What Makes The Perfect Ferret Home

Ferrets are inquisitive and sociable little animals but they will need a place to call their own.  So what makes the perfect ferret home?

Firstly, they will need a safe space they can run around and live happily in.  You will need to provide a large, sturdy cage, preferably one with several storeys in.  The frame will need to be of a good quality wire and the gaps between the wires should not be too large, you don’t want your fuzzy to escape and if his head can go through, the rest of him is likely to follow.

Make sure that the floor of the cage, as well as any runways between levels have a good solid base and are not wire.  Remember that ferrets are quite small and their feet can get stuck in gaps, their paw pads are quite tender as well and can develop sores on wire floors.  If your cage has these then lay a solid floor in there before introducing fuzzy to his new home.  You should check the cage frequently, about once a month or so to make sure that there is no evidence of chewing or other damage to the floor or any other part of the cage.  If so, then remove and replace the damaged part immediately.

Make sure your cage has a good locking mechanism.  Ferrets can be quite good at working out how to open cage doors and you don’t want him to escape in the night or when you are not there.

The cage will need to have at least 2 sleeping areas and separate toilet and eating areas.  Make sure that food and water dishes are proportionate to the size of the cage and quite heavy and difficult for fuzzy to tip over whether full or empty.  If this is not possible then you should secure the dishes to the floor of the eating area, but make sure that you can take them out to clean them.  The same goes for litter trays.

Ferrets spend at least 18 hours a day asleep and will need at least 2 bedrooms.  One of them should be covered and filled with lots of soft bedding for him to burrow into.  Choose a natural bedding but do not use wood shavings, these can harm feet and some barks are toxic to ferrets.  Instead, go for something fleecy and warm to make him feel safe and secure in his sleep.

For the second bed go for a hammock.  Because ferrets don’t sweat they can suffer heat stroke in hot weather.  Give them somewhere lighter to sleep and because ferrets love to climb they will have great fun getting in and out of it as well as enjoying the rocking motion from being suspended on a bed in the air.

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About the Author:
Stuart Green is a ferret enthusiast with a passion for sharing information on ferret care.If you want to learn more about preparing your ferret home why not visit Stuart’s site at http://www.ferretcarejunction.com where you can sign up for a free 10 part mini-course as well as find other useful resources on looking after your ferret.
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