How do you litter train a ferret?

Question

I am getting a ferret today and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to litter train it?

Answer 1

Yes... All mine are litter trained both inside the cage and out.  

To start the little one on a good note, make the cage like a weasel would use his tunnels in a den.  Arrange the cage so their is a seperate toilet area, (I use the bottom layer for this) and the food layer, and lots of sleeping options.  My cage is a large multi level cage that accomodates 3 cat litter pans in teh bottom pan so I line them up on the bottom.  The reason I use 3 is because I get them from wal mart for about a 1.25 and they fit snug so the ferret won't try to tip them over all the time.  Some people just put litter all over the bottom of the cage, but it is hard to clean for me so I use this method.  I put ferret litter like good mews or any recyclted paper product in it and they just do the rest.  Ferrets are very clen and will naturally go to the bottom layer to use the toilet and since the whole bottom layer is their toilet, they use it.  BIG bonus for me:  I can lift each pan out individually to clean which you must do every day.  They usually end up pooing only in the outide pans and in the corner of these pans, so clean every day and the smell won't be bad plus your ferret will continue to poo there.  

When ferrets first wake up, they like to poo, so the first thing you must remember when you let them out is to watch that they poo and are ready to come out.  The second big important thing to do is to have many and I mean many boxes in all the corners that your ferret chooses to use as a toilet.  Unlike a cat, ferrets do not sniff and choose a spot.  They have very fast digestive tracts and a high metabolism accompanied witha loose stool so when they have to go, it is with a short fuse.  Mine are all box trained and when I get new kids, they catch on very quickly and are experts witnin a week.  I watch them for signs of going and quickly pick them up and put them in a box if they are going on the floor.  If they are going in a corner that needs a box, I put one there.  I have a rule, if a ferret is pooing in a corner, put a box there.  The ferret will either use the box or stop pooing there.  Either way I am happy.  AFter a month or see, the ferrets have developed a pattern and I can remove some pans but in my house, I have 12 or so pans to clean every day.  Be patient and don't try to punish them for making a mistake, they don't react to aggression well and it will just scare them.  Just keep picking them up and putting them in the box.  Patience.  

Answer 2

Get a litter box and put it in any corner of the cage, or small room. Than fill every other corner of the cage with food bowls, toys, hammocks anything. And when you see the ferret about to do it's "business", (back up in a corner, lift tail) than quickly put him/her in the litter box. If you see her/him using the litter box, praise her/him. When you see p**p or pee somewhere in the cage that's not in the litter box, clean it up, and put a tiny bit of her/his p**p in the litter box. The ferret will eventually get the picture that that is where she is suppose to go.

Also, make sure you line the bottom of the cage and litter box with 2 different things. You could line the cage with newspaper, or an old towel, and use shredded egg carton as the litter (this works as it is easy to clean and absorbent).

Make sue you clean the litter box at least everyday.

Good luck with your new fuzzie!!