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The Complete Ferret Book Chapter 3
FIRST THINGS FIRST
To start with you must purchase the cage. Cages can be found at most of the larger pet stores or if you have the
time you can build a cage. Homebuilt cages are often harder to keep clean , and beacause most people build them
from wood they can transmit disease. I recomend a purchasing a cage , in the long run you'll be glad you did. Once
you have purchased ,or built ,the cage and you know it's size you can decide where your pet will live. The cage does
not have to be in the same room that you ferret proof for play, even so you must make sure that nothing can be
reached from within the cage and that nothing could fall onto the cage. It is important that you have a few old
towels and some old sweatshirts or t-shirts for bedding. Your ferret will love to have something soft to curl up within
and his bedding will have to be changed every few days. For your food and water dishes I reccomend a water bottle
with a food dish securly fastened to the cage. As I have mentioned before ferrets are very playful and an
unfastened food dish is an empty food dish. For the same reason the litter box must also be secured. Always make
sure the litter box is on the opposite side of the cage from the food and water, this prevents dirty litter from
contaminating them.
Your next step is ferret proofing the play area, as I stated in chapter 2 there should be a minimum amount of
furniture. Recliners, rockers and sofa beds often result in tragedy. Ferrets have a habit of digging their way into
your furniture, retreiving them can be difficult. Also if your pet gets into the furniture there is the possibility they
could be sat upon and injured,or even killed. All power cords, ornaments, and plants must be out of reach. Ferrets
love to climb so out of reach means WAY out of reach. Again if it is at all possible try to give your ferret his own
room to avoid this. Corner litter pans are also a necessity. A ferret usually prefers to use a corner for the
washroom so to start with place a low pan in each corner. After a while they will choose a couple of spots they
prefer to use and you can move the pans accordingly.
Now you can worry about food, toys etc... There are many different foods on the market and making a choice can
be difficult, I reccomend ' IAMS KITTEN' with Nutri-treat supplement, our babies have lovely soft coats and are
very healthy. Do not feed your ferret inexpensive or generic cat food, they do not have the nescessary nutrients
and your fuzzie's health could suffer.
Our final topic before I give you a complete list of supplies is toy safety. This is basically the same it is for small
children. Make sure there are no small bits your ferret could choke on or swallow.Make sure your ferret can not
rip the toy apart . Small bits and pieces of foriegn material will get lodged in your pets intestine and cause blockage
and death, at the least you will be in for a very expensive surgery.(Better safe than sorry)
LIST OF SUPPLIES
1) cage
2) bedding & towels
3) brush
4) nailclippers
5) mild shampoo
6) food dishes
7) water bottle
8) stuffy & squeaky toys
9) harness & leash
10) food
11) treats
12) litter
13) litter trays
The Complete
Ferret Book chapter 4
An
Introduction to Ferrets