You shouldn’t keep male ferrets that have not been neutered with other ferrets because they can become aggressive and start fights during mating season.
Use a wire cage with a metal or plastic bottom for your ferrets. You can get multi-level ferret cages at your local pet store.
You can get a ferret hammock at a pet store, or buy a small cat bed to put on a higher level of the cage. Make sure that any bed you buy is easily washable. Ferrets spend 16-20 hours a day sleeping, so make sure they have comfortable beds!
Make sure that any toys you give them are durable and won’t break or fall apart and cause a choking hazard. You can buy ferret toys at a pet store, or use small cat and dog toys. Plush chew toys for small dogs, or the kinds of balls and other toys for cats that have bells inside are good choices. If you see that your ferrets seem to have lost interest in a toy or accessory, then replace it!
If your ferrets use the dirt as a litter box, simply clean out the messy parts and add some fresh dirt. You can get dirt that has not been treated with chemicals at a garden supply shop. Adding plastic balls to a box, tub, or kiddie pool is another great way to entertain your ferrets.
Put different toys like balls, tunnels, and chew toys in the exercise pen for your ferrets to interact with during play time. You can connect multiple ferret play pens to create a larger space for them to run around in.
Ferrets will dig into furniture like sofas, dig at the carpet, and scratch at closed doors. This is why you need to make sure they have lots of toys and other distractions in the room you let them free in.
Ferrets who spend too much time in their cage will become lazy, overweight, and lose their muscle tone. Provide lots of variety of activities for your ferrets. Try building mazes out of cardboard tubes and boxes for them to explore and exercise in.
Ferrets love playing on stairs, so if you have a safe room in your house with stairs this is a great place to play with them and chase them around. Ferrets like to play tug of war. You can buy a rope chew toy meant for dogs and use it to play with your ferrets. If your ferrets seem uninterested in playing or spends most of their time sleeping, they are probably bored with their daily routine and toys. Try new games and toys to find something that interests them.
Ferrets should always have food available. Put 1. 5 cups (~150 g) in the dish for 2 ferrets and change it out every day. If they are leaving a lot of food then you can lower the amount you give them, but make sure they never have an empty food bowl. Adult cat food does not work as an alternative to ferret food. Make sure any kitten food you use does not contain fish as an ingredient. Ferrets only eat meat-based food or animal products like eggs.
Give each ferret an individual kitten treat, an egg, or a piece of cooked chicken cut into a 1 in (2. 5 cm) chunk at least once a day during playtime. You should not give your ferrets fruits, vegetables, or bread because these are not part of a ferret’s natural diet.
You can provide a bowl of water in the ferrets’ cage in addition to a water bottle. Some ferrets like to have a variety of water sources. Just make sure to clean out the bowl and fill it with fresh water whenever you see anything floating in it because it will get dirty quickly. [13] X Research source
You can use regular cat litter as ferret litter. Whenever the litter is dirty, scoop out the dirty parts and refill the litter pan with some fresh litter.
Temperatures higher than 86 °F (30 °C) can cause immediate health problems such as heat stroke in ferrets, and can even lead to death.
A ferret’s eyes should always be bright and clear, their whiskers should be long and soft, and they should have clean teeth and pink gums. If you notice any problems with the appearance of these, take your ferret to the vet for an exam.
