How resilient are ferrets to high falls?

Question

i have recently bought a ferret who thinks she is a daredevil and has managed to push the window open on two occasions and jump from a first floor window, she has shown no signs of injury, save a small graze on her chin. she is still just as playful and hyper, i am just a bit worried whether she could have caused internal damage. do you think she will be ok?

Answer 1

If there is no sign of injury she is probably ok. If you are going to let this ferret loose in your house you need to make sure your windows are secured.

Answer 2

They don't live in tree's for a reason.

Answer 3

i have two ferrets and they often leap everywhere so hyper and mischevious. the most sensitive area on a ferret is her back so as long as she landed on her feet she should be okay if she didnt seem in any pain or change in behaviour etc shes probs okay but i would get her checked by your vet just in case as when ferrets hurt or are ill they rarely show it as they are so hyper!

hope this helps

Answer 4

I dunno,I think you might need to take her to the vet. My ferrets have jumped down from their cage but not that far.

Answer 5

FKTS i think you will find that ferrets are bred for domestication infact they were domesticated before cats and dogs.

Answer 6

PUSHED a window open? Right........

Ferrets are not really all that resilient, so count yourself lucky and FERRET PROOF your house, d**n it.

And if you're a BIT worried, why aren't you at the vets with her yet?  

Answer 7

They don't bounce if that's what you need to know.

A cat can survive a fall like that easily but they most certainly don't like it.

Ferrets are not mentioned in the MENSA list of honorary members. They are intelligent....but only for what they do best.

Dost assume that because it jumps out of the window, he actually likes the experience. It may be he forgot the last time and thought 'This could be fun'...and jumps.   He then hits the ground and thinks '*******  that was really stupid'.

and promptly forgets.

Answer 8

ferrets are not breed for domestication

perhaps she is trying to escape maybe you should think about that

Answer 9

i've got a ferret as well, it's got to the point that when he is out i just lock the windows because there just into every thing and very nosey which is normal for ferrets. they can break bones quite easily from such falls. so it's best to be safe. vets bills with ferrets are big.

there's is a great book called ferrets for dummies and you can get it from pets at home website for about £10 and they also have ferret shampoo etc. if you want anymore info i allow emails. xx  

Answer 10

If something did happen to your ferret, I'm sure you would be noticing signs of something being wrong by now. As for this window, do something so that she won't be able to push it open (if she really can push it open)! Not only do you have to worry about her injuring herself from the fall, but you should also be worried about losing her. Ferrets are very dependent on us humans and if she would run away, you most likely won't see her again - they cannot survive in the wild. Please do something about that window (and check the rest of your house to make sure it's 100% ferret-proofed as well) and get her to a vet if you're really worried that something could be wrong.

Answer 11

ferrets have no grace and no sense of fear - not a very good combination for an animal that size, lol.

chances are, if she'd had internal injuries from these falls, you'd have noticed something amiss by now. she wouldn't be acting quite as chipper and chaotic as usual, that's for sure. when they crash, they crash hard. keep an eye out for lethargy, difficulty breathing, bleeding from anywhere or coughing it up, vomiting, trouble urinating or defecating, or just an all-around feeling that you notice something is "off."

even though she's apparently escaped real trauma in the past, you need to make sure she doesn't do this again. they AREN'T generally resilient critters when it comes to falls; falling is probably in the top five reasons we see injured ferrets in my clinic. so i'd expect that she's keeping her guardian ferret angel busy right now - but that luck can't last. so as her owner, your responsibility is to make sure this absolutely does not happen again. i don't know what kind of window it is, but if it doesn't lock, see if there's any way you can block her access to it. it's not at floor level ...so she must be climbing something to get to the window in the first place. move that if you have to, even if it's just when she's out of her cage.

welcome to the crazy chaotic world of ferrets. :-)