my cat, literally. Found him latched on to the fucking jugular of the cat several times.

For treats, I used chicken, catfood (dry and canned, mixed together), and fruit (easy to chew shit, like grapes or cherries or shit like that, pre-cut up though!!!)

also, ferrets love to be suspended, so make sure his bed is a hammock or one of them hanging cloth boxes or something like that. Also, get him used to your smell by putting one of your shirts in his cage with him.

and yes, they do eventually learn to calm down. But not for several years (they have a fucked up sort of ‘puberty’ that lasts until they’re like 3 or some shit)

fun fact: when I went to buy my ferret, the lady pulls one out of the cage and says “oh this is a nice one” before it attacked her neck and ripped a chunk out. I didn’t get that ferret.

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Damn, keeping up with a Ferret is tough work.

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SOOOOOO worth it though. Its kinda like having a baby. U gotta ferret-proof the house.

But once they get attached to u, its awesome (especially when they go for naps around ur neck, and u get to walk around with a ferret scarf)

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fuck i hate ferrets so much. they are malicious little beasts.

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Move its cage where it has selected to poop.

Ferrets are awesome. Always wanted one, or a skunk.

Currently have two Cockatieles (Apple and Amiga), two Rats (Shiera and Sprockets) and a Whippet (Lucy). Plans on getting a puppy so Lucy will have a friend, however sadly adding a ferret to our zoo would probably be a mess. Once we get a place with a decent yard I am getting some ducks, and I want to get my boyfriend a bearded dragon. He has been pining for one for ages.

Hoping to get a Boxer when we get our puppy, I have preemptively named him Dudley.

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AMEN!!!

I’d run over a ferret if I got the chance. Dogs > Ferrets

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its also considered a good idea to have at least 2 ferrets, so yours isn’t alone (plus they look cute when they sleep together in a tangled mess of ferret).

I had an exgf that had a pet racoon. Shit was awesome (and they can live off of cat food)

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My cousin had a raccoon! Those things are awesome as pets. Would always play with us when we were swimming, and would eat at the table with us sometimes. My uncle made a special high chair with a dogbowl and a plate on it. He would wash his apples in front of us. They rescued it as a baby when the neighbors dogs killed it’s family.

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I had a raccoon attack me once in my backyard, i ran inside my home & he tried clawing his way into my sliding door. I got a super soaker i shot him in the face, bitch ran away…

I never understood why people buy pets…The only thing good about animals is that they are meals for me…

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lol, why would anyone want a trash eating rodent for a pet? Also how did the animal run away if you shot it in the face?

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Your asian wife has led you astray with her people’s pet eating ways

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Uhm super soaker is like a pump action water gun, its like a full force money shot to the face & eyes…I should have used a bb gun or my dart gun…

yeah fuck those damn rodents, this is what happen to Jerry for eating my toblerone awhile back…
[media=youtube]FG8OXrHU3Wk[/media] check 1:00 mark

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omfg i completely forgot about my ex’s raccoon doing that shit!!! They live pretty long lives too

wtf do you think ANY animal will eat if it lives out on the street. You think stray cats eat purina or order domino’s???

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Here is an educational video about owning a ferret you should view.

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