I have owned ferrets since 1987 and have been running the shelter officially since 2002 (although I was doing it unofficially for a number of years before that). I'm also involved with the Three Rivers Ferret Council, and have given two talks on how to care for sick and post-surgical ferrets.

Ziggy and Rider

Ziggy and Rider have been here since June of 2014. They are lively ferrets, climbing and jumping and generally getting into everything. They love the cat tree and when we had it too close to the piano, they were happy to use it to explore new territory and knock down all sorts of things.

Rider is deaf and just a little smaller than Ziggy. Rider will squeal while wrestling with Ziggy, but if you watch, Rider is usually the attacker. They should be adopted together. It is unlikely they will get along with other ferrets at this point, but we could try. They are the last of a very large group of ferrets who were surrendered due to lack of time and money.

They look almost identical. Ziggy is longer and heavier than Rider, and Rider has a small spot of color above his left eye. If you’d like to put in an application, please fill out this form: Adoption Application.

Name: Ziggy 14060102
Birth date: 6/1/13
Color: DEW
Sex: Male
Name: Rider 14060101
Birth date: 5/1/13
Color: DEW
Sex: Male

Ziggy

Ziggy

Rider

Rider

Bear, Bo, Riley and Whitney

These lovely babies were surrendered due to the owner losing their job. These ferrets are some of the happiest, most lively we have. Bear can be nippy when excited and will claw at your leg if you are ignoring him. Riley is definitely deaf and Whitney might be (due to the blaze). Bo was an interesting sable roan until he shed, and now he’s a typical sable. That may change in the winter.

They adore each other, will always be found in one big pile with their little arms wrapped around each other. We could probably separate into groups of two. They may accept other ferrets, but seem fairly rowdy, so the new ferret would need to be sure of him or herself. If you’d like to put in an application, please fill out this form: Adoption Application.

Name: Bear
Code: 15052001
Birth date: 01/20/2014
Color: Dark sable
Sex: Male
Name: Bo
Code: 15052005
Birth date: 08/20/2014
Color: Sable
Sex: Male

Bear

Bear

Bo

Bo

Bear

Bear

Bo

Bo

Name: Riley
Code: 15052004
Birth date: 12/20/2013
Color: Panda/Silver
Sex: Female
Name: Whitney
Code: 15052002
Birth date: 06/20/2014
Color: Medium Silver Mitt
Sex: Female

Riley

Riley

Whitney

Whitney

Riley

Riley

Whitney

Whitney

Millie

Millie came in with a little friend, but the friend died shortly after arriving at the shelter. The friend had cancer, but Millie seems just fine. Millie has been bounced from home to home through no fault of her own. First, she was living with someone who was severely neglecting her and her sister. Someone in Erie took her and her friend in but couldn’t keep them. A shelter friend picked them up and kept them for a while until the white one (Dusty) got sick, so she brought them to me. The white one died shortly afterwards from pervasive cancer.

She’s currently playing with Franny, Nova and Minnie. She would most likely get along with other ferrets. She can be adopted alone or with another ferret that she likes. If you’d like to put in an application, please fill out this form: Adoption Application.

Code: 15052101
Name: Millie
Birth date: 06/01/2011
Color: Sable
Sex: Female

Millie

Millie

Millie

Millie

Millie

Millie

Millie

Millie

Nova and Franny

Nova and Franny came in together. We know Nova is deaf for sure but we’re not sure about Franny. That doesn’t slow them down at all! They play in a group of four ferrets, so would most likely get along with other ferrets. They really do like each other, so it would be nice to keep them together. If you’d like to put in an application, please fill out this form: Adoption Application.

Code: 14122901
Name: Franny
Birth date: 4/18/14
Color: Chocolate
Sex: Female
Code: 15053101
Name: Nova
Birth date: 12/29/14
Color: Chocolate Roan
Sex: Female

Code: 14122901 Name: Franny Birth date: 4/18/14 Color: Chocolate Sex: Female

Franny

Code: 15053101 Name: Nova Birth date: 12/29/14 Color: Chocolate Roan Sex: Female Color: Chocolate Roan

Nova

Code: 14122901 Name: Franny Birth date: 4/18/14 Color: Chocolate Sex: Female

Franny

Code: 15053101 Name: Nova Birth date: 12/29/14 Color: Chocolate Roan Sex: Female Color: Chocolate Roan

Nova

Code: 14122901 Name: Franny Birth date: 4/18/14 Color: Chocolate Sex: Female

Franny

Code: 15053101 Name: Nova Birth date: 12/29/14 Color: Chocolate Roan Sex: Female

Nova

Code: 14122901 Name: Franny Birth date: 4/18/14 Color: Chocolate Sex: Female

Franny

Code: 15053101 Name: Nova Birth date: 12/29/14 Color: Chocolate Roan Sex: Female

Nova

How to pick a harness

The best harness is an H-style harness.

Never use only a collar with a ferret. If you put it on tight enough that it can’t come off, then it’s way too tight. If it’s too tight, the collar can choke the ferret or wear off the fur and cause a skin infection. In severe cases, the collar may become embedded in the skin and require surgery. The only safe and effective item is a harness. Never leave the collar/harness on while the ferret is in the cage (it could get caught on something and choke the ferret) and always supervise a ferret wearing a harness. I don’t use harnesses for inside the house; I only use them for walking ferrets.

H-harness This is an example of a good harness. The straps are reasonably wide (not strings) to distribute the pressure. Ideally, the loop should come off the shoulders, but most companies put them halfway between the shoulders and the neck. If you find a harness that has the loop closer to one strap than the other, put it closer to the belly than the neck. Then when the ferret pulls, there isn’t as much pressure on the neck. Also, if you have a harness with a loop above the belly strap, you can “airlift” them without choking them if you run into danger while out walking.


Bad harness

Bad harness

Don’t waste your money buying one of these. They are made from some kind of material that is almost foam-like. It’s too big, very hot and isn’t secure. You can’t adjust it properly. Some ferrets may learn to walk in one, but most just wiggle right out.

A ferret harness must be tighter than you would make a dog harness. You make it tight enough that you can slip one finger under it. More than that, and they just shrug it off.

When you first put a harness on your ferret, if they aren’t used to it they will claim you have crippled them for life. Don’t believe it! They will act like their legs don’t work, alligator roll, back all around the room trying to get it off and basically act like you’re killing them. Take them to a room where they aren’t normally allowed to play. Shortly, their curiosity will get the better of them and they’ll just start walking.

Good harness

Good harness

This is an example of a good harness. They’re called an “H-harness” because when viewed from the top, it looks like the letter “H”. If your ferret is an extreme escape artist and still gets out of this, add a strap under the belly (from the bottom of the neck loop to the bottom of the belly loop). That usually will keep them in.

Some very tiny females are too small for most harnesses. In that case, you’ll have to shorten the straps a bit. I pinch up a bit of the strap and sew it (making a loop that sticks out on the outside of the harness). Then I sew that flat so it doesn’t look stupid. That will allow you to tighten it enough to keep your wily little girl safe.

Always test the harness and leash inside first. You don’t want to discover it’s too loose while you’re outside!

Even better if available

Even better if available

This is a harness for a cat or dog. If you could find one small enough, this would be ideal. The leash loop comes off the belly strap and there is an extra strap underneath. If you do find one like this small enough for a ferret, please let me know!

There used to be a nice product called the Premier Ferret Fun 5-in-1 Ferret Harness/Leash. They discontinued the item! If you find one, buy it, because they aren’t made anymore.