Ferret Fixtures
by Margaret Merchant
Facing the ongoing challenge of creating a stimulating environment for your ferret is a constant challenge to the creativity of most people. Ferrets need a place to play, a place to explore and hide out in. Last time we looked at tubing, this time we are looking at alternate uses for things not originally intended for ferret play.
Let’s start with the house and something that we all have already – drawers. Most ferret owners may or may not yet know that most ferrets absolutely love drawers. They are dark and enclosed, much like a ferret’s den in the wild. Many folks will go to great lengths to keep ferrets out of the drawers, but I think they should be given one of their own.
What can be more wonderful than a drawer full of ferrets?
In my house, due to the numbers of ferrets I live with (currently 18), the ferrets not only have their own drawer, but have their own dresser. Well, it is in their own room. The dresser, although the front goes to the floor, the back has a small gap at the bottom, which allows the ferrets access to the inside of the dresser. They use the bottom two drawers as sleeping space and also stash things there. They also sleep in the gap under the bottom drawer. I keep linens in there for them to sleep on, and also keep throw rugs on the hard floor under the dresser.
But these aren’t the only drawers that ferrets can have. Many people may have an extra kitchen or bathroom drawer that is ferret accessible. Again, many ferrets will love having a special place to play in, to sleep in or to hide things in. A friend had a ferret that loved potatoes and would get into the large bag of potatoes and then drag them, one by one, into the bottom kitchen drawer, then out and behind it. Periodically, of course, she would have to clean out. But that is a small price to pay for the smiles she got in return. Or the happiness her ferret had in doing it.
Ollie has used the back of the drawers to scale his way up to the top, to check things out.
Another often-overlooked part of the house is decorative wicker baskets. Many of us use them for attractive storage spaces. They can make excellent sleep and play places for ferrets, that can be left out at all times, and still fit in with your decorating scheme. Get a larger rectangular basket and add an inexpensive throw pillow to it to make an attractive bed. Or use other shapes just as places for play and rolling around. The biggest down side to having baskets around is having to turn them upright constantly.
A large square basket is attractive and with the addition of a throw
pillow, makes an excellent ferret bed!
Something that is often overlooked is cat furniture. There are a wide variety of items available for cats to climb and play on, and many times these things can be used for ferrets as well. When buying a cat tree for use with ferrets, make sure the bottom level isn’t too tall for them to get on. Ferrets love to climb, and will climb up and down a cat tree to see things from another viewpoint or to chase companion cats around. They can climb much faster than you might expect also.
Another type of cat furniture that is good for ferrets is the carpeted “caves.” Ferrets can get inside of these, and play attack ferret in or on it. Be sure that the holes are not such that the ferret can get stuck. Otherwise, these can bring great enjoyment to your ferret. Be sure and check out local cat shows, they often have the best values on cat furniture.
Here Max is playing with two of his Siamese “brothers” in
a carpeted toy made for cats.
And finally, there are a number of items that many folks have around the house that are not normally left out, but can easily be converted to ferret play. You can easily construct a digging box by filling a large plastic box with uncooked rice. Get a big box, so that the ferret will have lots of room to dig. You can purchase large sacks of rice at warehouse stores pretty inexpensively. This can get a bit messy, but it is easily stored by putting on the lid and placing in a closet for future use. This also keeps it a novelty item for the ferrets. Also be sure and check out children’s wading pools. Many ferrets love to swim and play in water. These are cheap and you don’t need a large one at all. Be sure and have rocks or plastic boxes to allow the ferrets some type of “ramp” for getting in and out of the pool on their own. Also having one or two in the middle of the pool gives the ferret an “island” to rest on. A great game to encourage your ferret to play in the pool is raisin fetch. So a raisin to your ferret, drop it into the water and let them go for it. Or you can put in some ping-pong balls for playtime also.
Here is Ollie getting out of the pool after his swim. You can see a
large rock placed for pool access behind him, to the right. There is also
one in the pool.
With just a little thought, and money, you can create some wonderful toys for your ferret to interact with. And many of these things can be incorporated into your daily living, without a great impact on your interior design or traffic patterns. Both you and your ferret’s lives will be bettered for it.