Ferret 101: A Start of Ferret Husbandry
here you find basic info on ferret husbandry, there's a lot out there so this is just a quick frame work to start you out. I've also made a section with advice on finding a good ferret vet you can go to for anything and some need to know info before you get a ferret that many owners don't know
For more in-depth info on ferret care and enrichment, we have a ferret guide we update every year with lots more info downloadable here or through contacting us
Males or Females; season managing, neutering and adrenal
Feeding
picture borrowed from deamstime.com is a ferret with adrenal disease
Hopefully this section will help you decide on sex and how you want to raise your ferret.
Personality differences between males and females are very general and there are always exceptions. Males tend to be lazier and cuddlier, females smarter and more energetic and playful. Females are also much smaller than males. Your choice of sex will more likely be dictated by the effects of being in season or by general preference
Reasons to neuter: smell, calm them down, convenience, no kits, less fighting, health.
Ferrets, both males and females, come into season in the spring. For females this is the start of a hormone cycle that can happen repeatedly until winter, or all year round if kept in artificial conditions. This cycle involves coming into season, coming out, a pregnancy hormone cycle, a break from hormone changes acting as a reset and then back into season. How long that break is dictates how many seasons she has in a year. For males their testis drop and remain dropped until after the breeding season when they shrink and move back into the body. Aside for the ferrets being fertile at these times it is vital to be aware of the health risks and normal changes of hormonal ferrets so that you can safely manage their seasons as well as the health risks and options to neutering.
DO NOT GET A FERRETS SENT GLANDS REMOVED and if you’re in the UK report the vet. This is not necessary and is classed as mutilation (same as ear clipping and docking for cosmetic reasons only) in the UK it’s illegal.
In season males smell bad, some worse than others. Their undercoats turn from cream to orange with oils that are the source of this smell. The smell is more of a musk than the smells you might be thinking if when thinking of a ferret smell and is not always unpleasant if kept to a reasonable level. The important things to keep in mind are not to bath the ferret or you will encourage more oil production, and to clean the bedding regularly to remove the oils from the cage. They can also become territorial with other ferrets, especially males. Again, some males are worse than others, though in my experience there seems to be a genetic and personality element as well as husbandry. To me an intact male is not a problem if he is given enough space, mental stimulation and well fed. Introducing new ferrets to adult intact males during the breeding season does not tend to go well, however. Neutering or implanting both prevent the males from coming into season so you do not have to worry about any of these problems. There is more info on these further down
The female ferret will come into season naturally, usually only once a year, but she can come in several times, usually starting her first spring (around 9 months) but rarely there will be a jill come in from as young as 3 months. She will not come out of season naturally. The signs will be a swelling vulva and a change in smell. Unlike males a female ferret smell in season is very sharp and unpleasant to everyone. It’s rather like cat pee. Fortunately, it only lasts as long as she is in season and for health reasons you will not want to leave her in season too long. The high oestrogen levels weaken the immune system and stop the bone building cells from working (but the breaking down ones don't stop) which weakens the bones and breaks down where blood is made so there’s less blood. Basically, they get what’s called Aplastic Anaemia which can kill them or secondary infections from being run down can kill them. Occasionally you will hear of an owner whose ferret “came out herself”, let me be clear here, the reason these ferrets came out is because their bodies are so damaged their shutting down unnecessary processes, much like a woman whose periods stop when she is severely underweight or ill. These ferrets might survive once, they might survive twice, but they do not survive past their 3rd year. How do you stop it? She must be brought out of season, or not come in in the first place, the methods of season management are linked to the methods of neutering and neutering is of course one way to manage them.
Jills and phantom pregnancies
A phantom pregnancy in a jill is not dangerous to her health but they are an adjustment for her owner. Many people find their jills become calmer and cuddlier during her phantom, others find she becomes territorial and irritable. Jills who are hard to manage in a phantom should not have a litter because this nature can be passed on to both sexes of kits. These negative personality changes can be reduced by making sure she can eat, drink and sleep away from her cage mates. It is important that she feels safe to have the kits her hormones are telling her she will have.
Another side effect is mothering behaviour. Mothering behaviour mostly expresses itself by collecting toys, stashing food more and adopting cage mates. MY Vasectomised hobs absolutely love this because they get to chill out in their bed and the girls bring them food. The only problem is they’ll also stop him getting to water or going to the toilet if they can. You can see why this possessive mothering can upset other phantoming jills and they can also get really stressed out if the boy doesn’t cooperate. The jills can be quite insistent, one year my hoblet needed time in a hospital cage alone for a few months when the girls decided to drag him repeatedly by the same ear resulting in a tear behind the ear. He was fine with a bit of healing time, but it goes to show how extreme jills can be in their efforts to be mum.
Like with males the important thing is to make sure everyone has space to get away from each other, places to sleep apart and food and water points where they can avoid each other if they’re getting on each other nerves
Neutering and bringing a jill out
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mating; does sometimes calm a hob (boy) BUT sometimes winds a hob up. It is not really a reliable option for managing an intact male but I felt this line of thought should be addressed. A jill (female) will come out when mated but will have a litter
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the jill jab; a hormone injection. Works short term to take a jill out without kits but some do have a reaction to it. Not available for males. This does result in a phantom pregnancy
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Hoblet; a hoblet (vasectomized hob) still has a sex drive and testis but the sperm tubes have been cut and/or tied so he cannot impregnate a jill, it’s a natural method of taking a jill out without a litter and allows a male to live with jills full time. This does result in phantom pregnancies. See the vasectomised hob page for details
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neutering; removes the hormones entirely by removing the testis or ovary’s. This permanently stops the seasons but leaves the ferret vulnerable to Adrenal Disease (explained later) because of this many GOOD vets are refusing to neuter. A hob would then be called a Gibb and a jill a Sprite. This is an op, so the ferret must be under anaesthetic which is a risk and should be a minimum of 6 months old to go through the op.
I would advise females be neutered in the winter if possible but males wait until they’re in season to make the operation easier for both
There is also new evidence emerging that neutering may increase risks of a lot of other health issues. The video of Dr Karen Becker on the matter is very worth watching for a start to your research on this
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the deslorelin implant; blocks the hormone pathways that cause seasons, but it is temporary and only lasts a couple of years. It does not lead to adrenal but is sometimes used to treat it. The down side is that the implant can be very expensive, also depending on the vets’ preference the ferret may be under anaesthetic to get it (some do some don't, some even put them under to microchip) It is an option for both males and females
Adrenal disease
The systems that the testis and ovaries are involved in are very complex and not entirely understood, they developed over millions of years and they're involved with loads of different signalling mechanisms in the body (that’s why when humans are sterilized they have so many tests afterwards) so when you think of it like that is it any wonder that it can lead to long term problems?
Adrenal is fatal. It’s caused by adrenal glands trying to overproduce to make up for the hormones not produced by the ovaries or testis. Tumours then grow on the adrenal glands causing excess hormone production. It has various symptoms generally including swollen prostrate/vulva, hair loss, lethargy...
It has been linked to neutering, particularly early neutering. Most ferrets with adrenal studied are in America where ferret mill kits are neutered at very young ages, so this may have led to suggestive evidence of early neutering being a cause instead of neutering in general, however in my experience the ferret was neutered at 18-24 months. Another link has been seen to artificial lighting extending the light period, over stimulating the glands as their brains try to push them into season. Like most things there is also probably a genetic predisposition in some ferrets, much like some people can drink and smoke heavily for 80 years without getting ill and some never do and still have health complications. It's really a combination of things.
Adrenal is treated by the implant preventing the feedback loop that results by the tumours. This treatment treats the symptoms and prevents the disease progressing. Some vets also give the option to treat by surgery to remove the tumours. This is not always successful or possible, but it is worth discussing with the vet when considering the options for a ferret
Ferrets need access to clean fresh water. Most people use a drip bottle which has a little ball in it the ferret licks to get water. They keep the water clean and everything else dry. Some people use water bowls because they don't think a ferret can drink as much at a time lapping from a bottle as they do lapping from a bowl (I disagree but that’s my opinion) Bowls unfortunately get mucky and ferrets like to swim in them and re arrange the cage, so they do get tipped. If you decide to use a bowl you are best getting a parrot bowl which attaches to the bars of a cage.
There are a few options for feeding ferrets. They are obligate carnivores like cats. Ferrets can be fed dry food (kibble) wet food or what’s called RAW or BARF, you can feed any diet or combination you want. Dog and cat food is not appropriate as they have different dietary needs its ok for a day as a treat but long term it will make them sick or weaker than they should be. Problems with fussy eaters can arise if a kit hasn't been exposed to different foods over the first few months.
Feeding locations and stashing points can also affect metal health. For more info on that or making a DIY raw diet please contact for our most recent kit guide
Wet food; I'm not an adviser of wet food, it’s generally mostly water with high sugar and additives which can rot teeth and is basically the pet equivalent of junk food. That said I used to use cat pouches when nursing a sick ferret because it’s easily digested and helps them keep hydrated. Unfortunately, it can start to smell bad on a hot day.
Kibble; the easiest of all foods to prepare and since most ferrets have eaten it at some time or another there’s less chance of fussy eaters. Some kibbles are better than others they should have high fat and protein proportions and as little vegetable matter as possible. Kibbles keep for a long time but should be stored in airtight containers. Kibbles are linked to insulinoma, a disease where the body has trouble regulating blood sugar levels.
RAW and BARF; raw meat feeding. This is the best diet if you get it right; if you get it wrong it can lead to deficiencies, neurological problems, death... You need to provide a mix of raw meats of diverse types, organ meats and bones or bone meal. Yes, you can feed all bones if they're raw they won't splinter, in fact they keep teeth clean. It can smell in the heat or attract flies (or make you sick if you’re squeamish). They also LOVE it. If you want to try RAW do your research and try to get a mentor to help you out.
We used to feed kibble alongside BARF, some ferrets didn't imprint on raw meat, so they ate the kibble, some ferrets are picky about which meats so the kibble balances that out, it worked best for me.
Now I feed only BARF except for when we have kits who I want to be used to anything. At first due to the pickiness I made a daily mix of ground raw meats balanced with 5 sources alongside their whole prey I fed when on kibble. After a transitional period, they all became less fussy and will now eat their chunks so are now fed BARF in complete minces, franken-prey chunks and whole prey for variety
We have always been very involved with farming and country sports so now raise livestock and give lots of wild meat.
Treats; raw meat, chicken wings (play tug of war first), egg (raw/cooked/scrambled, whatever), ferretone or ferret oil (they LOVE LOVE LOVE! it), Day old chicks or quail, dried meat, ferret treats or cat treats from pet shops, fruit is not appropriate but some do enjoy small amounts on occasion, no dried fruit, seeds or grapes, I came across this by chance when one of my boys would eat the elder berries off the bush inside their run. Just try them out on different things see what they like.
DON'T FEED;
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milk and bread on a Sunday, this is a diet where they're starved and fed this; it’s not good for them. They need fed every day and bread won't do any harm, but it has no meat and they are carnivores so need meat. This diet is a misunderstanding of an old trick of getting workers out the holes way back when.
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Cow’s milk, will give them diarrhoea and dehydrate them. Small amounts of goat’s milk can be appropriate in some situations but please do so under guidance.
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Chocolate, for some reason all my jills are bad for wanting chocolate, boys not so much but its poisonous to them so don't feed it.
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Raisins and Sultanas, both poisonous
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Raw pork (if outside the UK), pork can carry parasites and diseases it’s OK here, it’s treated but I still avoid it. It's also a common allergen so if you're pet develops a food allergy try removing pork from the diet first
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Human treats, cream cakes and biscuits aren't a good idea
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Alcohol and medication for human use
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Vermin, don't feed wild rats or mice if they have been poisoned it will poison the ferret, rats can be immune to poisons that will affect ferrets. You can feed the ones sold as pet food, but I don't in case it encourages them to see them as food (I do a lot of vermin control)
First ask around the ferret community in your area (clubs are an excellent first stop) and see who other people take their vets to, look for exotic specialists too. Once you have a list start visiting the vets and ask them if they have any ferret experience, how much, how long they've been practicing on ferrets. If you don't like the vet or find yourself not trusting them for whatever reason leave. You need a good relationship with your vet, as you do with your breeder.
Now try asking some tough questions: would you recommend neutering, how old, why, etc. look for anything inconsistent with what you have learned and if he/she gives a wrong answer then they clearly don't know enough about ferrets to be of use to you in an emergency.
Also check what they do in the surgery: do they carry jill jabs, implants, what examinations and mechanisms do they have on site. We use two vets, our first vets have an ambulance service and 24/7 Christmas included emergency drop in which is very reassuring and all equipment possible, our second is an old-fashioned vet and is much more practical in some ways. Both our vets have such a close relationship with us that they allow us to do our own nursing
Ferrets don't show when they are sick so when there’s something wrong they go from perfect to death bed within days if not hours, so it is vital that you have a vet who knows what they're doing and is ready to work with you to get him/her back on their feet, and that you trust your instinct above all else
Find a Good ferret Vet
Ferret Health and Diseases
The most common health issues effecting ferrets
This is not a conclusive list, just the most common. It is also worth mentioning that the development of some of these conditions is dependant on both genetics and husbandry, as well as a bit of good and bad luck. For example, did you know that 1/20 animals born have heart murmurs? We have had none so far in our home which I consider mostly dumb luck given we have bred more than 20 kits and brought home more than 20 ferrets over the years, as well as had a huge amount of other pets, none of which have had murmurs. Plenty of other issues but not murmurs. Most condition also reside on a sliding scale from virtually harmless, just do not breed it to I am very sorry but it is kindest to let them go. Murmurs are a great example of this as most are so minor that by 12 weeks old, they have closed (you most likely have heard of this in puppies when a vet mentioned a murmur at first check but never afterwards.
I have tried to put these in order of what age they would be visible and so if you would be able to see them at rehoming. In any case it is best to ask the breeder about such things in the family. You will also notice some of these things are things that will kill incredibly young kits so if you are meeting a very small litter and you do not know the birth numbers ask. There are reasons other than developmental issues that can kill very young kits, they are incredibly fragile at birth and there is an element of luck and probability in an animal that in essence evolutionarily chose to have high numbers of premature babies rather than one or two fully developed, this should be kept in mind when asking but the breeder should at the least be able to tell you if there was anything obvious.
Cleft pallet/lip; this is a lateral line defect and should not be bred from as it can lead to other more severe versions in future generations. These ones are particularly dangerous for ferrets because they cause them to be unable to suckle and can cause problems eating and swallowing. For a cleft ferret to make it to adulthood takes a lot of luck or skill or both.
Skeletal deformations; crooked jaw, under or overbite, kinked tails, other. These are all fairly harmless in themselves, but such ferrets should not be bred from. They are all a sign of something not being right with this ferret developmentally, let me give an example. A kinked tail is harmless but if it is in the main spine it can affect movement, even birth if the ferret is female. These can even get worse as they are handed down the generations, for example an overbite is not too bad, but that ferrets kit may have an overbite that prevents it from being able to eat. If the deformation is in the hips it can cause crippling arthritis, if it is in the ribs it can crush or put pressure on organs. If it is in the skull it can be a sign of lateral line defects, hopefully something like Waardenburg but there are much more dangerous ones to life, like a vaulted skull in which the brain is completely exposed, or cephalic which is completely life limiting. Some more lateral line defects are mentioned in this section but one I have not written about is heart defects. While they are relatively rare if you are seeing a litter with other lateral line defects it is worth knowing that the “normal one” could just as easily have an incompletely fused heart or severe murmur, completely invisible from the outside until it is almost too late. While these kits deserve loving homes too, I do not think it is fair that someone should face that heartbreak unknowingly
Hernia: there is a few types of hernias, some come from trauma, some come from pressure, but I am specifically talking about umbilical hernias. Most bad hernias will be fatal at birth. Mum is not going to be able to differentiate between the membrane that covers the kit and the membrane holding a pouch of insides outside of the body. A milder case where they just have a split at the belly button can grow into an otherwise healthy adult but may need it fixed to prevent injury and must not be bred because it poses a risk of prolapse and labour complications. My advice for a female with a hernia is get it fixed during spay so you never have to worry about it in the future
Swimmers: swimmers is a developmental defect caused by poor diet and husbandry when the kits are developing. It is fairly easily spotted as the kit’s legs spoot out under them and paddle alongside, hence the name “swimmers”. They are unable to lift themselves properly eventually leading to skeletal deformation of the legs and ribs, the chest flattens under the weight of the body. You can work with a swimmers kit to help restore movement if it is caught in time however most swimmers kits are left disabled even if they are helped and require support to live any kind of life. If there are some swimmer’s kits in a litter it is time to ask some tough questions. Your kit may not have swimmers, but it may have been affected by the diet or husbandry issues that caused their less fortunate siblings to develop the disease
Parasites: a high parasite burden in a kit can lead to illnesses such as swimmers, developmental delays and bone and organ weaknesses in later life. As well as worms there is coccidia and giardia to be aware of. Both of these would result in ferrets having diareaoha, so when meeting kits it is helpful to look at the litter tray as well as check for rounded belly’s, signs of starvation (i.e. skinny, legs that look too thin, overlarge heads) and signs of slow development.
Cryptorchidism: this disease is very common, in certain angora lines in particular (see the angora breeding blog for details) but is also seen in every other mammal in the world, that includes standard ferrets and European polecats. This can be only one or both testis stuck inside the body cavity (I have heard of ferrets with only 1 testicle period, but please be careful to neuter and implant such cases, bottom line don’t breed it unless it has 2 balls) the danger in this is that the testis have a high risk of becoming cancerous if active in the heat of the body so must be removed sooner or later. Such ferrets can live normal happy lives if neutered or implanted
Aplastic anaemia; please see the section on hormones and season management
Juvenile lymphoma: this is the most common type of cancer in ferrets and is cancer of the lymphatic system. It kills quickly and painfully. The main difference between juvenile and other forms of lymphoma is how fast it spreads, not the age that it develops. Juvenile lymphoma is not believed to have a genetic predisposition but like any cancer genes can influence the likelihood of development so be sure to ask if it has been seen in any close relatives
Adrenal disease; please see the section on hormones and season management
Insulinoma; another one that has a genetic and husbandry side. Please be sure to ask if seen in the lines and for more information please see our section on feeding
Housing and Enrichment
Grooming and parasite control
Skin and coat. As a rule, ferrets do not need any coat care. Their front teeth are like tiny combs, so they can groom themselves much better than we can, and bathing doesn’t really remove smell, just strips the oils and causes them to produce more oil and more smell. Every 3-6 months they do moult, and their coats can get thinner or patchy for a period but if they lose fur anywhere on their bodies or their skin looks irritated you should seek vet advice.
An itchy ferret could have parasites which you can treat with everything from tablets to bathing, but they could simply have a bit of an allergy to the soap you use on their bedding, or even a food allergy. There really are too many possibilities to go into, fur loss can even be signs of real health problems. If you cannot think of an obvious reason, or if the problem does not clear up after addressing the most obvious possibility’s, you need to get a diagnosis. How you treat for the diagnosis is up to you however.
I would recommend that you always have a bottle of cat shampoo in the cabinet just in case they get covered in something. You never know when someone will get into mischief.
Wormer. I was not sure where to put this but grooming seems as good a place as any since grooming is more routine. Ferrets can get worms and other parasites. You can treat routinely or check with a worm count and treat if needed. We treat precautionary and periodically do random worm counts to check it's working. This works best for us.
Ears. Like their coat, most of the time you do not need to address ears because they clean each other. Sometimes they over groom their ears which can lead to excess wax, or they can get them scratched or dirty by playing, so it is good to have an idea of how to clean them. We have thornit powder that we use a makeup brush to put round their external ears if they’re looking a little dirty or irritated, if they need a clean though we have a bottle of ear cleaner to just wipe out the ear with, you can get these from most pet shops or even use some edible oil. If they’re really dirty or smell however they may have an infection and need a vet visit.
Nails. Ferrets nails are more akin to dogs than cats, so they need their nails trimmed every 2-4 weeks on average. Some ferrets’ nails grow faster and some wear them down easier, so if you are not doing them as often as someone else don’t worry. The easiest way to do this is to put some ferret oil on their stomach about their navel then pop them on their back and point it out. You can then sit them on a table in-front of you or your lap and trim their nails as they lap it off.
You can use a pair of nail clippers or some dog nail clippers to trim them. I use scissors style dog nail clippers for my largest ferrets and normal nail clippers on the rest. Ferrets have white nails, so you can see the wick as a thin red bit near the base of the nail. As long as you don’t cut this you can trim them as short as you like but if you trim very close you might hurt them so trim as close as you feel comfortable with. Myself I leave their front nails slightly longer because they love to climb so much and that couple of millimeters of nail helps them climb.
Teeth. There’s not much you can do for their teeth, keep an eye out for broken teeth or irritated gums. Broken teeth may need removed if the root is exposed, though often the tips of canines become mildly chipped and cause no pain or risk. By feeding whole prey such as chicks or bones such as chicken wings, you can help keep teeth clean. Kelp powder (i.e. plaque off) can also help dissolve plaque, though this product has been known to overdose iodine if used in the dose suggested by plaque off, there are also oral gels you can purchase that coat the teeth, protecting from build-up, we have been able to buy these at the vets though good pet shops may also stock them. Kibble and wet food contain a lot of carbs which can cause damage to teeth long term, so if you notice your ferret has food sticking to their teeth try and get it off and consider using one of the methods I have mentioned above or even your nail if you feel confident enough. Brushing such a small animals’ teeth is almost impossible, you can try a tiny tooth brush or a finger wrapped in muslin with some doggy tooth paste but particularly with small ferrets it's very hard to see what you're doing and get to where it's needed, so it is important to address any tooth problems before they need help to be cleaned.
Ferrets can be kept inside or outside, if outside they need a secure hutch if inside they need a secure cage (preferably one with levels or shelf's because they like to climb but with a fair amount of floor space). Where ever they're kept the mesh will need to be small enough that they cannot get through, and the floor space must be large enough for all ferrets in the cage to stretch out at once and war-dance easily with enough head room to fully stretch out upwards. They'll also need a bed each and toys to keep their minds busy otherwise they can get stressed or bored which can lead to health or mental problems, or bad behaviour and over grooming. You can even build some thing like our original set up, termed "ferret court" by some of our new owners, in which a hutch or multiple hutches are attached via tubes, tunnels or doors to a run or aviary. We would not recommend a cage or hutch any smaller than 8ft squared for a ferret or pair of ferrets or 3ft square per ferret, whichever is bigger. More space is always better. If inside please make sure you are aware of how this can affect seasons and their management.
Enrichment in the form of beds, toys and games in just as necessary as a safe suitable cage for ferrets to thrive. There is some ideas for this in the kit guide.
Beds can be anything from a cardboard box to a specially made bed. I find hammocks are a winner and make them a new set each year. Another good choice is different types of material as it can be changed to suit the weather, but some people use blankets, paper shredding, straw, the list goes on.
On the base of the cage you can use wood shavings (not sawdust!) which is pretty bomb proof and absorbent, paper shavings which I don't like really, hemp bedding, or any other kind of substrate, fleece cage liners which must be used with a litter tray or puppy pad. To do that the ferrets have to be litter trained but that’s easy as they naturally only tend to go in one place, but they like to rip everything up and tip everything over so that can be hard to dissuade them from.
We do have a blog post demonstrating some of the options for those looking for ideas.
Toys can be anything from dog and cat toys to tubes and cat scratcher, home made things work great, dig boxes anything interesting.
Ferrets also need a ferret proof room or a run to play in. The room must have no holes no matter how small or your friend may disappear likewise a run has to be on concrete or have mesh underneath to stop escapees and must have a roof or they will climb out.
I have had ferrets squeeze through chicken mesh, climb up and dig out, if you have any concerns then it's not secure enough. They are also quite strong and many over look things like pull out trays for cleaning which if not secured can be pushed out from the back leaving an escape hatch at the front. You also need to make sure they have shade in the summer and a draft free, dry bed in the winter. A well fitting cover solves most of this but be sure they cannot over heat with it in the summer.
The possibilities are pretty much limited only by your imagination. Some peoples’ toys and beds are homemade; you might want to use a theme to fit everything together it’s completely up to you.