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Look at my handsome long boy.

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The fuzzies are still seperated, so have half of the cage each. It’s not ideal but it will have to do until they all accept each other. I change the cages and ferret room round every week to try stop them from getting bored!

Marvin is loving the box full of packing chips with the tube attached!

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(source)

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Double wide ferret nation (source)

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Cute ferret spacing out, or maybe he/she just spotted some food!? #1nderfulworld by 1nderfulworld http://ift.tt/1Jyr7fA

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Here is the link to the Litterbox Bootcamp for ferrets. It has tonnes of really useful info if you are struggling to get your ferrets to poop in the appropriate places.

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Do you need to treat your ferrets?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, especially after seeing some of the things on the ferret tag. People love to spoil their fuzzies, often with something quite unhealthy.

Most ready made ferret snacks are terrible and full of bad things. Even Ferretone is full of sugar!

So why do we give them these treats?

I think this stems from how we feed ourselves. We treat ourselves to food we know isn’t great for us. Generally this is ok as humans are omnivores, we can usually digest the food we treat ourselves with.

Why do we feel the need to do this for our ferrets? Do they notice they are being treated or so they just treating it as an extra meal?

It’s important if you do want to treat your ferret with food that you choose something that’s good for your little one. For ferrets try and get something like freeze dried meat pieces, but check the ingredients to ensure there are no bad fillers in there. I’ve even heard of people dehydrating meat themselves to give to their ferrets.

I tend to use treats when training my ferrets as they are very food driven, but that’s the only time.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to this question, but please be careful you aren’t damaging your ferrets health.

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Ferret Chicken Goo Recipe For Switching

My lovely friend Alex has concocted this awesome recipe for helping ferrets to switch to raw. She’s had amazing success with it, so figured I’d share it with you guys!

⦁ Get large chicken legs (with skin etc.) – about 1 kg.

⦁ Cut off as much of the meat as possible.

⦁ Cook the bones, skin and yucky bits for about half an hour until you have a nice broth with lots of fat floating on top.

⦁ Remove any remaining meat from the bones (depending on your blender you may also have to remove the cartilage) and throw them out.

⦁ Allow to cool.

⦁ Once the broth has cooled down, add the raw meat and any other ingredients you may want (I usually include a 500mg human grade pure calcium pill and a few squirts of salmon oil – some people also use presoaked kibble, eggs etc.)

⦁ Blend until smooth

⦁ I tend to give my fuzzies the first batch immediately and freeze the rest in small containers (per portion).

⦁ After thawing I sometimes add a whisked egg if I want all of them to share it and to give them a change in taste.

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So, I've done all the research on ferrets and I'm thinking about getting them. I'm looking for a companion, do you think it's a good idea?

It depends.

Ferrets take commitment. The average lifespan is 7-10 years. Like any animal they get attached to their owner and expect you to be there for them through sickness and health. Think of it as a marriage.

I wouldn’t suggest getting a ferret if you plan on going on vacation/college/etc. soon because finding a ferret sitter is not as easy as finding a pet sitter.

Ferrets also aren’t cheap pets. They require vet care, which can be very costly.

They require at least 4 hours of out of cage play.

Ferrets are very cute and love-able pets. I just want to you know what you might be getting yourself into.

Ferret shelters have many ferrets for these very reasons. People abandon their ferrets because they didn’t know about the commitment.

If you believe a ferret is the right pet for you, consider going to a ferret shelter to hang out with the ferrets.

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Groups of ferrets are called a business and that makes me happy. // @mundythesniper

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The reality of owning a ferret..

I thought this would be something useful for people looking to get a ferret (or more). I myself would have more than one if my ferret didn’t hate other ferrets. Anyway, here’s some ferret realities that come with having these beautiful, smart animals

I’ve had Myrtle for 11 months and all in all she has cost me about £1,000. That includes her, her cage, her vet bills, savings for future vets bills, average food costs and other bits and pieces like litter

Yesterday I spent two hours cutting up chicken wings, rabbit and offal. I handle raw meat every day

I wake up earlier now than I used to to feed her. She’s a huge responsibility and I spend a long time playing with her and I’ve learnt a lot of patience

Myrtle is worth every piece of offal I gag a little over, every penny I spend and every poop I pick up. Having her is so rewarding and she has changed my life

I’m sure I will think of some more but I’m tired right now. Ferrets are not an animal to be taken on lightly and it takes a skilled and knowledgeable person to look after them properly. Please make sure you are ready.

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I wanted to talk a bit about common ferret diseases. Sadly it’s likely that you will encounter at least 1 of these in your life, so it pays to know what the warning signs are. I also advise setting up a savings account so that you can pay for any treatments needed.

Sadly I’ve had to deal with the top 3 over the last few years, but I knew what I was dealing with so was able to work with my vet to get the best treatment I could.

Insulinoma- http://www.2ndchance.info/insulinoma.htm

Adrenal- http://www.2ndchance.info/ferretadrenal.htm

Lymphoma- http://www.2ndchance.info/lymphomaferret.htm

ECE (This is highly contagious!)- http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/med/green.html

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Feeding Ferrets Raw- A Beginners Guide

Ferrets are designed to eat only other animals, so by switching to a balanced raw diet you can control what they eat much better. They are obligate carnivores. This means they should only eat meat, organs, bone and fur. They cannot digest fruits, veg or grains and over a prolonged period it can damage their health. Things your ferret can eat (This is not an exhaustive list, but will give you an idea of what you can give them)… Chicken Turkey Quail Beef Lamb Mice Guinea Fowl Duck Pigeon Rats Guinea Pig Rabbit Goat

Different Types Of Raw Diets- Frankenprey: This is a balanced diet made up of a certain percentage of meat, bone and organs to mimic the ratios they’d get if they were eating a whole prey diet. Whole Prey: This involves feeding whole animals to your ferrets. As it’s the entire animal, it’s already balanced for you. You just need to make sure you feed at least 3 different types of animal. For example you could feed whole chicken, whole rabbit and whole mice on a rotation. Commercial Grind: This is whole prey minced into a grind. Check ingredients list for ratio of bone etc to help you balance it. You want it to have heart and bone included. Also watch out for veggies as some have them added. Mixture: Another option is a mixture of frankenprey, whole prey and grinds. You just need to decide how many whole prey meals you feed in a week and then you can work out what ratio of meat, bone and organs you need to feed (More on this later!) TIP: Once you are fully switched onto a raw diet buy a white board and write out your weekly menu, so you know exactly what you are feeding and when. The Big Switch- Some ferrets are easy to switch and you will find they gobble everything up. If so, then great! Keep going and keep trying them with new foods until you can get a balanced diet. Start with the soft stuff, then work towards small mammals with bone, like mice and chicks. Some ferrets won’t realise that meat is food. This is because ferrets imprint on food when they are young. If they’ve always had kibble, then they won’t understand meat is food. If they don’t want anything to do with it, don’t be discouraged. You may have to be sneaky! It’s All About The Goo! Soupies are a great place to start your switch. There are quite a few recipes out there, but here is the one I know several people have used with great success. Feel free to use a different meat if you don’t want to use chicken. CHICKEN GOO RECIPE by Alex van den Boom Get large chicken legs (with skin etc.) – about 1 kg. Cut off as much of the meat as possible. Cook the bones, skin and yucky bits for about half an hour until you have a nice broth with lots of fat floating on top. Remove any remaining meat from the bones (depending on your blender you may also have to remove the cartilage) and throw them out. Allow to cool. Once the broth has cooled down, add the raw meat and any other ingredients you may want (I usually include a 500mg human grade pure calcium pill or some bonemeal and a few squirts of salmon oil – some people also use presoaked kibble, eggs etc.) Blend until smooth I tend to give my fuzzies the first batch immediately and freeze the rest in small containers (per portion). You can even use ice cube trays. After thawing I sometimes add a whisked egg if I want all of them to share it and to give them a change in taste.

This isn’t balanced, so shouldn’t be fed as a staple, but it’s good to start to get them used to meat. See if they will eat it out of a bowl. If not put some on your finger and see if they will lick it off. Sometimes they are more likely to eat it of they sit on your knee. If all of that fails, just dab a bit on your fuzzies nose and let them go about their day, then do it again a few minutes later. Sometimes adding warm water to the soupie can help. This step can take some time, but persevere and you will get there. Once your fuzzer will eat it from a bowl and they are happy with the goo, try adding some heart to the recipe and blend it in. The next step is small slivers of meat about the size of the crescent of your thumbnail. Just add a couple and see how they do. Then add a few more. When they are good with that you can add small chunks of meat and start to lessen the goo. Now it’s time to start your ferrets on bone. Chicken wings are good as they are fairly easy to eat and will help build their jaw muscles up, so they can eat other larger bones safely. After this it’s just about trying them with new and different things. If they don’t seem keen on something, try hand feeding or blending it into the goo and go from there. TIP: Covering new foods in healthy treats like salmon oil can get them used to an unusual taste. Balancing your menu- There are different types of meats you need to feed if you go for Frankenprey. Muscle Meat: is basically any standard unseasoned meat like chicken or beef. This also includes heart. Bone in Meat: This is any sort of meat that has bones your ferret can eat. This includes things like quail, chicken wings, duck necks, rabbit, turkey ribs. Organ Meat: Liver, kidney, pancreas, lung etc. Let’s work on the premise that you feed twice a day, 7 days a week. That’s 14 meals. Out of those 14 meals, they should be broken down as follows: 1.5 meals of heart 1.5 meals of organ 7-9 bone in meals 4-6 muscle meat meals

The reason I’ve added 7-9 bone in meals instead of one definite number is because different ferrets need different amounts of bone. You should be paying attention to their poop. Too runny and you need to up your bone in meals. Too firm and you need to up your muscle meat.

Here is a breakdown of an average menu. It’s important to not feed too much liver as this can cause vitamin A toxicity.

To ensure your ferrets are getting as much nutrition as possible you need to feed at least 3 different proteins. So you could feed duck, rabbit and mice on rotation. You don’t need to stop at 3 though, variety is the spice of life and the more things you can get your ferrets to eat, the better! Balancing different types of raw- The best thing to do is decide how many whole prey or complete commercial grinds you are going to feed in a week. You then subtract that number of meals from the 14 you generally feed in a week. The Holistic Ferret Forum have made a fantastic table to help you work this out and it can be found here- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PE7zTHkmZGV9_T9ChjbsHVLgWd7U9Vip_zQN-qm85gs/edit# Useful Links- www.holisticferret60.proboards.com https://youtu.be/PDGYCjJK-FA https://youtu.be/ezC13A6Pq40 www.kiezebrink.co.uk http://www.naturaw.co.uk/

Please please do your research before fully comitting to this. The info above is to give you a guide, but you still need to look in the links and learn all the things there are to know!

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Ferrets make great pets, especially if you work as they tend to sleep quite a lot.

As long as you have a couple of fuzzers to keep each other company and you can give your ferrets at least 3 hours free roam time a day!

Here are a few things you should consider before adopting ferrets…

Can you house them somewhere spacious and safe? A lot of cages don’t have enough room for ferrets to live an enriched life, so choose carefully. In my opinion the only cages I’ve seen that seem ok are the ferret/critter nation cages and the savic royale cages. Have you thought of housing them in a ferret proofed room instead?

Can you give them at least 1 room they can free roam in for a minimum of 3 hours every day?

Can you afford to feed them the best quality food you can find? Whether you go for raw or kibble, do your research and only feed the best. It’s better to mix a few brands together with kibble just incase you can’t get hold of 1 for some reason. This link can help- http://ferretedu.weebly.com/ferret-food-chart.html

If your ferret had to go to the vet right now, could you afford to take them? You never know when you may end up with an expensive vets trip on the cards, so try and set up a savings account or keep a credit card on stand by for emergencies.

Ferret proofing is necessary. If there’s nowhere that can be ferret proofed in your house, then where will your ferret be able to play? A permanently caged ferret will get bored and stressed so please make sure they have somewhere to run about!

Do you have time to interact with your ferrets? Most ferrets love being around people and will follow you about and even try to play with you!

Try and adopt from a shelter if you can. There are a lot of abandoned fuzzers out there, and especially if you are a 1st time ferrets owner a ferret that’s a year or older will likely have been nip trained and not be as crazy as a baby ferret!

Ferrets can be hard work, they knock things over, poop where you don’t want them to, nip sometimes, eat things they shouldn’t and are little terrors at times. If you have a spotless house and you want to keep it that way, then ferrets are probably not for you!

Ferrets are fantastic pets and I love them so much! If you have any more questions just let me know.

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Wood shavings for ferret bedding???

Pet stores use wood shavings as bedding. Should I?

In short, no. Many pet stores and some breeders use cedar or pine shavings as bedding/cage lining for their ferrets, but it is not recommended. Cedar in particular has been associated with allergies and respiratory problems in various animals, including, for example, humans and rabbits, but pine and other woods also produce a fair amount of dust and such which isn’t very good to breathe. Why take the chance?

Furthermore, wood shavings are completely unnecessary. Ferrets are more like cats than hamsters: they’ll be quite happy with a clean towel or old T-shirt placed in a small “bedroom box” or basket for sleeping. Sure, some pet stores and breeders use shavings, but they don’t really have the option of using towels.

Dr. Williams’ articleOf course, it would be better if pet stores didn’t use wood shavings either. Corn cob bedding is just as convenient for them and is dust-free and safe. If you need some authoritative information to convince your pet store to stop using wood shavings, here’s an article by Dr. Bruce Williams, DVM:

WHY NOT CEDAR SHAVINGS?

For years, cedar shavings have been used as bedding for many species of small mammals including ferrets. Over the last ten years, increasing evidence is cropping up that this may not be a good choice.

Cedar shavings, as well as other aromatic soft woods, such as white and yellow pines, release volatile hydrocarbons which affect those animals living in them. Plicatic acid, a volatile hydrocarbon, results in asthma in humans and rabbits. Other hydrocarbons result in changes in the liver, which may impair its ability to detoxify certain drugs, including various anesthetic agents. Cedar shavings have also been incriminated in increased mortality in rat pups, and various scientists over the years have alluded to possible carcinogenicity. In chicken litter, cedar shavings harbored more bacteria than other types of litter.

On the more practical side, a 1986 article in Lab Animal evaluated many of the common bedding materials, also including hardwood chips, sawdust, paper chips, newspaper, ground corncob, rabbit pellets, straw, and hay (along with several others) for the following: absorbency, dust, endogenous effects on the animal, cost, use in nesting, and disposability. In all categories, cedar shavings was not recommended. Interestingly enough, paper products and heat-treated softwood chips scored highest overall.

In my experience, ferrets are happiest in old sweatshirt or towels, which rarely cause problems. Beware, however, the bored caged ferret, who may ingest parts of these items for lack of other stimulation, and obtain a gastrointestinal foreign body in the process.

References:

1. Weichbrod RH et al. Selecting bedding material. Lab Anim. Sept 1986, pp.25-29. 2. Kraft LM. The manufacture, shipping, receiving, and quality control of rodent bedding materials. Lab Animal Sci. 1980 pp. 366-372. 3. Weichbrod RH et. al. Effects of Cage Beddings on Microsomal Oxidative Enzymes in Rat Liver. Lab Animal Sci. 38(3): 296-298, 1988. 4. Hessler, JR. Design and Management of Animal Facilities. In Laboratory Animal Medicine, JG Fox, ed. Academic Press Inc, Orlando. 1984. 5. Chan H. et al. A rabbit model of hypersensitivity to plicatic acid, the agent responsible for red cedar asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 79(5) : 762-767.

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my bf got a ferret. she stinky

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Fuzzer tongue!