Ferret Home Selection and Setup

            So you’ve decided to take care of a ferret; I applaud you.  It isn’t the easiest pet to care for in the world.  Today’s example of that lies in the intricacies of the ferret home and the pitfalls of setting it up incorrectly.

What kind of ferret home should you choose?  It’s a good question, but the truth is it isn’t a simple right or wrong for the most part.  It is based on your style, how many ferrets you have, and things like that. 

For example, you don’t need one of those massive multilevel ferret homes if you only have one ferret.  You may want one though, and that’s entirely up to you.  I’m sure your ferret would have loads of fun in it, but it does tend to cost a pretty penny.  On average, a ferret home tends to cost between 50 and 200 dollars.

Though there are many things about the ferret home that can be personalized to your tastes and budget, if you don’t take the necessary precautions in setting up the home you’re putting your little friend in danger.  The two primary things to watch out for are wire flooring and woodchips in the cage. 

If your ferret home has a wire floor, it can hurt your ferret’s delicate feet due to the hardness and uneven distribution of weight.  You can get around this by covering it with almost anything solid, be it cutouts of tile, linoleum, or just cardboard.

You need to watch out for the woodchips as they have been known to cause your ferret respiratory problems in the long term.

The last point of set-up safety I’d like to cover concerns an optional item that almost all ferret owners opt to get anyway, the ferret hammock.  When adding this to the cage be sure it is far enough away from the edges or your ferret will get hurt on the sides swinging.

The ferret group as a whole seems to have some preferences about where things are.  For example the sleeping area should be away from the litter tray.  Each ferret is unique and has a different personality so you may want to experiment with other things as you get to know him or her.  But if they can move something or knock it over, expect them to.  This being the case with food and water dishes as well, you should either get them really heavy or tied down.

I believe we can part with one more point.  Ferrets love the dark for sleeping and tend to “sleep-burrow.”  Put something soft and malleable in their sleeping area like a small blanket or a towel as they can block out some light by burrowing down into it.

Best of luck on your search and I hope you have a long, happy life with your ferret.