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 Introduce A New Ferret To Another Ferret

So you want to bring a second (or maybe third, even fourth) ferret into your home? Adding a new member to your furry family is exciting! But it can also be nerve-wracking and stressful for both ferrets. And there are a few things you should do to ensure that this new introduction goes smoothly.

Photo credit to the South Cheshire Ferret Rescue. 

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Quarantine: Quarantining a ferret means you keep it completely separate from your at home ferret for at least 30 days. This means your new ferret will be in an entirely different cage in a different room in a different part of your home. Why do you need to quarantine? First of all, it allows your new ferret to get adjusted to it's surroundings without the tension from another ferret. They need about four weeks to fully adjust to their new home before being introduced to another ferret. But the 30 days also gives you time to monitor your new ferret. Check it over for health problems- most commonly fleas or gnats. Many ferret illnesses and diseases are contagious. So if your new ferret is housed with your old ferret it could make the older one ill. Your 30 day quarantine will help you determine if it is safe to house them together without risking an illness outbreak. Closely watch your new ferret for any signs of illness. If after thirty days your ferret is still looking healthy, happy, and active in it's new home- then it's time to move on to step two!

Put Cages Side By Side: To first introduce your ferrets keep them separated by cage bars. Set their cages side by side and allow them to get used to living next to one another. Permit them to interact through the cage bars- and watch them closely. Do they seem more playful or aggressive towards each other? Let them out at separate times, so they do not quarrel outside of their cages. And keep them in separate cages, side by side, for about three to four days. If they seem friendly towards one another while living in close quarters then you can move onto step three. If not, give them more time to get adjusted to each other. Watch them closely to see how they interact.

Introduce In Mutual Territory: When you introduce your ferrets for the first time, outside of their cages, do it in a place neither of them are familiar with. Take them to a ferret safe room that neither of them have played in before (or rarely played in). This will mean there won't be any territory wars as one ferret tries to fend itself over it's turf. Watch them closely and allow them to play for a while.
Supervise Them At Play: For the first few days you let your ferrets play together in the 'mutual territory room' monitor them closely. Break up any fights, scold one if they are being aggressive, and make sure their playful banter isn't too violent. But let them have fun. Give them toys, snacks, and tunnels to share and explore side by side.

Allow Them To Play Together: Once they have gotten accustomed to playing together in mutual territory, you can move them to the main room where their cages are. Once again monitor them closely. Your older ferret may get aggressive as it tries to scare the new ferret off of 'it's land'. Separate them if this happens and scold your ferret- teach them that that behavior is not okay. But if they play together fine, allow them to play together outside of the cage for one week.

Allow Them To Stay Together: Now you can let your ferrets move into the same home. If you can, we suggest buying a new cage for your ferrets to live in. Why? It's mutual territory and will avoid any wars over who's house it is. If you cannot afford a new house- let your ferrets stay together in the cage only when you can supervise them. If they act fine (don't fight over food, water, or sleeping areas)- then you can let them stay together. If not, separate them while you are not there to supervise until you are assured they will not injure each other while you are away.

Watch Them Carefully: For the first few months your ferrets are living together full-time, watch them carefully. Let them bicker and fight playfully, but if one seems in pain or is extra aggressive- it may mean you want to separate them. If one ever draws blood or seriously injures the other ferret- separate them permanently. Remember, not all ferrets will get along. Although they are social creatures- they have relationships just like people, and not every ferret will get along. Be patient and let your ferrets be themselves. If they get along- that's wonderful! But if not, be prepared to love them separately and equally nevertheless.

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.