Ferrets: Amazing Facts & Essential Care Tips for Happy Pet Owners

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Ferrets make excellent pets as they like to interact with humans and other ferrets, are naturally playful, and accept a variety of foods. However, it is important to keep their home cage clean as they have a faster intestinal transit time (meaning up to 4 bowel movements per day) and make sure that your home is “ferret-proofed” to avoid foreign body obstructions and injuries. You should also make sure that your city allows ferrets to be kept as pets, as they are illegal in certain areas. Good luck with your potential new pet!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Ferrets typically do not enjoy being held, and do enjoy playing with their owners more. If you have only had Eddie for a short while, he may not be very used to you, or people in general. I recommend moving slowly with him, and offering treats when he approaches you. Ferrets tend to "remember" negative experiences, so it is important to be as gentle with him as possible early on. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have about Eddie!

I'm glad you want to train Felix. Working on tricks can be fun and prevent boredom. You can train him with treats and lots of praise and repetition. I'd start with calling Felix by his name and rewarding when he looks at you. Then call him and give a hand signal and ask him to come. Again reward him if he moves closer to you, eventually getting him to come each time. As for other tricks find something he likes to do like like spinning a wheel and give it a name and reward him when he does it. Then you should be able to ask for the spin and he'll do it on command. All this takes lots of time and patience but ferrets can learn just like other animals. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Felix.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! So that is a little but if a tricky question, as some ferrets do better as “only” pets and some do well with a playmate. Another male ferret would be a fine idea, and you can start by getting them used to each other by housing their cages next to each other to allow them to get used to each other without touching. This can then progress to supervised play periods together outside their cages to ensure that they will get along. Good luck!

Thanks for reaching out about Hoss. Behavioral training is similar to that in puppies. Training to know what is chewable (their toys) and what is not (fingers, furniture) is by a combination of positive and negative reinforcement. A good guide to training in puppies might be useful. Putting something like bitter apples or Tabasco sauce on your fingers might work some, but also don't want to make then hand shy. Good luck.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Oh my goodness your fur babies are adorable!! I recommend introducing them while Mack is young. He will be a very large dog when full grown. It is best he learns how to behave with with ferrets now, so he gets used to them. I would have Mack on a leash at all times when the ferrets are out. This is a great time to teach Mack how to "leave it" when he attempts to chase or mouth the ferrets.Knowing now, rather than later, that he will be aggressive or violent with them will give you time to fix the behavior or to avoid their interactions. I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would be extremely careful with this as Reese could accidentally hurt or even kill your ferret. If you’re going to do this, hold onto your ferret at all times to pull him out of harms reach if needed. If your puppy is particularly exhuberant, it might be a good idea to have a friend or family member hold on to his collar while you hold the ferret. Make sure they are closely supervised together until you know that Reese will play gently. Best wishes to you and your pets!

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