Category: Articles

Articles about various topics.

No comments

How to pick a harness

  By , , ,

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.

No comments

Ferret Co-Habitation

  By ,

There are two main issues when you bring another ferret into the house, whether it’s from the shelter, a pet store or from your friend down the street. First, compatibility and second, health.

Ferrets meeting

Compatibility is pretty obvious. Not all ferrets get along with each other. Some are enthusiastically happy to have a friend to play with, others would rather not be bothered but aren’t overly upset, but some seem to think their job is to rid the world of all other ferrets!

Some ferrets will, in time, come to accept a new ferret. There are various tricks and things you can try. One of the most successful seems to be giving all parties involved a bath and putting the same scent on all the ferrets. Some people swear by vanilla (especially if ferrets already like Ferretone, which uses vanilla as a flavoring). Some say they dab on their own perfume and that does the trick. Others say the bath alone is enough (misery loves company, maybe?).

Another good technique is to introduce the ferrets on neutral territory — that is, some place that none of the ferrets involved call “home.” If you normally let your ferrets play in the livingroom, you might try introducing new ferrets in a bedroom. However, it’s much easier to separate warring parties if you introduce them somewhere you have easy access to all corners of the room. It’s not much fun to be crawling under the bed or behind the couch, trying to grab two very angry, screaming weasels! Best to pick a place with no large pieces of furniture, but perhaps some small boxes or tubes for ferrets to hide in if they need a break.

Also, when ferrets don’t get along, you’ll often see what we call “flying poop.” That’s when two ferrets are attached to each other, screaming and biting, all fur fluffed, rolling around, and one or both poops. The result is that poop goes flying all over the place, hence “flying poop.” This is a sign one or both ferrets are REALLY upset. You really don’t want to be climbing around on the floor, through this poop, trying to reach very upset ferrets that will just as soon bite you as anything else. This is a very good reason to leave the introducing to be done at the shelter. We’ve seen this before, we know how to stop it, and most importantly, we know what portion of the ferret to grab to decrease the chance of a bite. If you have to do it yourself, grabbing the tail of each ferret and having a helper pour cold water on their heads is almost always successful. Usually you don’t have to get that extreme. Usually grabbing tails is enough to get them to let go, and it’s usually pretty obvious which ferret is the aggressor and which really, truly just wants to go hide.

The second issue, health, can be serious if you’re not careful. If all ferrets involved are young and basically healthy and have tested negative to ADV, most likely nothing serious will happen. But if you have an older ferret at home and bring in a ferret with new germs, your older ferret could get sick enough for it to be life-threatening. Quite common is for the current ferrets to get the runs from some new germ brought into the house. Frankly, this can happen if all you do is pet the baby ferrets at the pet store! Diarrhea can be dangerous to an older or sickly ferret. Often you don’t even know your ferret has an underlying problem. The new ferret could get sick, or both could get sick (introducing a new ferret is stressful, and stress often brings on illness in ferrets).

If the ferrets involved are healthy, usually nothing happens, or one or both might have the runs for a couple days and then everything is fine. If the runs last for more than 2 or 3 days, or the ferrets become dehydrated (the skin should fall back immediately after it’s been pinched on the scruff, if it doesn’t, they’re dehydrated), they need to see the vet.

Sometimes just having another ferret around will stress one or both to the point where they’ll get ulcers. If you see a ferret with black, tarry poop, it’s time to take them to the vet asap. That’s *blood* in the stool, probably coming from the stomach, and they will die if it isn’t treated. If you see red blood in the stool (it?s not blood if it stays red for over 30 minutes) that’s also a reason for an immediate trip to the vet.

It’s really a good idea to talk to a shelter operator before introducing a new ferret. Shelters have done it many times, they’ve seen all the possible reactions, and most shelter operators know the symptoms of a serious health problem. Many introductions go just fine; others are a bit bumpier. Sometimes you grab the ferrets, brush off the poop, comfort them for a while, and they forget it. Other times you separate the ferrets, brush off the poop, and forget about trying to introduce them. It’s not worth bloodshed.

If you want to bring more ferrets into your house, you need to be prepared in case they don’t all get along. You may need to set up separate cages and arrange separate play times. Can you deal with that?

If you adopt a ferret from the Hide-E-Hole and if, within the first two weeks, it becomes obvious that it is not working out, we are happy to take the ferret back and refund your money.

No comments

Treats

  By ,

When considering treats, you need to remember that treats should be a very small part of your ferret’s diet.

It’s helpful to look at the size of the treat in relation to the ferret’s head, then imagine how big a cookie for a human would have to be to equal that size! Most of the ferret’s nutrition should come from food, not treats.

Chicken or turkey baby food (just the meat — not the kind with noodles or vegetables in it) warmed in the microwave and served off the tip of your finger makes a wonderful treat. All protein, a little fat, no sugar, and served by their favorite human — perfect!

Serving a treat

People give their ferrets something called Duck Soup when they’re sick — it’s basically a high protein, high fat mixture, ground up with liquid to make a soupy goo most ferrets love. I recommend that you give duck soup as a treat — then when your ferret gets sick and doesn’t want to eat, you can offer the duck soup and the ferrets will gobble it up! (“Gee, mom is giving me all treats!”)

Another great treat is a piece of cooked chicken (leave the fat and skin on). Cooked beef or pork, a piece of salami, even a piece of hotdog — are you getting the idea? A great treat is MEAT, something ferrets need anyway.

Ferret eating Cheweasel made by Hyperfur

Other treats that are good in moderation are things like Cheweasels, Marshall’s Chews (pretty much the same thing, although my ferrets like the Cheweasels better), N-Bones, Foamy Fries, Rosie’s Rewards and similar treats. These are protein-based and contain little or no sugar.

Treats such as Yogies (yogurt-based) aren’t bad, but they do have sugar and should be strictly limited. Anything that is cereal- or sugar-based should be limited. Raisins are a popular treat, but they fall into this category, too. What is “limited”? Well, many people believe once a week is plenty for these sugary treats, certainly no more than one raisin or one Yogie (or equivalent) per day.

Ferretone is a popular treat. The manufacturer says to put it on the food, but you don’t need to do that if you feed good food. Also, it would be easy to overdose them that way. Ferretone contains oil-based vitamins (like A and E) that can build up in the liver. Water-based vitamins (like vitamin C) will just flush out of the system in the urine. So we recommend giving Ferretone as a treat, one drop at a time. I generally save it for nail clipping. A few drops on the tummy will make the chore easier for you and much more pleasant for your ferret. I also use it to reward good behavior (tricks, using the litterbox, etc.), to distract at the vet’s office or to comfort them if I accidentally step on their tail.

No comments

Innova EVO

  By ,

EVO Foods

Innova EVO, made by Natura Pet Products, is an excellent food choice for ferrets.

Even the dog version is such high quality it can be fed to ferrets. This is the only dog food I would ever recommend. When EVO first came out, the dog version was all that was available, but with 42% protein, 22% fat and an ingredient list starting with turkey, chicken, turkey meal, chicken meal and potato, it was an exciting new food.

The main selling point for this food is that it contains no grain. It’s low-carb and high-protein, exactly what a carnivore needs.

Later, they developed cat and ferret versions. The ferret EVO has 50% protein and 21% fat, and the ingredient list starts with turkey, chicken meal, chicken, herring meal, chicken fat, and peas. The cat version has 50% protein, 22% fat and those ingredients start the same as the ferret version.

In the shelter, I have been using Innova EVO Dog small bites. It comes in large bags which brings the cost down to a typical good ferret food, and the ferrets at the shelter thrive on it. In fact, when I switched to all EVO (after that last tainted wheat from China episode), the shelter ferrets suddenly became softer and more fluffy. At the time I was angry that the US purchased ingredients from China, not to mention tired of all the recalls (moldy corn is a common problem). Ferrets evolved to eat animals, not graze! I discovered that EVO had no grains (plus a great ingredient list) and switched to it. I’ve been using EVO in the shelter for at least four years with great success.

The only issue I’ve heard of is that the super-high protein might give some ferrets “pudding poop” — a little runny and somewhat stinky poo. People who switched from ferret to dog EVO said the poops were better. It’s possible that some ferrets couldn’t use all that protein.

Another issue is that it might not be a good idea to switch an elderly ferret to a food with super-high protein. If they have silent kidney issues, the extra protein might push them all the way into kidney failure. I have not had that problem in the shelter, but I have heard of other people who did. I would not hesitate to feed EVO to any ferret up to age 4. If you are considering switching a ferret older than that, I’d have the kidney functions checked first. What they used to eat can have an impact on the condition of their kidneys. If they were previously fed inferior, low-protein, low-fat food, the kidneys may already be damaged. If that’s the case and they are doing well on another food, I’d leave them on that food.

The Three Rivers Ferret Council has a franchise to sell Innova products. We typically stock all three EVO varieties: dog, cat and ferret, and we can special order any other Innova food you might like. This food (as well as other merchandise) can be purchased in person at TRFC meetings (typically the third Sunday of the month at a local church), or at the shelter (call first before stopping by).

The only possible issue using the dog version of EVO might be taurine, but there are no established levels of taurine for ferrets. EVO does add some taurine to the dog food, but since we don’t know how much ferrets should have, we don’t know if it’s adequate. Low taurine can cause heart problems and cataracts, but I have not had ferrets (either personal or shelter) develop those problems, so I’m thinking the levels must be okay. If you are worried about it, you can give your ferret a little Ferretvite once a day, since that does have taurine in it.

Since Innova EVO came out, other companies have developed similar products. We will post about those in another article.

No comments

Getting Them To Eat It

  By ,

Sometimes ferrets won’t eat something we offer them, even though we know it’s good and most other ferrets like it. In this case, rubbing a bit on the tongue once or twice a day for several days will usually do the trick.

For example, some ferrets don’t know Ferretone is wonderful. Others will gobble it right down, but some will turn up their nose. I’ve never had it take more than 3 days of “taste-testing” to convince a ferret that Ferretone is pretty darn good.

If you’re trying to get them to switch foods, you’ll need to start slowly. Mix the new food into the old at around a 25% to 75% ratio in a small canister or bag. When that’s gone, increase the new to old ratio. Let them eat that. Continue to gradually increase the new food until there is no longer any old food. This will prevent a ferret from going on a hunger strike and refusing to eat, as well as helping to prevent stomach upset from a new diet.

— Barb Carlson