With 2020 heading towards November and all the fireworks displays being cancelled we need to think about bonfire night. Or rather nights because with organised displays being cancelled a heck of a lot more people will buy a few fireworks and they’ll be letting them off randomly over the 5th, the weekend following, and probably the week in both directions while people plan their “displays” around their days off. For the most part ferrets do not mind fireworks. There is always the odd one but, well mine come out their beds to watch so what does that tell you. But there is always the chance, some ferrets are nervous and there can be accidents. That is what we are going to talk about today. How to keep things safe and ways to help your ferrets not be scared.
You can start months in advance when it comes to helping prevent fireworks scares. When we do sound desensitization as kits, we are doing just that. You must do this in advance though. You cannot just start it a week before and ta-da. It is exposure therapy basically. You start by playing recordings of fireworks when they are playing, relaxed, happy. Next day have it louder, repeat at infinitum. They become habituated to the sound and learn its not dangerous.
The problem with home displays though is they are random bangs not a period of pops, and bangs and then they stop. Which means even if they are not afraid, they are still going to be subject to startles. This is by far the most dangerous part of bonfire night and similar celebrations around the world. You are out, your pet gets a fright, they run and hide, they might even nip or bite, and then they are just gone. This is why cat and dog owners are advised to have their pets locked inside by dark and not walked off leash. For us ferret owners it means get them fed, cleaned out and put away happy and content in their enclosure long before dark. Get them settled and do not go into the enclosure again unless it is an emergency. A scared ferret may not act like themselves and you do not want them to get the chance to escape. If you’re ferrets are inside I would still recommend you put them in their beds in good time, there’s plenty of dangers in the home and your ferret hiding behind the furniture just out of reach or jumping out a window because they are scared are horrible things to put them and yourself through. If they are inside look for a cover for their cage too. Even just a blanket. Not only will that we helpful to stop cage rattling due to their change in routine but it will also help make the cage dark.
Making a den is a fantastic way to help scared or spooked pets. This includes ferrets. Putting a small bed in their enclosure and covering them with a dark cover or blanket is all you need to do. This small dark place feels safe to them and is just the kind of place they would dart to if they did go missing. It also helps hid the flashes of fireworks from them which can also startle or scare and even dull the noise helping them tune it out. The same goes for curtains and playing the radio or music. Block out the noise and lights of the festivities.
We have sorted sight and sound, but we can also help by smell. You can get plug in diffusers and sprays to calm and help them. Examples are general calming scents, like Animologys lavender and camomile spray, or Feliways classic hormone scent in sprays or plug ins. We can also make sure that they are well fed which can make them sleepy and more likely to just bed down than want out to play or get a fright. We can encourage them to bed down with a large meal, lots of physical activity before hand or lots of mental stimulation before hand. If possible I would recommend a large whole prey item for them. There is info in the kit guide to why this is great for all 3. If not possible feed them a treat, preferably something they have to work at with their teeth or make use of a dog or cat brain teaser to give them their treat, and make sure they eat their fill. Ferrets don't tend to over eat. Gorge and fast sometimes yes but they balance out their diet themselves, so a day or two of over eating will not cause problems, especially when they are trying to put on winter weight. Fat ferrets tend to be kibble fed and it has more to do with the way their metabolism stores the carbs for use between meals than it does how much they eat. (side tip, if you need to bulk up a ferret and you raw feed add a few pieces of kibble to their diet for a couple of days, like I say their metabolism deals with it differently and encourages a fat store).
If you know (or suspect) your pet might be highly anxious you might also want to buy in Rescue Remedy, a herbal remedy that can help them is stressful situations. I would not recommend giving any medication, even a natural one like this, unless you know the pet will need it but if you suspect it will be needed and you have it in they cupboard the next night, in what I can guarantee will be a very festive weekend this year, it will already be on hand for you to give before you begin locking them down for the night.
A last course of action for extremely nervous and scared pets is veterinary intervention. You can if needed speak with your vet about getting your pets a sedative for the worst days. This does need to be planned in advance so it might be hard to guess the worst days over the week.
My last piece of advice is to just relax. Watch a movie, play a game, something that distracts you. A lot of outdoors ferrets do better than those in the home because if their owner is worried, they can sense it and think there is something worthy of being scared of going on. Outdoors ferrets are less exposed to their owners worries in these situations, so they are less likely to pick up on it. If you distract yourself though you are less likely to worry, and less likely to disturb your pet, by being worried or by popping out and shining a light into their bed every 10 minutes. Bit juxtaposed to this blog but by being prepared and getting everything sorted in advance I feel much more relaxed so hopefully now you can make a plan and relax better too.
Stay safe and have fun xx
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