Your ferrets need housing that’s great for when they want to play and want to snooze.
Housing your Ferret
For a home, ferrets need a safe, secure and hazard free environment. Make sure any wires or poisonous foods are kept well away from their home or exercise areas. Ferrets love to play and jump around, and their living area should allow them to do so. Their housing should be at least 3m long x 2m wide x 2m high for a pair of ferrets. They need this space to play, forage, hide, toilet, groom and rest!
Your ferrets love to sleep, so need plenty of place to rest, such as a hammock or nesting box filled with dust free bedding. Provide fleecy blankets so your ferrets can snuggle up and if you keep them outside, make sure they’ve got plenty of bedding in cold weather. Ferrets don’t have great eyesight, so make sure they have safe platforms, not too high off the ground so they can’t fall far! They’re also great diggers so make sure you have a solid floor, to protect their feet and stop them escaping.
Ferrets have a very short digestive system, so they’ll need to go to the toilet within 15 minutes of waking up. They need to have access to a suitable toilet area in their housing, such as a litter tray which should be kept away from playing or sleeping areas and will need to be cleaned out daily.
Quick tip
Ferrets love to tunnel, dig and climb. Put drainpipes and shelves, although not too high, in their housing to give them lots of opportunities to explore!
Excel Ferret Nuggets
from £9.49
Did you know?
You can litter train your ferrets! Fill a high-sided litter tray with unscented cat litter or wood shavings and pop it where your ferrets normally go to the toilet. Just make sure you clean it out each day!
Housing Checklist
Ferrets can be housed indoors in a similar housing to chinchillas. The bigger, the better, so make sure they have lots of space to play, sleep and toilet. Include platforms that aren’t too high, and plenty of ferret-safe toys. Don’t use rubber toys as these can be a choking hazard. Use good quality hay, shredded paper or fleece blankets for their bedding, and line the floor with newspaper and wood shavings. They also like to sleep in hammocks, so hang some inside their enclosure!
Ferrets, in particular, don’t cope well in extreme heat so if they are kept indoors it’s important to regulate the temperature of the room. Anything over 26 degrees is too hot, and over 30 degrees can be fatal. When kept indoors, keep them out of direct sunlight and be careful on hot days.
The essentials you will need to make the perfect set up for you ferrets:
- Wire cage for indoors
- Hutch and run for outdoors
- Food bowl
- Sipping bottle with water
- Fleece bedding
- Platforms
- Hammocks
- Pipes and tubes
- Clean wood shavings or sawdust
- Shredded paper
- Excel Nuggets
- Ferret-safe cleaning products
Cleaning ferret housing
DAILY:
Your ferrets housing needs regular cleaning. Clean out their litter tray each day and any uneaten food. Ferrets like to hide food away so check everywhere! You should also wash their water bottles and food bowls and fill them with fresh food and water.
WEEKLY:
Each week you should wash your ferrets’ fleecy bedding and change any other bedding – this will prevent any unwanted smells.
MONTHLY:
Every month you should give your ferrets’ housing a deep clean. Take everything out and use a ferret-safe cleaner to clean their enclosure. Remove, wash and change all of their ~ bedding and hammocks too. Every month you should give your ferrets’ housing a ‘deep clean’ where you take everything out, scrub and disinfect the housing with a animal-safe cleaner.
Our Burgess Excel Range
Our range of Burgess Excel Nuggets, feeding hay and tasty treats are perfect for your Ferrets. All are made using only the finest quality ingredients to help keep your Ferrets happy and healthy.
When it comes to choosing bedding for Small Animals, you want to ensure that your bunnies will be safe, clean, cosy and comfortable. Our cosy bedding is perfect for keeping your small animals warm and cosy while they sleep, it's easy to spot clean and is suitable for use as bedding or litter.
Do you need more advice?
To help you find the right food for your pet have a look at our product range.
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If you should have any concerns about the health of your pet, always consult a vet.
