Ferret toys!

There are many things that you can get your ferret to play with so they are not bored! 

One- Jingle mice. You can get these from ferret couture for only 79p! They fight and roll around with them however they make a bit of noise because they have a bell in them but it is so funny to watch your ferret roll around with them!

 

Two- Fuzz ball chasers again from ferret couture (i think i love this website too much!) and only £3.49, you can drag them along the floor and watch your ferret chase after them!

 

Three- A treat ball. You hide small treats inside it and your ferret rolls around trying to get them out! It makes them think and rewards them with treats!

 

 Four- Jittery critters. Pull the chord and it shakes and runs across the floor. Your ferret will hunt it and chase it! Make sure your ferrets don't bite off and swallow the eyes and nose of the critter!
 
 With all forms of play, your ferret has to be supervised because they can choke if they bite any part of a toy off and they will end up finding someway of hurting themselves when you are not there to watch them! Anyway, it is fun to watch because they are so crazy and adorable!

Ferrets and the heat

As you know, it is very hot here in England (for once) and it has not rained for a LONG time! However, have you thought of the effect that the heat can have on your ferret.

Most ferrets do not like heat because it obviously makes them hot! When they get hot, they may drink a lot more and loose their appetite. This means you need to make sure that you are always re-filling their water bottles with fresh cold water so it is cooling to drink. Also you need to make sure they do not over heat because this can make thm dizzy just like it does with humans!

 This can be very dangerous because they can stop eating due to them loosing their appetite and becoming very sleepy. My ferret has this experience. I was watching his food levels for two days and notices that he was slowly eating less and less until the point he stopped eating. He has lost a bit a weight due to this. My next door neighbor came up with a random but very effective solution!

If your ferret over heats follow these steps-

. Make sure they have lots of cold water to drink, even put it in a bowl so they can dip their heads in it to cool down.  

 . Cool them down at a steady rate. I did this by putting Rammy in the outside hutch and standing him in front of a giant electric fan! It works so well and he loved it!

.Get them chicken! Or any other food that contains moisture and is still rather healthy for them. So they can cool while eating if they have lost their appetite. 

.Reduce the bedding amount. If there is too much bedding, take some away because it can still be 18 degrees at night when ferrets are at their most active. 

So in the summer sun, keep a close eye on your ferret and make sure to keep them cool!

Walkies!

Teaching your ferret to walk! (on a lead) 

Ferrets love explore and if they are inside they may not be able to run around, dig and roll in grass! You can just let them run free in your garden but you will run the risk of loosing them. So you can walk them on a lead!

 I prefer to walk Rammy on a harness lead because it gives him that extra bit of support when he is exploring and it means that if he gets into real danger like he has walk him self to the edge of the deck i can pull him up with lead lead a he is fully supported by the harness like a hand.

Others may want to walk their ferret on a lead that attaches onto a collar because to means they can wear a top and people may think that it looks better than a harness. You can also get a lead that is attached using a collar like strap and one that goes across the body to supply support.

You may have noticed that this is not Rammy that is because i had to use an internet photograph as i don't own this type of lead!

You can somewhat control where a ferret walk buy slightly pulling on the lead to direct them. Don't pull too hard as you can hurt them and some will not listen to you as all they want to do is run around and play!

How to make a felt hammock!

How to make a felt hammock!

You may think that you have to buy a hammock for your ferret because either you don't think you can make one or you feel that the one you make will not be very good. However these instructions show that they are simple to make and look really cool if you just have a felt blanket! No sewing is needed!

You will need- scissors, felt blanket and some hooks.

Step one- get three pieces of felt, one large approx. 40cm2, another 5cm smaller and another 5 cm smaller than that. The size of the first square depends on how big your ferret is and how many ferrets are going to use it.

step 2- Cut out 4 thin 20cm strips of felt.

Step 3- layer the 3 squares on top of each other with one of their corners all overlapping. 

Cut a small hole through all of the pieces on the corners overlapping as shown by the cross.

Step 4- you need to do the same with every one of the corners. Re-match each of the three corners as show on the diagram above and thread one of the felt strips through all three of the holes. Make sure you tie it at the top to create a loop. Do this for all the the similar corners.

Don't worry if the hammock looks like it is sagging on the larger piece and less on the smaller piece. This is supposed to happen! You should end up with it looking this this-

 Is has been held up with hooks going through the loops made by the felt strips. Rammy just loves his because he can climb on any of the layers. The layers mean more support, more than one ferret can go on the hammock at any one time and they can climb in and out of the separate compartments!

Bath time!

Bath time!

Ferrets tend to really like water and having a bath because it does not happen very often. You should wash you ferret a maximum of ONCE A MONTH. This is because if you wash them any more than this, they produce a lot more of their "natural sent" Than normal. This can be bad for their health. Bathing them is to get rid of dirt and not their smell because that smell is naturally produced by them. The smell can be rid of by using ferret deodorizers that you can buy.

A bath need to be the depth of their legs but no deeper ( if they can swim in it, it is too deep.) You need to use either ferret shampoo or baby shampoo. Do not use puppy shampoo or human shampoo because the chemicals in them are harmful to ferrets. Make sure you rub the shampoo in well and rinse out properly.

If you give them a towel when you have finished, they will dry themselves!So cute to watch them roll around.

Cutting nails and brushing

When it comes to cutting nails you can buy nail cutters for them
 but you will run the risk of getting it wrong. You can always go to the vets and have them professionally cut. If you wish to cut them yourself, you will need to cut them at the tip on a 45 degree angle.

When it comes to brushing you ferret where are special brushes you can get that has soft bristles so it is kind on the ferret skin and does not scratch. Ferrets love the feeling of being brushed and they always look super cute afterwards! 

Entertainment

Entertainment 

Ferret get bored VERY eaisly so they always need something to do!

Here are some things you can do to ensure your ferret is not bored.

1. Use a lot of tunnels! It is the ferrets natural instinct to love to squeeze through small spaces and along tunnels. so what better than to create a maze of different tunnels for them? They are cheap to buy and it is fun to watch them run about and have fun! You must make sure not to get a tunnel that is too small as they can get stuck. Special ferret tunnels can be bought.

2. Build a blanket den! Ferrets love to curl up and roll around in blankets so if you get a few blankets, you can scrunch some up, lay some flat and even use pegs to prop up a blanket and create a roof! They will love to run around in it and curl up and go to sleep in a very comfortable place.

3. Boxes! You can create the ultimate den using boxes, blankets and tunnels. Just be creative and see what den you create. This is my favorite game to play with Rambo because no den is ever the same. They also love to play and roll around in shoes(if you have any old ones!) You can cut holes in the boxes and join them together with a tunnel, wrap a blanket on the inside of the tunnel to create a bed and you can use tennis balls of witch ferrets love to play with!

Bedding

Bedding

Different ferrets like to have different bedding. A good bedding to use is hay (not straw as its sharp and can spike you ferrets) This is because it is comfortable, they can move it around to make their perfect bed and is cheap to buy. However you may prefer to keep your ferret indoors so hay may get everywhere! There is soft bedding you can buy as well! If they are kept outside in a hutch for example, they need to be kept a lot warmer than they do indoors so they may need more bedding.

A hammock i made with a hanging basket and a blanket!

Ferrets love hammocks to lie and blankets to curl up in! You can buy or make hammocks that are usually a stronger material with a fleece lining because its soft of they can be made up of all fleece. Ferrets love to curl up inside a soft blanket and go to sleep for the whole day! Ferrets are nocturnal so they will try to sleep a lot of the day and are awake in the afternoon and night time!