ARG!! Ferret problems!

[RogueFerret]

I Have had two of my ferrets (Badger and Wolverine) for quite a few years now. I bought them a new four level cage last month that they adore. Well, for Valentines day, my husband bought me a baby girl ferret (Rogue) as a playmate for my two guys. Problem is, no matter what I do I can not get her litter trained! I have tried putting toys and stuff in the corners that she seems to want to go in, but she just moves them out of the way. I clean the shelves daily with soap made to take out urine stains, but she STILL goes in the same corners.


It gets worse. A girl at work asked me to take her ferret because she couldn't spend as much time with him as she should. So I get the ferret (Xaiver) and Rogue taught him to go in the same places she does! I have never had this much trouble litter training ferrets.

So does anyone know of something I'm not doing? I've reserched the web untill I've bordered the brink of insanity and I can't find anything I haven't tried yet. So if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them!

[wolfsoul]

This may sound a little gross, lol, but I read that most animals will keep away from any spots that have the scent of human urine on them.

[RogueFerret]

Uhhh.... Any OTHER suggestions! LOL. I'm almost willing to do anything, but not that.

[wolfsoul]

Lol, I kinda figured

[tikeyas_mom]

yes you are gunna have t o put a litter box in every corner they go in because it is your only option at this moment. then after the litter boxes are used then move them to one corner that the ferrets like the most. Good luck. r your males fixed? hope so because ferrets will breed like rabbits.

[RogueFerret]

The only way you can buy a ferret where I live is if it is 'fixed'. You can get an unaltered ferret, but you would have to go out of state. Which is really for the best because if it wasn't like that the whole state would be overrun with unwanted ferrets. There are so many as it is that do not have homes. Three of my four ferrets are rescues and poor little Badger was found wandering around outside where someone had dropped him off in my yard!

Anyways, it looks like I'll have to go buy some more litter boxes. I just hope they will use them and not try to move them out of the way like they did all the toys I tried to put there.

[tikeyas_mom]

or put news paper on the floor in the corneres. I used the litterbox method to litter train my bunny. She died though

[Chinadoll]

Hi! I've been catching up on posts since I've been out of town and saw yours about your ferts. I have 5 ferts and have been extremely lucky with getting them 100% with the litter box in the cage. I know what you mean about so many fuzz without homes. 4 of my 5 were rescue ferts. Does your fuzz refuse to use the litter box completely or does she use it sometimes along with whatever corner is most convenient?

To train mine, I've stuck them in the box when I saw they were going...easiest to do when they first wake up when you know they have to go. If they mess up, I clean the area with vinegar and water to completely remove any smell that may remain. For the stubborn fert, I have secured blankets to the floor and sides of the cage in the areas they mess up. They don't like to go potty on their bedding. You could also try moving the food bowl to that spot she insists on using. They won't mess in their food area.

How many litter boxes do you have in the cage? I know that I had to increase litter boxes when the number of ferts increased. You could add more litter boxes or just make sure you have blankies covering all the corners and floors of the cage. To secure them to the cage so the ferts don't move them, you can cut small holes in the edges of the blankies and zip tie it to the side of the cage or you can take velcro with the sticky backs and velcro the blankies to the bottom of the cage. Zip tie usually works better. The only things I velcro down in their cage are the litter boxes and bowls.

You can check out my web site if you like. I have links to many good ferret pages. I apologize if you click on a link and it goes no where, I've been bad and haven't finished all the pages, but the majority is there. Good Luck!
The Fuzzy Krewe

[RogueFerret]

I have been putting the food bowls in the corners, but Rogue just moves them out of her way. That's a good idea about the velcro. I'll try that on the food dishes.

As for how many litter boxes I have, I have a 4 level cage with a litter box on the bottom level and the middle level. I can't put litter boxes on the other levels because the doors are smaller on the second and fourth level and you can't fit a litter pan through the doors.

Thanks sooo much for the advice! I'll put it to good use.

[Chinadoll]

Your Welcome! I know all about small door problems. Part of the reason I bought another cage. I couldn't use the traditional larger ferret litter boxes so I would buy the small cat litter box for $3 at Walmart and cut down one side for the ferts to easily get in and out of. Those litter boxes worked great for small doors and if they got too icky, I'd toss it and buy another. I love velcro, works wonders. For the bowls and litter boxes I use velcro. You could also try lock on crocks for food and water if you don't want to velcro it down. Here's the kind I use: http://www.ferretstore.com/10ozlixquicl.html

Works great. Hope you can get the new fuzz trained or if you're like me, have them train you!