Symptom Chart

Every now and again, your beloved pet ferret will get sick. It may be something simple such as a flu or something more complex such as insulinoma. The best thing that you can do is to be aware of changes in your pet's behaviour and what such changes could mean. Here is a link to the Ferret Association of Connecticut's SYMPTOM CHART for ferrets. This is by no means a comprehensive list of symptoms and illnesses, but it is a pretty decent little guide.

Ferret Rooms - examples

For all those who are thinking of creating a ferret room, here are a few sample rooms for you:


This room has easily accessible food and water, room to run, tunnels to play in, a cage, a lots of fresh water available, a large water container for fishing and a dresser filled with novel objects for the ferrets to sleep in and explore. Second dresser, empty boxes and ferret tents not shown.

This room contains a cage for the ferrets to sleep and eat in, a variety of tunnels to play with, soft carget to rub on and scratch, litters, a dirt filled dig box. Over sized water dish for toy fishing, crinkle bag, crinkle pants and toy box not shown.

This is a more simple ferret room. It contains plenty of running room, a few tunnels, some food and water, a cage for napping and a variety of different beds, from stuffed fish to kennels.








This ferret room contains a nice cage for napping, a special ferret cat tree, a giant pool for water play and drinking, empty boxes, an octoplay, some ferret tents and other beds and even an intricate tunnel system (which can be seen in the far left corner)









This ferret room contains nice cages for napping, plenty of beds, a ferret cat tree, a suspended hammock, tunnels which lead into a dig box and laundry basket for napping and exploring as well as some nice carpet pieces for the ferrets to rub on.

Creating a Ferret Room - Tips

Ferrets like fun, but need to be protected from themselves. Once you pick a ferret-safe room, here are a few tips on how to make it your dream ferret room! Whether you will let your ferrets out in the room all the time or only during the day is up to you, just make sure that it is a fun place for them to be!

1) A large water dish is a must for both the ferret's health and as a great toy! Many ferrets enjoy splashing in water and some will even spend hours fishing toys out! A water source which cannot easily be spilled and is big enough for the ferrets to play in is a great thing. If you are concerned about protecting the flooring underneath, you can consider placing such a toy on a plastic boot tray - the tray will contain the water and protect the floor. Safe toys for putting in the water include dura rings, disks and balls which are made of hard rubber and float, kongs, nylabones, hard plastic baby toys (with no small removable pieces). Be sure to inspect any toys left in the room daily and discard them when they begin to wear. Rubber duckies and other soft latex toys are not recommended for unsupervised play.

2) Tunnels!!! Plastic drier tubes with the wire ends taped off (so long as your ferret does not like to chew duct or electrical tape) can be wrapped around objects such as chairs or cat trees, tangled into a mess or taken out along the edges of the room. Most ferrets LOVE to play in tunnels, and best of all, these tunnels are cheap and can easily be replaced when damaged! Empty carpet and hard plastic water pipes also work. As do plastic ferret tunnels.

3) Crinkly objects such as cat crinkle bags, crinkle tunnels or even crinkle pants can often be found at most pet stores, and sometimes even at your local thrift store. They are much safer than plastic bags for unsupervised play, and just as fun for your ferrets!

4) Beds. Lots of beds. They can be as simple as boxes with blankets or as fancy as an octoplay - ferrets LOVE having a variety of beds to choose from.










5) Cat trees with low perches and soft beds can provide your ferret with quite a bit of entertainment. Most ferrets will enjoy rubbing against and scratching at the material of the cat tree, as well as curling up in the cubby holes.

6) Dressers. I know of one person that has taken old dressers and transformed them into fun ferret play zones. Dresser drawers are filled with bedding, crinkle paper and novel objects. The contents of the drawers are often rearranged and the ferrets LOVE climbing the dresser from within to see what novel objects are located in each drawer! If you are concerned about your ferret falling from a height, simply remove the top drawers.


7) Dig Boxes are always great, and the nice thing about having them in the ferret room is that if the ferret makes a mess with them, its less of a problem! I have two different types in my ferret room - one rice and one dirt. I alternate between boxes to keep things fresh - when they get tired of the rice, out comes the dirt and vice versa!

8) Litter boxes. In every corner.

9) Food. Food should be available at all times.

10) Their cage for when they are done playing.

Creating a Ferret Room - What and Why?

What is a ferret room?
A ferret room is a ferret-safe space devoted entirely to your pet ferrets. Ferret rooms often contain the ferret's cage as well as several ferret-safe toys and beds. The purpose of a ferret room is not to act as a substitute for human attention or play, nor is it meant to be a place to confine your animal 24/7. A ferret room is meant to provide your ferret with totally safe play area that the ferret can run around in unsupervised while you are at school, work, meetings, out with friends etc.

What are the advantages of having a ferret room?
So you already have a nice, big cage, why bother with a ferret room? Well, ferret rooms have certain advantages.

First and foremost, ferret rooms enable your furry friends to run around and burn off some of their excess energy while you are away. This tends to lead to slightly less hyper ferrets when you come home. Once or twice, after introducing a brand new dig box or similarly exiting new toy, I went to let my ferrets out of their room only to find them too exhausted from playing to come out!

Secondly, ferret rooms lend themselves well to situations in which you must have two playtimes. With a ferret room, alternating play times is much simpler. When you are home, ferret group A gets to be out of the ferret room while group B gets the run of the house. After a few hours, you switch - this way both ferret groups are able to have more run time.

Ferret rooms are much easier to rearrange and more mentally stimulating to your ferrets - simply adding a few boxes and moving a few tunnels stimulates your ferrets and provides enrichment.

Finally, ferret rooms are great for owners who feel guilty about having to leave their fuzzies to go to work. It is much easier to leave if you know that they will be playing and running while you are out rather than sitting in their cages watching the minutes tick by until your return.

Helping Fear Biters

Every so often, ferret lovers and future owners stumble across a ferret that has learned to fear people. Fearful ferrets may run and hide, fluff up, cringe, become stiff when handled and even bite their new owners. Fortunately, with some time, patience and positive reinforcement, fearful ferrets can be rehabilitated.
Before beginning to teach your new ferret that you are his friend and not his enemy, it is important to put yourself in his 'shoes'. Consider the fact that this ferret has been handled roughly and possibly even abused by creatures more than 100 times bigger then them, that these giant creatures were sources of pain, discomfort and suffering, and that the ferret has no reason to believe that you will be any different.

Here are some basic tips for helping you rehabilitate your fearful ferret:

1) Let him get settled in. Offer your new ferret some food, water and toys and leave him be for the rest of that day - chances are that he is freaked out enough by all the changes.

2)Be gentle, calm and quiet. Do not make loud noises or sudden movements while handling your ferret. Speak to him gently and in a friendly tone, similar to the one that you would use to soothe a baby.

3) If he will take treats, feed him treats when you pick him up, this way he learns that you = treats rather than pain. Most ferrets enjoy oil - Salmon Oil or Ferretone - as a treat. If the ferret has never tried oils before, placing a small squirt on a plate and leaving it out for the ferret to sample at his own pace would be recommended. If you are able, putting some ON the ferret (gently) to encourage him to clean it off should give him the opportunity to taste the oil. Oil is a particularly useful treat because it encourages LICKING instead of BITING which can come in handy later.

4) If he bites out of fear, be prepared for the bites to be hard and try to avoid them. Do not take the bites personally. Remember - he thinks that he is fighting for his life.

5) When on the receiving end of a bite, a pitiful "OW" will be more effective than a harsh "OW! NO!" Nose flicking or similar aggressive behaviours will reinforce the ferret's perception that humans are bad and should be avoided.

6) If he hides from you, go over to the hiding place and speak gently to him. Do not attempt to grab him or remove him from the hiding place unless you absolutely need to.

7) Let him out to play. He will be tough to get back into his cage, this is true, but ferrets need at least four hours of out time a day. Play time is something that many ferrets that come from abusive situations have never experienced before and this ability to run around without violent encounters may help the ferret realize that you will not harm him. It is also a good opportunity for him to see you play with (and not harm) your other ferrets or other pets in your household.

8) If your ferret is a fear biter, use the "no bite grip" while gently talking to him and petting him. Hold him in this manner for no more than a few minutes at a time when he is new and gradually increase the time as he begins to learn that you will not harm him. *If the ferret is injured or the no bite grip cannot be used, gloves can be used as a substitute. It is important to bear in mind, however, that gloves can make the prospect of being held even more frightening to a fearful ferret.

9) Hang out in the same area as the ferret (in a quiet part of the home) so that he has the chance to get used to your presence. These are not interaction opportunities (unless the ferret approaches you, you largely ignore him; you can chat with him a bit if you like, but do not reach for him). This allows the ferret to get used to your smell and presence in a non-threatening way, and at his own pace.

10) Gradually increase handling time using the no bite-hold. Doing so while offering treats or after a nice, big snack might be a good idea. If the ferret manages to grab your hand, do not release him immediately - you don't want him to associate BITE = FREE. Instead keep your cool and hold him for a count of five after the bite.

Rehabilitation does take a lot of time and patience and remember, not all of the above approaches work for every ferret - it is best to try a few different techniques and figure out what works for your new ferret. If you feel as though rehabilitating the fearful ferret is too much to handle, consider taking him to a local ferret specific shelter or rescue; ferret shelters and rescues often have more experienced owners capable of dealing with the issue.

Good Luck!