Hi folks, I just got my first ferret today, she's a rescue ferret from the SPCA and is one year old. When I went to collect her just today they said at the rescue centre 'Ahhh you're lucky to have such a nice ferret, she's totally sweet and not nippy at all'. So I have brought her home and just introduced hetr to her new extra large cage she has now run aropund several times loking for the best exit and having a general explore. I have a few questions: When should I start handling her? She seems fine with being picked up, so far I've only picked her up to take her out of the travel case and into the cage and she was fine with that. I opened the door just now tho and offered her my hands to smell and she took a few fairly firm nibbles, not fully 'teeh in' but definately firm enough to make me think twice and shut the door again! She's had but a half hour or so to settle in and explore the new cage tho so I guess that's kind of normal but would like to hear your thoughts on the matter! I've heard it's good to get them out in a room with you so that you can get introduced in a kind of mutual space? The second question is toilet training, she's had none so far and never used a litter tray. I have one on the bottom level of her cage but the moment she got in the cage she went and had a piss in the corner of the mid level on top of a litle straw/grass house thing I'd got from the pet shop. I'm wondering if I should move the litter tray there now but she's since explored the litter tray and likes just diging in it :) ...any helpful hints? I guess I should go on youtube for more info as there's a wealth of vids I've found on all sorts but I do love a good forum and would love to hear anything anyone has to say on the above. I'm sure I've plenty more questions but that'll do for now I think. Cheers folks.

I think the sooner you handle the sooner she gets to know you.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

She is in a new environment.  There is lots of new stuff to check out, new smells, new schedule, etc.
Give her some time to settled into her new home. 

 I like to keep my new comers in the ferret room. This is block off from the rest of house.  I let them out to explorer the room on their own.  After hour or so, I would go back into the room and sit down on the floor.  I wait until the little one comes up to me. If little one is going to bit.  I usually have a stuff animal near me on the floor.  I use this to push the little one away.  This works in our house hold.


Litter box training:


Bring them down to one level.....ground floor. 

Place a high back litter box/rectangle cat litter box on one side of cage. 

On the other side of the cage:  in one corner food bowl.  Other corner water bowl/bottle. 

Place low hanging hammock for them to sleep in. 

Cover the floor with blankets/toys 

Make sure all corners are covered. 

Leave poop in litter box.  Remind them it's the potty area.  Once they start going, then you can scoop it out. 


Don't be in hurry to put the shelves back. Make sure you re enforce this behavior. 

Good luck

Hey thanks for that wenmister, great advice! I'll give it a shot. Cheers

All the fuzzies we have brought home.. baby or adult rescues,, we couldn't help but not keep our hands off them.. Rosa our serious biter got the same treatment.. Only difference is we held her in a way that she really couldn't reach around to bite.. But we never forced the hold.. if she started getting really wiggly we let her down.. Wanted her to learn she don't need to bite to get down.. 
Anyway,, If this little girl was so sweet at the shelter and never bit anyone.. I suspect she is maybe testing you as a new person to see what she can get away with.. You need to tell her NO in no uncertain terms if she is mouthing you and you don't want it... Don't act scared.. She is smart she will pick up on that.. Don't remove your hand from the cage.. just Tell her loudly no and go about doing something else.. move her food bowl,, move her bedding whatever.. Just so she knows she didn't boss you out of the cage.. Remove your hands when you want to.. Not when she tells you to.. That would be my advice..  Also I like the idea of a stuffed toy or something to deflect her..  Make sure you have it with you for the next couple days and if she looks like she may try to nip you distract her with the item.. but keep going about your business as I said before.. Last thing you want is for her to figure you are a bit scared of her.. She really isn't scary she is just trying to figure out her new digs.. Make sure from the start she knows you are the boss at least when it comes to handling and putting your hands in her cage.. Other then that.. That ferret is gonna make you her door mat.. They are fantastic for that..lol but in a fun way.. So many of us have completely even changed houses just to have a place more set up for the fuzzies.. Nothing wrong with spoiling her.. Just don't let her boss you with nipping its not a trait you want her to develop.. She will learn more cute and loving ways to get you to do her bidding.. lol

I agree with the above advice on litter box training.. One level to start.. as she gets dependable you can open up the levels.. 

Goodluck.. She sounds Cheeky :P

Yea she's well cheeky!! she just drew blood but I was poking through the bars of the cage, I did then shout ouch!! and she looked a bit timid, but I'm making a special ferret room now so we can hang out without the bard between us :) again great advice thanks :)

Next question, when can I take her out on the lead, I've read that I should get her used to a harness first...but I want to take her out right away...?

As for the harness, it's best to put one on her at home and let her get used to it, at least for 10-15 minutes before you try to take her out on  one.  After that she should be fine, but you need to make sure the fit is right before you trust it.  Ferrets are notorious escape artists.   Back in the day, both Dar24 and I tried the Marshall's vest harness and the test ferrets got out of it in a minute, so don't waste money on that.  The harness needs to be snug, so that you can get a pinky finger under it.  

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

MrCat


Next question, when can I take her out on the lead, I've read that I should get her used to a harness first...but I want to take her out right away...?

Work on getting her comfortable in her new environment and bonding with you.

Take her outside and walk around with her in your arms.  She will think of mom as a safe area...while she takes in the view.  Give it some time, after all she in her's forever home....you got lots of time.  Get to know your fuzzie.

I hope this helps

I agree with Wenmister,, give her some time to adjust to her new home.. The biggest reason for this is safety.. The more she comes to feel the inside of your house is home.. The less likely she will get outside and get lost.. So many ferrants have been broken hearted by their ferrets escaping and not coming back.. Once she feels at home it definately is a good idea to begin harness training and taking her for walks around the house.. Showing her where all the doors are.. We have had several get out by accident.. But all of em just came running to one of the doors and we were able to recover them.. I do feel walking them around the yard gave them the knowledge they needed to  know where home is.. 

Most ferrets will take to a harness eventually,, but depending on her temperment she could throw some really big tantrums at first when you put one on her.. Safer to allow her to do that inside your house then out in the yard and she gets out of it.. 

You should see if she responds to a squeeky toy.. Many a time we got ours back because they would come running to a squeeky toy.. Plus you really want her to know her name before you venture out so you can call her if she does slip out of the harness.. Just my advice... I love to take mine for walks but you have to be on high alert when out with them.. 

We carry ours all the time to go get the mail.. then let them walk us home.. haha.. emphasis on WALKING us.. they don't walk in a straight line most the time and they do like to take their sweet time getting anywhere.. haha

wenmister

MrCat


Next question, when can I take her out on the lead, I've read that I should get her used to a harness first...but I want to take her out right away...?

Work on getting her comfortable in her new environment and bonding with you.

Take her outside and walk around with her in your arms.  She will think of mom as a safe area...while she takes in the view.  Give it some time, after all she in her's forever home....you got lots of time.  Get to know your fuzzie.

I hope this helps

Yeah, I should have stressed that she needs to be comfortable at home first.  Also, I would let her explore outside around the house as she gets used to walkies, so in case she gets out she knows where the door is, and in case she gets off the lead.  We've had only two ferrets that were really good on the lead in that they would go where we wanted, but Eddie got familiar enough with his walk route that after about 2 months of near nightly walks I trusted him off the lead.  They seem to not like being out for walkies in the daytime much as at night, but we're in Florida, so I'm not sure if it's the heat or the light or both.


I'd give her a week before waling outside around the house, but if you want to take her with you in the car, put on the harness and carry her.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

Ok, this all sounds good. I'm in scotland so it's a bit chilly just now! I feel a bit cruel somehow confining her to one level of the cage for potty training but hey I guess it's got to happen. I'm building her a special room today so we can hang out. Well I'm fencing off half a room with some chicken wire as I live in a couple of big static caravans joined together and there's so many places I wouldn't want her ferreting about! This way we can hang out together out of the cage. Thanks for all the tips, I'm sure I'll be back later :) About the litter tray...seeing as she's taken to using a corner on the middle level of the cage, and the bottom level is the coldest, would it be ok to put the litter tray in that corner on the mid level and confine her there until she gets used to using it, then move it down to the bottom level later or would that be confusing do you think?

I think its best to start where she has chosen to go herself.. You aren't gonna be able to convince her to not go there.. if you are able to make that area smaller then by all means start there.. If she is already just going in that one spot.. You job may be almost already done... :)

Ha! Thanks Dar...seems kind of obvious really in retrospect :D Why bother trying to get her to go anywhere else, I'll just shove the litter tray there and hope it works, job done I guess! I've got cat litter in the tray just now, what do other folk use and is there anything they might prefer? There's some wood shavings in the corner she's going so I guess it makes sense to put some of those in the tray too.

Keep in mind that ferrets have very sensitive respiratory tracts.  Choose litter that is non toxic, litter should be absorbency, fragrance free.  If you ferret is post - op, choose a softer litter. 

*Paper pelleted recycled paper is very good litter for ferrets if it is changed frequently. It has no odor of its own, is very absorptive, and is easy to handle 

*Newspaper  folded in the litter box.  Drawback to this is that paper trained ferrets do not distinguish between their paper and your unread paper if it is left on the floor.  Shredded paper is very hard to handle when it becomes wet.  Harder to clean  the litter box. 

*Corncob litter and plain newspaper are not very absorbent and therefore will not absorb odor well either. 

*Swheat scoop ferret litter - This is made from 100% all natural wheat.  This product has tiny granules can be easily ingested.  Ferret love to dig Swheat .  Swheat  is not easy to scoop, due to tiny granule size.  More expensive than other litters. 

*Wood shaving - cedar and pine is toxicity to small animals, that included ferrets.  These oils release vapors, which then can cause the respiratory damage. 

*Clay, clumping litter and some coarse clay litters are very dusty and can cause sneezing, especially when young kits ferrets dig and burrow in it. 

If the nose is wet, fine clumping litter can get stuck up ferret's nose.  Causing respiratory infections. 

Fine clump litter can also stick to the  ferret's butt causing infections.  Such as, stick to the vulva of females, causing irritation and increasing their susceptibility to urinary tract infections. 

*Clay litter is sticky! - This can cause the clay to stick to your ferret's feet, coat or behind as it scoots after doing its business 

*The litter can then be ingested as the ferret cleans him or herself or may work its way into the anal opening and cause a block or prolapsed rectum . 

*It can also get into the ferrets eyes, nose and ears if you ferret decides to go snorkeling in it. 

*When you mix clay with any liquid - including urine, saliva, tears, etc - cement is formed. These chunks of cemented clay can cause a wide variety of health problems for your ferret including an intestinal blockage 

*Clay litter produces dust. Ferrets have very sensitive respiratory systems and this dust can cause damage to the throat and lungs over a period of years. 

*There are also other types of litter that can cause respiratory damage over time, not because they are dusty, but because they contain "essential oils".  For example cedar, pine. 

*Clay litter will dry out the coat 

Most people on this forum uses, recycled paper litters and wood pellets  Most cost effective litter is wood pellets. 



Good luck and I hope this helps 
  
Respiratory toxicity of cedar and pine wood - this also applies to ferrets

http://www.ratfanclub.org/litters.html

Thanks, that helped a lot! So I built my special ferret room today, and finally let her out to run about it as I sat in the middle. She ran about sniffing everything like a mad thing as you'd expect, and ran over my lap a few times. In doing so she took a sniff and a few licks on my bare forearms before trying to have a nibble! I put her back in the cage for a bit and went to look at 'training your ferret not to bite' vids on youtube. The long and the short is I've now ordered a bunch of special ferret treats as she doesn't seem so into the malt paste stuff I've got that I see other folk using. No idea why. Not very handy if I cant reward her with stuff she likes! This is the vid I saw... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBs763GWr5s So I tried the hiss and a 'no!' and putting her away from me but hilariously I think she now thinks this is a great game to play. She runs up and bites me and I put her away from me and she runs back. She was no longer interested in the rest of the room and just kept running streight back up me to try and find my hand or arm to bite :( So I eventually put her back in her cage and also ordered up some of that bitter apple spray stuff I might try on my hands as well as a catbox for the 'naughty box' as I don't want her to think her cage is that bad, nor her travel case. The first time I put her back in the cage I felt aweful as she clawed and gnawed at the bars for ages trying to get free again but she's settled down again now. My experience so far, I think it's going to take a bunch of time. I tried some cat toys on strings...she was not even remotely interested. Only in my hands and giving them a taste

In doing so she took a sniff and a few licks on my bare forearms before trying to have a nibble!

Don't let her get you.  I like to have a stuff animal near me.  When the little one comes towards me....push her away with the stuff animal.  Sometimes, I will roll her over on their back and make a game out of it.   Playing with mom is good thing and it's fun.  Have some toys around you to distracted her.


I also like to let them run off their extra energy first and then go into the room and sit down with them.


She might not be imprinted on treats...she doesn't  know what they are.  Give her time...she will figure it out.
Ditch the malt paste...that's all sugar.  Ferrets do not need sugar.


Be patience and consistent with your training.


I hope this help

Right, I did try a little soft toy pushing her away but she viewed it as an obsticle in the way of geting to my hand, I'll just try again and make some playtime out of it, thanks :) Not sure what to use for a reward now tho, does she need rewa\rds? It seems logical in the training process... I ordered some of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001UTM1PM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 and some of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BUFTS1G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00 ... any other suggestions? Cheers

I like to look for treats that are meat base ...no sugar

This is what I pickup for my furkids

Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost Minis Cat Treats

http://www.petco.com/product/122674/Natures-Variety-Instinct-Raw-Boost-Minis-Cat-Treats.aspx


I will also pickup the Duck or chicken Breast strips for them


http://www.healthypets.com/vitalityduckbreast5oz.html?mr:trackingCode=25739EFC-909B-E011-8D66-001517B188A2&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&mr:ad=45500374127&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=33576104619&gclid=CLGygKL58sMCFRRo7AodHEEA6g

Ahhh so cat treats are ok then? I did read that you shoudl be very careful what you give them, lots of other animal treats at the pet store said on the back 'not suitable for ferrets...'