Ferret Proofing Home

Question

I was wondering does anyone have tips on how to ferret proof my house a little. Let me explain, about a month ago I bought a play pen to play in so she could be out without me constantly having to watch her. However I feel this is safer because my studio apartment is not exactly all ferret proofed. My problem is I need to find a way to block off areas like under and around my fridge and under my computer desk. I usually put heavy boxes in front of my fridge so she can't get under it and towels and boxes under and in front of any other possible hadazerous areas. The reason I play with her in her play pen is so she does not get hurt, because I would feel awful if something bad happened to her. I know ferrets need lots of exercise so I want her to be able to run around. I LOVE having her, but I am just a little stuck here any suggestions??

P.S. I am not planning on giving her up or anything there is too many animals in the world that are in shelters, also want to mention don't bother to responding if it is going to be negative message. I am a very good mom and I am just out of idea.

P.S.S. Sorry for the long message but does anyone have ideas for homemade toys?? My fuzzy gets so bored with the toys I buy her from the store plus they can get expensive. Thanks Again!

Answer 1

First off let me tell you I feel your pain, I live in a loft with 5 little fuzzies and though we have lots of space keeping my entire living space ferret proofed is a real pain. I've had ferrets for 16+ years and still the little monkeys challenge me with ferret proofing, sadly I've never met a ferret that wasn't smarter than I was. ;-)

Kitchen proofing is tough and for me how it looks in the long run matters too as I can't just close the door when company comes over. My fridge is low to the ground with a pretty good cover on the front so the ferrets can't get behind it, my stove... different story. For both fridge and stove I bought some big squares of MDF board, both cut the width of the appliance and about 2.5-3ft tall. One is slid under the stove and pushed to the back, as it is the width of the stove they cannot get beside it and push it out and since it's so long it comes to about 1" from the front of the stove so they can't get under. As the MDF is about 1" thick it fills up the gap so my kids can't squeeze between, my friend has a much larger gap and ended up buying two same size sheets and using carpenter glue to hold them together, thus making it about 2" thick and super heavy so the ferrets couldn't get under.

My fridge has the other sheet taped to the back, duct tape is my best friend when ferret proofing.

To keep the ferrets off tables and such I basically was trained by them, I make sure before I leave the house I pull all chairs out from beside tables and never put one climbable piece of furniture beside another piece of furniture.

I have found that building high is my friend, I installed shelves up high and am sure to walk in the door and place shoes on top of shelves rather than on shoe racks on the floor like a normal person.

It takes a lot of adjustment on my part but all in all I'm able to share my place with the ferrets with minimal intrusion to their lifestyle.

As far as homemade toys, one of my favorites is box castle. Every few weeks we build a fun little castle for them to explore. I get some boxes from the grocery store (great smells in those boxes - at least to ferret noses, I avoid the ones I can smell) and cut holes in the sides so they can go in and out. Then I connect the boxes with the ferret tubes (dryer hose) and put different things in each box so it's like a discovery maze, one box with plastic bags (rip the handles so you don't have to worry about the fat ferrets getting stuck), one with self adhesive velcro on the bottom, one with newspaper balls, one with rocks gathered from outside, etc. This keeps them busy for awhile and gives me some time to get my own stuff done (like cooking). After about a week we throw it out and set back the store bought toys which they now have a renewed interest in.

Rotating toys on a regular basis is the key to keeping them busy.

Oh and I usually try to pick a theme for the weeks toys that way I know that I am giving them variety. One week it will be all about smell, we'll scent the toys, the house, etc. with things like vanilla, orange, olive oil, etc. on anything that won't stain. The next week might be touch so I'll try to get a variety of different textures in toys, using velcro, rocks, shredded paper, soft blankets, a burlap bag, etc.

I hope that helps a bit and good luck, sounds like you are on the right track and really ferret proofing is an ongoing battle; solve one problem and they'll create another.

Answer 2

Hmm....well do you have a room in your apartment that could be more easily ferret-proofed? That's what we did withour ferrets, we had just one room where they could run around a play.

If not, then maybe you could put towels around your fridge and stuff up any places you don't want her to get in.

For toys, i never had much luck with homemade toys. i foun the pet store toys to be perect for ferrets, like those tube things they can crawl through. You could try putting some old towels or blankets on the ground and see if she enjoys wallowing around in those and you could throw them on her and play with her too!

Best of luck, i hope i helped!