| Below are some general tips/guidelines on caring for ferrets. FOOD Do Ferrets should always have clean fresh water and a bowl of food in their cage. The type of food depends on whom you talk to. There is a new ferret food out called Totally Ferret. By all accounts it is the best for your ferret. However, most ferret food is almost identical to high quality kitten food. Just remember that ferrets are unable to digest complex carbs and fiber. Therefore make sure the food consist of high calorie, high protein, and low fiber. Iams kitty food works great. Also, give your ferret fresh fruit and vegetables. Not all ferrets will appreciate a diverse diet. Experiment with different foods to find out what your likes. This is easiest to do when the ferret is young. Don't Ferrets should not eat dairy products. It will give them diarrhea. If your ferret is like mine, he/she will love ice cream. It is hard to say no when they are looking so cute, but remember it is for their health. Other food ferrets should not have include: chocolate, sugary foods, salty foods, bones, or foods with collective ingredients in them. SHOWER Do You have a choice here. Preferably you should use a ferret shampoo. However, they tend to be very pricey compared to other pet shampoos. Your other choice is to use a no tear baby shampoo like Johnson and Johnson. Just remember that ferrets do smell, even after a shower. Actually, they tend to smell worse after a shower. Therefore you don't want to bath them too often. Also, frequent showers will dry out ferrets' skin. You can give them a bath in the kitchen sink, shower, or the bathtub. I have heard many funny stories relating to people trying to bath their ferret. After Pandora gets rinsed off, she likes to run around in the shower. If you use the bathtub, be careful not to fill it up too full since ferrets legs are not very tall. Ferret's skin is tougher than ours is. Although you don't want the water scolding hot, you can have it slightly hotter than the average bath water for humans. Be sure to lather up your ferret and rinse him/her completely off. Shampoo will dry out a ferret's skin if not rinsed off. A warning, all the ferrets I know get lots of energy after a shower/bath. They are very entertaining to watch. No batteries needed, just shower then watch them go! Don't Never use any pet shampoo other than one meant for ferrets. Do your best not to let the ferrets eat the suds. In small amount it won't hurt them, but its best to try and break them of it. Don't wash your ferret more than once a week. Bathing a ferret once a month is good. Never leave your ferret alone in the bath. Don't let a wet ferret run free. Be sure their coat is completely dry or they run the risk of getting a cold. NAILTRIMING/EAR CLEANING This is a tricky one. No ferret likes to get his or her nails trimmed. Rather than play will against will, I get sneaky. Pandora loves Ferratone. I just get a bottle of that put some on my hands. She is too busy licking it up, she doesn't notice what I am doing. Be sure to use the nail trimmers for kittens. I have not seen any meant for ferrets yet. When you cut them, cut above the pink area in the nail. I trim Pandora's front paws about once a week and her back paws, every other week. Equally difficult is cleaning a ferrets ear. This one always gets me nervous. I use the same tactic as trimming her nails. There are ferret ear drops that you can use. Just put in a few drops on the inside tip of their ears, then rub it in. Then use a Q-Tip to clean out any buildup. LITTER BOX TRAINING Do It took me a long time to litter box train Pandora. I went about it the wrong way. Once I knew what to do...the results were immediate. First, your ferret will let you know what corner will be the potty corner. Don't fight with them on this. You will only get frustrated. Once your ferret has chosen a corner, place the litter box in it. The litter box should be large enough for him or her to back into. If they cant back into the corner, they won't use the box. Keep the litter box clean. Ferrets can be picky and don't like dirty litter boxes. Use ferret litter or small animal litter. I use Yesterday's New. It is dust free, recycled newspaper. Ferrets will need to use the litter box shortly after waking up. If they have just woken up, don't let them out of the cage right away. Don't Don't use corner litter boxes. I know how tempting they are. I tried to litter box Pandora using them and it never worked. I took me six months to find out that she needed to back into a corner. Never use cat litter. It can get into ferrets' rectum and cause problems. Don't try to litter box train you ferret in large areas such as the house. Work with small areas first. For example, train them to use the litter box in the cage, then move to the room the cage is in (if its and enclosed room like a bedroom), once they have succeeded there move to another room. Ferrets don't have large attention spans. They are not able to control there bowls long enough to climb upstairs into their cage and use the litter box. If you plan on having your ferret out for long periods of time, be sure to have a litter box in every room the ferret will have access to. |
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| "The water bowl is attacking, run for you lives!!" |
| How to Care for Your Pet Ferret |
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