How To Set Up Your First Ferret Cage

Bringing a ferret into your home is very exciting, but it is important to prepare ahead of time for your new pet's arrival. We've made a simple step-by-step process for setting up your very first ferret home.

Photo credit to the South Cheshire Ferret Rescue. 

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Step One: Pick A Home. We never suggest a 1 story cage for a ferret. They are very active creatures and the taller the better. We recommend at least two stories, but as we mentioned before the more space the more comfortable your ferret will be. Cage bars should be no large than 3/4 inch apart. This ensures your ferret's head cannot fit through, because if it does it may strangle itself trying to get out. The cage should have a solid bottom and at least 3 inches of space that can be used to put bedding in. The second story should also be made of a solid bottom- not a caged deck. On barred floors, a ferrets foot can easily slip through the cracks and get stuck (or worse, break).

Step Two: Fill the bottom with at least 2 inches of bedding. Look for aspen beddings. Even coconut substrate and dried moss work well for ferrets. Do not use any evergreen beddings (pine, spruce, etc) as these are harmful to a ferret's respitory system. Why does a ferret's cage need bedding? It helps insulate them and make a comfortable sleeping area. It also allows a bit of a cushion incase your excited critter gets excited and jumps off one of it's shelves. And lastly- it provides sanitation, by absorbing spills of food and water. Remember to remove any wet bedding as soon as you notice it- to prevent rot.

Step Three: Add A Litter Box. Your litter box will be a place where your ferrets can comfortable use the bathroom. It should be placed in the corner of the cage (an instinctual place for ferrets to 'go') and should be filled with at least 2 inches of ferret or all natural 'clay' cat litter.

Step Four: Create A Dinner Table. Add food and water dishes to your ferret habitat. We suggest that food and water dishes be placed securely on a second or third floor. This keeps them far away from the litter box and avoids contamination. Dishes that attach to the side of the cage are great for ferrets because they help keep them from tipping over.

Step Five: Make A Snuggle Area. Add some blankets. In the bottom of your cage, on the opposite side of the litter box place a layer of blankets or cloth items. Ferrets are natural diggers, but unfortunately most 'beddings' are not safe for ferrets. Pine beddings can be toxic and aspen beddings tend to cause eye irritation. That's why we suggest using a layer of blankets (baby blankets work wonderfully). It will give your ferrets and area to dig, stay warm, create tunnels, and rest in peace and dark.

Step Six: Add a 'Tent' Area. A tent area can be placed on any level. Basically a tent area is a dark spot- which can be a shoe box with a hole in one side, a small pet tent, or a ferret tunnel. This is a spot where your ferret can go during the day time and feel comfortable and secure. Make it comfy. You can put cotton fabric, baby blankets, fur, or feathers inside to insulate it. This dark area gives your nocturnal ferrets a sense of privacy and seclusion during the day.

Step Seven: Fill Empty Spaces with Toys & Accessories! Fill your little critter's new home with all sorts of entertaining things. Toys, hammocks, balls, cuddly items, tunnels, and anything that seems remotely entertaining. These items give your ferrets something to do when you are away from home and they cannot be free to run about outside of the cage. Not only do these prevent boredom but the ensure your ferret lives an active, healthy life even when you're away.

Here are some of our top picks for ferret cages.

How To Clean Your Ferret Cage

Ugh, the thought of cleaning dishes sounds exhausting- yet alone the cage of the messiest little creatures on earth. Sometimes scrubbing down that ferret home seems more daunting than worthwhile. So that's why we've decided to help you out a bit- and create a step by step tutorial on getting every bit of that pesky little cage clean. This process should be made at least once a month, but we recommend every two weeks, or as often as your cage begins to smell musky or 'ferrety' as some people would call it.

Photo credit to the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa. 

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Step One: Remove the critters. Put your little guys in a safe playpen where they can frolic around without you having to look over your shoulder every two seconds to make sure they're not getting into some sort of trouble. You want to focus all of your attention on cleaning- so leave the playful one's in a mischief-free zone.

Step Two: Remove all plastic and glass objects. Your food dish, water dish, litter box, and part plastic toys. Empty them all out and set them in a bowl of hot water. This well help begin cleaning them. Just let them sit.

Step Three: Remove all other objects. Blankets, tents, hammocks, cloth toys, and any other soft objects should be set aside. Anything that can be thrown into a washing machine should be put on a delicate cycle and cleaned with hot water- no soap necessary.

Step Four: Remove 'floors' or 'levels'. Any plastic tunnels, ladders, and floors should now be removed. If you have a container large enough to put them into with boiling water, place them in hot water and let them sit. If not, fill up a bathtub with hot water and set them in there.

Step Five: Remove the bedding. Discard of all of the bedding and wipe away any bits of bedding that are left behind. Even a small vacuum can work well for removing all bedding remnants.

Step Six: Get yet another bowl of hot water and a tough scrubber (ones for dishes work great). Take your scrubber, soak it in the hot water, and beginning at the top of your cage scrub down the sides. By starting at the top you will keep the 'ugly dripplings' from hitting an already clean bottom. Once you have finished the sides, grab a clean towel and wipe them down. This will help dry them off as well as pick up any missed bits that are stuck to the bars.

Step Seven: Once finished with the sides you can begin on the bottom level. Just as with the sides, take your scrubber and boiling water and wash it down well. Scrub off any bits that are stuck to the sides. After you have finished scrubbing take a towel and wipe up the excess water- this will once again help pick up any missed pieces that were stuck to the bottom. It will also help dry your cage up. Once the bottom is dry- add fresh new bedding.

Step Seven: Now move onto your 'levels' that you placed in either the bathtub or a large container of hot water. Since they have soaked any messes stuck to them should be easy to wipe away. Using the same scrubber you used for the cage, wipe down your levels, tunnels, and ladders. Once you have finished take them out of the water, dry them with a towel, and place them in the cage.

Step Eight: Go back to your plastic and glass objects (litter box, dishes, and plastic toys) and do the same thing with them. Scrub them down well, dry them off, and place them back into the cage.

Step Nine: Now go to your cloth objects- pull the ones you could wash out of the dryer and place them back in the cage. Take any that you couldn't wash, scrub them with a damp cloth to remove any stains or messes, and set them out to dry. Once they have dried you can place them back in the cage (you can move on to the next step as they dry).

Step Ten: Let your little furries check out their new clean home! By rearranging their home regularly you give them entertainment, a chance to explore, and prevent boredom.

Five Easy Steps to Keeping a Clean Ferret Cage

Ferrets can sometimes be a constant 3 year old child that never knows how to keep a food bowl standing upright or a blanket clean. It's what makes them loveable, but it's also what makes their home so unbelievably difficult to keep sanitized. Here are a few quick tips to follow that will help make the cleaning process a bit easier.

Photo credit to the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa. 

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Change Food and Water Every Day: This one seems like a no brainer. But by changing the water you prevent food bits from rotting in it. And by changing the food (even uneaten food) you prevent the chances for molding and stinking.

Remove Wet Bedding: Remove any wet bedding from the bottom of your ferrets cage. This can avoid mold and rot. Wet bedding also has a tendency to soak up that 'musky' ferret smell and cause your cage to smell worse. So by quickly removing spills- you also remove potential odor.

Change Litter Every Other Day: Some people choose to change their ferret litter once or twice a week. We suggest every other day. Ferrets have to live beside their bathroom- unlike cats that can visit it as they please. So it's really important that it's changed regurally. Not only will this prevent messes from spilling out, but it will keep your ferret cleaner.

Clean Blankets Weekly: Throw your ferret blankets into the wash weekly. This helps keep the musky smell from becoming a permanent part of your ferrets habitat. We suggest using an eco-friendly detergent (7th Generation and hypoallergenic brands work well). It's quick and easy, just throw them in with your clothes, pull them out and set them back in the cage when you're finished- no folding required.

Wash Food and Water Bowls Weekly: Simply dip your food and water bowls into some boiling water and whipe them off with a wash cloth. No need to use soap, but simply boiling them will keep germs down and help keep your food and water fresh much longer than dirty bowls would.

The 'Before You Buy' Ferret Check List

Bringing a new pet into your home is nerve-wracking enough without worrying about whether or not your 100% prepared. So we've done a bit of the work for you and created a 'must haves' ferret check list to mark off before you adopt your new ferret child.

2+ Story Cage
Bedding

Food Dish

Water Dish

Ferret Food (meats and packaged food)

Dechlorinated Water

Dark Sleeping Area (tent, tunnel, shoe box)

Litter Box

Ferret Litter

Toys/ Cage Accessories

    hammock

    felt mouse cat toys

    baby blanket

    a tunnel

Photo credit to the Fuzzy Dozen Ferret Rescue.

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Ferret Food & Water Dish Ideas

Food dishes for a ferret from the pet shop can be a bit expensive, and quite honestly you can make the same product with things you can find at a local thrift shop, dollar store, or even your kitchen cabinets.

Photo credit to the Fuzzy Dozen Ferret Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Tupperware Containers: The small tupperware containers, specifically made for sandwiches, are the perfect height and size for a ferret.

Toddler Food Dishes: Any small plastic bowls for children make great ferret dishes. Not only are they durable, they're virtually chew-proof and they're shallow enough for a ferret to eat out of.

Plastic Cup: Take a piece of string and tie a short plastic cup (child's size) to the side of the cage. This is a perfect place for water. Not only are these cups disposable, when you tie them to the side they won't tip over and make a mess everywhere. Perfect water area for ferrets!

Glass Unused Ash Trays: Search around your local dollar store or thrift shop for an unused ash tray. These glass objects are heavy enough to withstand a ferret's frolicking and are usually pretty easy to clean! They're also just the right size for a serving of dried ferret food.

Ferret Hammock Ideas

Photo credit to the South Cheshire Ferret Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Old dishtowel: Dishtowels are just naturally the right size for a ferret hammock. Tie a piece of string to each corner and then use the string to hang each corner to a part of your cage to create a little hammock area.

Fabric scraps and paper clips: Do you sew? Take a piece of old fabric and cut it into a square (or triangle for a corner hammock). Unfold enough paper clips to go on each edge (four for a square, three for a triangle). To unfold the paperclip simple pull one 'hook' upwards and keep the other one down. This will make a nice little hook you can use to attach to your cage. Then glue the smaller end of the paperclip to the corner of the fabric piece. Finish with the rest of the corners- and then hang your new hammock up!

Baby blankets: Light weight baby blankets are probably the easiest way to make a hammock. Because they use such thin fabric you can take all four edges and simple tie them onto the cage to create a perfect and super comfy hammock.

Sweatshirt hoods: If you have a really old hooded sweatshirt that you plan on throwing away, cut off the hood and keep it. You can either fold it to create a little 'nap sack' or, with duct tape, secure the part that was originally connected to the sweatshirt to the side of the cage to create a little 'hanging corner hammock' area.