Ferret Care & Upkeep

The Cage: I am not a believer in letting your ferrets roam freely about the house. Ferrets are far too clever and will get into unimaginable trouble. My three live in a two-story cage, and come out for play times. There are several aspects of designing your ferrets' living space that you need to take into account when purchasing your cage.  The most obvious is size -- is the cage large enough for your ferrets to be comfortable?  Of course, ferrets will bore of any space after enough time, and a well-stocked cage is NOT an alternative to giving your ferret a happy and full life ouside of the cage. The picture at right illustrates some important aspects to the ferret cage. First, the sleeping, eating, and litter areas are all separate. Also, the cage is large enough for our three. The litter box (a Rubbermaid dishpan) has high walls, to prevent accidents. We also put toys in our ferrets' cage, but they usually stash them as soon as they're let out. PVC joints make for wonderful cage additions, as well. Now that we have five ferrets, we have a very large cage! Petsmart has a decent cage with 4 levels in it for about $150.

Bath Time:  Bathing is unpleasant for most ferrets. In fact, the first time I bathed Gwen (as gently as a newborn) she cried. I've heard rumors of ferrets that enjoy bathing, and if yours does, more power to you! My only real advice on this front is to be as gentle as possible, and to bathe them as rarely as possible. There are wonderful sprays on the market that will serve to mask your ferret's odor without the trauma of the tub, which is what I use now.