Care For Your New Ferret
You’ve done your research and you’ve decided that a ferret is the best pet for you. Ferrets can be a delightful addition to your life and your home. The incredible little animals can be trained to use a litter box just like cats do. However, you don’t want to let your new pet have the run of your house until you’ve taken a few precautions to keep your ferret safe.
Ferret Litter Training
Naturally, you should never let a new animal have the run of your house. First, it needs to get used to its new surroundings from the safety and comfort of its cage until you feel comfortable letting it wander freely around your home.
You’ll want to teach it to use a litter box, too. The more time you devote to litter training your ferret the better results you will achieve. After proper training most ferrets will use the litter box most of the time, but you still might find the odd “accident” around the house. Be prepared to spend several hours a day for several months to get your ferret properly litter trained.
The best way to start litter training your ferret is to give it the run of a very small room, such as a bathroom, first. Usually ferrets will want to go shortly after waking up or eating. Start the training by putting your ferret in the littler box when it first wakes up. Don’t let it out of the litter box until it has gone to the bathroom.
Reward it with a treat when it has done its business. You’re trying to associate going in the litter box with receiving a treat. Never, ever physically punish a ferret for any reason. The use of such punishment will only serve to make them fear you, not associate what they did with the punishment.
If you plan to let you ferret have the run of the house, you’ll have to resign yourself to cleaning up after them from time to time.
Ferret Proofing Your Home
Before you allow your ferret to have the run of the house, you’ll also need to “ferret proof” it. That simply means making your home safe for your ferret.
Ferrets are curious creatures by nature and will find their way into small spaces. You can be pretty sure that if their head will fit into a space, their bodies can follow. You’ll need to crawl around your home looking for small holes, crevices, anywhere you think your ferret might be able to slip into.
Check every room that you plan to allow your ferret to have access to. Include appliances on your list of things to check for small holes. Ferrets will be able to get inside some type of refrigerators and could get hurt on the fan.
Dryer venting can also look like a fun play area to a ferret. The could potentially rip a hole in plastic venting and then get outside through the dryer vent.
Sofas can be a dangerous place for ferrets, too. Many of them have a thick fabric lining underneath that ferrets can easily get through and then get up into the springs of the sofa.
Many new ferret owners would love to have their pets get the exercise they need by having the run of the house. However, it is important that you offer your new pet a safe place to run.
